After many years without a dog park of their own, Hanover area canines are in for a treat, thanks to the North Hanover YMCA and local donors.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, the North Hanover YMCA held a ribbon cutting for its new 15,000-square-foot dog park, located in its adjacent field at 500 George Street in Hanover.
While the social interactions of dogs who play in the park may be obvious, speakers noted the community that will be fostered among the dog owners, too.
“This is a great way for us, as a community, to meet new people,” said Cam’ela Bisch, CEO of the Hanover YMCA.
“It gives an opportunity for us to build new relationships and friendships with people we would have never met if we didn’t bring our dogs to a park and spend time together,” she added.
“The Y is always going to be a place where everyone can be, where everyone can belong, and where we can come together,” said Bisch, “this is just another example of that.”
The park comes as a result of fundraising by the North Hanover YMCA, as well as through many local donors who contributed to bring a dog park to the community.
A lead gift of $300,000, from Paige and Stefanie Wingert provided the original funding that allowed the project to kick off.
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Paige Wingert, the chairman of L2Brands in Hanover, was given the honor of cutting the ribbon on the park.
In his remarks, Wingert noted that the park would also serve the greater Hanover community as a whole, and is located conveniently located “where so many of us live, shop, and work.”
Dr. Jennifer Mosier, the owner of the Hanover Veterinary Hospital and who provided $100,000 in funding towards the pavilion within the park, was also honored during the ceremony.
Spanning around 15,000 square feet, the park features a secured gated entryway, separate play areas for large or small dogs, evening lighting, security cameras, hydration stations, waste stations, and a 1,400-square-foot pavilion inside the park to provide cover in the rain in both the large and small dog areas.
Thanks to what the YMCA described as “dog-friendly artificial turf,” rainy days at the park won’t make for muddy pups, something which was on full display during the rainy opening ceremony.
Though YMCA dog park is privately owned and operated, its opening marks the first dog park available within Hanover Borough, accomplishing a goal noted in the borough’s 2024-2033 Parks and Recreation Open Space and Trails plan.
In that long-term plan, officials had expressed that they “have regularly heard that Hanover needs a dog park from residents,” noting, at the time, that there was “no designated space for dogs to play with one another or for owners to take their dogs.”
Using the park
In order to utilize the park, dog owners will have to register for a dog park membership with the YMCA, though they do not have to be YMCA members to use the park, the YMCA said.
Prospective members for the park can register in-person at the front desk of the North Hanover YMCA.
For existing YMCA members, utilizing the park will simply take registering their dogs for the park with a one-time $25 administrative fee, according to the YMCA.
Non-YMCA members who join the park will pay a $100 annual fee, along with the one-time $25 administrative fee.
The $100 annual fee for non-YMCA members works out to around $8.33 a month, coming at a significant discount to YMCA memberships, which provide many more offerings.
In comparison, membership with the YMCA itself is around $50 per month for an adult membership, according to the YMCA website, though discounted memberships exist for couples, households, youth, and senior citizens.
The annual dog park membership fees for non-YMCA members serves to offset park amenities such as provided dog trash bags, cleaning, operations and maintenance, according to the YMCA. For YMCA members, those costs are covered by their existing membership fees.
All users of the dog park are also required to submit vaccination records for each dog that uses the park, and participating dogs must be spayed or neutered.
Upon registering for the park, park members receive a keyfob for the park’s front gate, which they must scan to enter the park.
At the time of its ribbon cutting, current hours for the park are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, though hours will be adjusted for daylight savings time Bisch said. Lighting is provided the mornings and evenings, with additional lighting planned to be added.
Upon entering the front gate, users will have the choice to enter either the small dog area, or the large dog area.
Bisch noted that while the two areas are separated, small dog owners are welcome to bring their small dogs into the larger area if their dogs are comfortable playing with bigger dogs.
