Visitor Information

You will be amazed! Come and watch these incredible dogs gather sheep from more than a quarter mile away and move them around the pasture, through gates and into pens before separating them into two groups all directed by their human partner with whistles and voice commands.  More information on sheepdog trials below

Star of the North SDT will be running from 8AM - 5PM on Friday October 6th and Saturday October 7th. On Sunday October 8th we will finish at approximately 3PM. The Gale Woods Festival of Working Animals will run all day Saturday and Sunday. During the Festival, tractor rides will be available from the parking lot to the trial field. On Friday, it is about a ten minute walk from the parking lot to the trial.

Friday we will start with Open Dogs followed by ProNovice
Saturday, ProNovice goes first, followed by the Open Class.
Sunday we start with the beginner Novice class and then the Open dogs.

Are Pet Dogs Allowed to Watch?

Gale Woods is a working farm. Out of respect for the farm animals who live there, the Three Rivers Park District does not permit pet animals in the park. Please leave your pet dogs at home. Our sheepdogs have been bred for 150 years to work stock and trained for several years when to work and when to leave stock alone. Pet dogs will chase livestock. It's not their fault, it's just their nature but not fair to the other animals.

Parking

Enter the park through the visitor's entrance off Co. Rd. 110W in Minnetrista and park in the main parking area. From there it is a half mile walk through the farm (about 10 - 15 minutes) to the trial field. On Saturday, Gale Woods will be operating a tractor tram every 10 minutes from the parking lot to the trial field and back to the parking area.