DogForum.org favorite dog park thread

[Taeric]

Please post your favorite dog park locations in this thread or PM them me, and I'll add them to this post. Be sure to include the city and state/country/etc. and other pertinent info. Thanks!

USA

California
Atascadero (Heilmann Dog Park, El Bordo Avenue)
Cambria (Cambria Dog Park, Main Street)
Coronado (Coranado Cays Dog Park, Coronado Dog Beach)
Nipomo (Nipomo Dog Park, Pomeroy & Teft)
Point Richmond
San Luis Obispo (El Chorro Dog Park, Santa Rosa Avenue)
Florida

Vero Beach(Dogs for Life Offleash Dog Park)
Kentucky

Lexington (Jacobson Park)
North Carolina

Durham, NC (Piney Woods Park)
Pennsylvania

Mechanicsburg (Lower Allen Township Park)
Virginia

Norfolk (PETA headquarters)

[ChessieLvr]

Coronado, CA (or San Diego)
Coronado Cays Dog Park
Coronado Dog Beach

[EnchantedGypsy]

Here are some nice dog parks along the central California coast:)

Heilmann Dog Park,
El Bordo Avenue
Atascadero, CA (USA)

Cambria Dog Park
Main Street
Cambria, CA (USA)

El Chorro Dog Park,
Santa Rosa Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA (USA)

Nipomo Dog Park
Pomeroy & Teft
Nipomo, CA (USA)

[retriever crazy]

sorry but i dont live in those ares and we dont have any dog parks around here unless you want to drive for two hours

[dogdaze]

This picture was taken today at the Dogs for Life Offleash Dog Park in Vero Beach, Florida. I love my dog park (so do my dogs!).
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g37/darraenorling/cracker06.jpg

[keeks62]

Durham, NC- Piney Woods Park. This is a HUGE park with a large, large space for small dogs, a seperate, larger space for large dogs and than an equally large space for whoever wants to use it. Teagan and I will definitely miss it when we move!

[jr4mica]

PETA has a fantastic dog park behind its headquarters here in Norfolk, Virginia. Swing by if you are in the area of Norfolk or Virginia beach. Its free and well worth it.

[GiantNewOne]

We have been to a great dog park in Point Richmond, California. It's in the bay area. They *claim* its the largest off leash dog park in the nation. I don't know if its true, but it is the biggest I have ever seen. Your dogs can swim in the bay.

[lassie]

you lucky people;) to have such wonderful places to take the dogs sounds lovely.

[Zak & Kola]

Hi,

Here in the UK we don't have parks with such titles. Does it mean parks specifically just for dogs, or public parks that dogs are allowed in?

If its the latter, then all public parks here would qualify, only kiddies play areas etc are (rightly) out of bounds to dogs.

We live in a small village, our international friends may get some idea if I say its about half-way between London & Oxford. We don't have any local parks as such, but the village has 3 large 'commons' where the dogs can run free, (real close to the three 'pubs';-), & of course we have the lovely Chiltern Hills & woods, with dozens of footpaths, a step or three from our front door, so they don't do so bad!!!

[Taeric]

Hi,

Here in the UK we don't have parks with such titles. Does it mean parks specifically just for dogs, or public parks that dogs are allowed in?

If its the latter, then all public parks here would qualify, only kiddies play areas etc are (rightly) out of bounds to dogs.

We live in a small village, our international friends may get some idea if I say its about half-way between London & Oxford. We don't have any local parks as such, but the village has 3 large 'commons' where the dogs can run free, (real close to the three 'pubs';-), & of course we have the lovely Chiltern Hills & woods, with dozens of footpaths, a step or three from our front door, so they don't do so bad!!!Many communitites have parks (often a portion of a larger, general use parks) that are fenced in for the exclusive use of dogs and their owners. They're great places to let our pups run off leash and socialize with other dogs. We're lucky to have one about 5 miles from our house, and there is usually a pretty good crowd there.

[Karen]

What a shame we dont have those sort of places in England. We have lots of lovely walks and nature parks where dogs can go offlead but as sasha tends to run away sometimes it would be great if i could take her to a fenced in area where i could let her have abit of freedom for once. You lucky people :)

[mysterydog1]

we don't have a dog park around here. just a big open field

[Dani66]

wish i lived in the us :(

[golden&hovawart]

When I lived in NJ,I would go to Verona Park,Mill's Reservation,South Orange Reservation,Eagle Rock and Ramapo.I loved these places and misse them,dearly.
In Fl,I go to Silver Palm Park that is in bet.my kids' school and my house,Quiet Water andLogger's Run.If you know,any large reservations with water that allow dogs off leash,please tell me or any beaches near Boca-Raton,FL.Thanks for your help.Laurie

[OwnedBySal]

I don't think that it's an offleash park, but while we were in Raleigh, North Carolina, this summer we went to Sertelma Park/Shelley Lake and were really impressed. There were miles of hiking trails and a beautiful lake, it was gorgeous and Sally really enjoyed it.

In Toronto, my favourite dog park is High Park. It is definitely one of the most popular dog parks and I think that it's just great. :)

[sheplovr]

We have NO dog parks nor dog clubs in small Kittanning, Pa., so I am so thankful for our 5 acreas for them to run freely on and they tire out even working lines from Germany, they do sleep all night. Gino is my shadow my breed male sleeps and hold his bladder and BM;s all night till I get up next day. He is such a great male. All my dogs are.:D

[Sabledog]

we just had one open right down the street from me called the Bark Park in santa rosa beach florida, its kind of weird though that they would open a dog park before making a park for children, my kids have no playgrounds around here and i feel like they are missing out.

[OwnedBySal]

Oh, that reminds me of another great dog park that I've seen. There's a really good one called 'Fort Desoto Dog Park' in Fort Desoto, a beach stretch in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's absolutely beautiful there. :)

[vagreys]

Ruff House Dog Park, in Rockwood Park, Chesterfield County
Huguenot Road
Richmond VA (USA)


Barker Field, in Byrd Park
Boulevard
Richmond VA (USA)

[onedog]

We have one designated "dog park" here - North Eastern NSW in Australia - it is an off leash park of 5 acres (about 2 hectares) and it is for dogs.

You have to take a "poop" bag as you enter and also be prepared to leash your dog if it is aggressive to other dogs and other dogs enter the park.

For the most part, I have found that if I go during the week, mid morning, I only share the park with other small dogs who's "people" are dog lovers and are prepared to approach with care and caution.

We also have a few beaches where you may allow your dog off leash - one beach is 8 k long, so unless you have your dog trained really well to recall, you have a whole lot of distance to walk to re-claim your dog.

This is a coastal town of about 65000 people, and I think that about half of them have a dog in their yard. Quite a few apartments, but no-one is ever allowed to have a dog (or a cat for that matter) in an apartment (we call them flats).

My current dog is a puppy - a Border Collie x.

She is just 5 months old and comes when called every time - she knows that I am the food source!

Long post - sorry.

.

[Choco]

Chicago - west side. got one in Wicker Park, one in West Town... took my puppy once already and its perfect!!

theyre starting to add more of these in certain neighborhoods - fenced in with a double door bay that you can lock and take the leash off in. then its free playtime inside. BEST place to get a dog socialized with other people and their dogs. they all get to play together.

Oh, and for all you single people - FORGET ABOUT IT


:cool:

[Dave A]

I go a lot to Newmillerdam in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Its not the largest place in the world but is good for a couple of hours exerxcise.

Its a lake/dam with lots of established footpaths around it, but the surrounding area is village one side and 3 sides woods/forest and fields beyond.

I tend to take Max to the wood/forrest area and he likes to run round , between trees etc till he's k****ered from that and cahsing squirrels. Also, its a popular spot for dog owners and walkeers so if youve a sociable dog, then its ideal!

[kw_5kids]

My yard is like my own private dog park, 1 1/4 acres. I live in a wooded area w/pleanty of creeks, river and lakes around me ....oh & can't forget the mountain in my back yrd LOL. I often have the neighbourhood dogs come by when they know I'm out tossing the ball for my Riley and Shelby ;o)

[alibob238]

since we live in england as well, we have no dog parks round here either. I have a public park just around the corner from me, and since Sparky isn't trained enough to be allowed off lead yet it's fine for us. But, it would be great to have something like that near us to go to when she is. Doubt we will ever get one though!!!!!!!!!

[spiffxthexcajun]

Basically the entire state of Wisconsin is a giant dog park. We have so many walking/atving/snowmobiling/horse trails (over 500 miles I believe) that you can walk/run your dog across the whole state basically. Anyway, here in the Milwaukee area they just openned another state dog park called 'RunWay Dog Park' that's just across from the airport landing strips. Its kinda fun to watch the planes land, have lunch, and let the dog run all at once ^.^ There's even a large fenced in area within the park for small dogs and puppies. I know we have another one a little north of us, but it's not completely fenced in, and is generally over crowed, unlike the runway one.

[Doglover24-7]

I don't really have a favourite park sorry.:) I dont have a favourite because theres none around where i live.

[kinko]

Pastorius Park, Philadelphia, PA.
Great park, trees, pond. no fence, though. lots of doggies!!

[eilenej1]

Max is too young still to go to our dog park: http://www.stldogparks.org/pages/open_quail_ridge.html. He'll get to check it out in another couple of weeks.

But my whole neighborhood is like a park. We live in the country in a sub-division about a mile from the main road. Our road is in the back and is a cul-de-sac with very little traffic. We all have 3 to 6 acres of land each with several empty lots still. Me and my neighbor let our dogs romp in the yard off leash when we're out with them. She also has a nice fenced in section of her back yard we have them play in.

[HoundDawg]

Merry Moore Dog Park in WA! Definetly! Lakes, pools, trails, lots of dogs...everything is so great there....

[KatzNK9]

There is only one in our state (2 hours away). I'm considering going on a mission to get one started in my area. Nuttin like fightin' City Hall but there's a first time for everything. I'm envious of all these great sounding places.

[devonjules]

we have a small dog friendly park just opposite our house here in Dawlish, Devon, great place to meet all the local dogs. But best of all is the beach, ten minutes walk away. And of course, then there's Dartmoor. Doggie heaven...

[Chloe and A]

Does anyone know of any dog park in south jersey or near philadelphia? I've been trying to find one for months without any luck.

[KatzNK9]

Does anyone know of any dog park in south jersey or near philadelphia? I've been trying to find one for months without any luck.

I grew up about 25 miles NW of Phila ... my old stomping grounds ...

Dog Parks USA
http://animal.discovery.com/features/dogpark/map/map.html

Parks in NJ
http://animal.discovery.com/features/dogpark/map/states/NJ.html
printer friendly link:
http://animal.discovery.com/features/dogpark/map/states/NJ_print.html

Parks in PA:
http://animal.discovery.com/features/dogpark/map/states/PA.html
printer friendly link:
http://animal.discovery.com/features/dogpark/map/states/PA_print.html

[cookiemama]

We have lots of good places to walk in and around Manchester UK.
We have park areas for letting dogs of the lead, unfortunatley or not as the case may be Manchester City Council is looking to ban dogs off the lead in certain parks and dog areas in Manchester.
Bieng a dog owner (of course) I would think that sometimes it is a good thing dogs are on leads, most parks we have been to do have "dog" areas, they arent usually fenced off which means if the owner doesnt have good control over the dog they can run off into other areas of the park.
Some owners also dont pick up after thier dog has done thier business (not nice)
We have also noticed here in Manchester the growing number of young lads with staffs wondering around the streets, these lads are often not responsible with thier dogs and can sometimes use them to threaten/scare people.
We dont relly know what to make of it really.
It's a shame to go for a walk somewhere really beautiful with the pooch, only to be avoideing piles of dog poo left behind by irresponsible owners, we always take poo bags and pick up. Mind you having said that, poo bins are not always provided so you end up carrying hot parcels around and home in the car until we can bin it at home!
Enough said!!!

[brittanyasands]

now of any in maryland?

[brittanyasands]

never mind i just found some...

check these out. top ten.

http://www.helpinganimals.com/travel_feat_dogparks.asp

[Chloe and A]

Thanks so much for the links Katz!:D

[dogluver4]

Actually in San Antonio, they are "creating" a doggie park...most of it is done, I think they're just doing some last mintue things so it. Planting trees, putting up sidewalks, ect.:)

I'm really impressed and excited, both Basil and I.

[Shankly]

Cheshire UK
We walk in Sankey Valley Park which is part of the Trans Pennine Trail, has a canal, woods and lots of open areas to run, Delamere Forest and Pennington Flash which has a huge lake to walk around (Shankly tends to swim some of it!

We also drive to to Southport Beach for the sand dunes or Towyn in North Wales

[Maggie]

UK - London - Greenwich.
In Southeast London we have an county called Greenwich, and it has the famous royal park - Greenwich park. This park is huge and hundreds (most probably a lot more) of people walk their dogs there. There's tons of hills and plenty of space for a dog to run. Many allow their dogs off the lead and it's one place I'll be taking my dog as often as possible. :D

[Maplemead]

We live in Cornwall UK and so are not far away from the beach and luckily the dogs are allowed there all the year around

[Ceph]

Haha, we live in the urbs of Washington DC and there arent any reall close dog parks to where I live....but we have Norwood Park - its just the local big park where all the people with high energy dogs meet early in the morning and let our dogs play off leash...They have their pack so they dont stray to far normally.

occasionally the neighbors call the cops...who usually say they will show up and dont....we have a large K9 community and with their dogs I think they understand. :rolleyes:

[The Muttlies]

My top three favorites for Florida;
Fort De Soto (Offleash dog beach & offleash fenced park)
Crystal Beach (Offleash dog beach)
Honeymoon Island, Dunedin (Onleash dog beach)

[mmk]

Cleary Lake Regional Park - It is an off leash doggie park, fenced, 28acres in MN

[cassiesmom]

Chicago:
Wiggly Field, 2645 N. Sheffield, Chicago (at Noethling Playlot Park)
Puptown, 4921 N. Marine Drive, Chicago (at Margate Field)
Grant Park Bark Park, 337 E. Randolph, Chicago
Wiggly Field is very popular and has a reputation as a good place for single dog people to meet. These have fees attached.

Mayslake Dog Park, Oak Brook (south of 31st Street, west of Illinois 83 off of St. Paschal's Drive) - you need a Forest Preserve District of DuPage County off-leash dog permit for this one. I used to work right near there, used to bring my lunch, sit in my car in the parking lot and watch the dogs play.

[Digitster]

Andover UK, Andover is a fairly small market town but well located if you drive, i am only 40 mins from The New Forest and beaches and right on my door step we have 3 lakes where i can walk Tyler and Harewood Forest which on any day is great, the thing i love most about it is you can not hear a single car for miles lol

the two pics are of Harewood Forest walk

[lulabel]

We live pretty close to Hampstead Heath in London. So that's are favourite local. Weekends we tend to head out and go different spots - Sussex coast, Windsor Park, Selby Forest.

[Lola the Puli]

We have quite a few parks near our home in north London, and also Lola is good on tubes and buses so often take her to hampstead heath or other bigger parks or woods in the surrounding area. Only a puppy at the moment but looking forward to long walks in the future.

[brittanyasands]

i also found a really nice place.

i have been there a few times. my sister lives in harrogate, north yorkshie.

http://www.harewood.org/access.shtml

the harewood house. loads of trails, food, people, room to run, a really nice place.

[AbbiePritchard]

you lucky people;) to have such wonderful places to take the dogs sounds lovely.

I agree , we dont have specific dog parks :(

[freddypom]

Our favourite walk is Heaton Park in Manchester. Lots of different terrain and a stream running through it for thirsty dogs. It's ideal for dog spotting too: we saw a Cirneco dell'Etna (Sicilian Greyhound) there.

Another park nearby is Clowes Park in Salford. It has a large duckpond there. Unfortunately, it also has mud, which my two love.

[Wandle]

We're very lucky in the UK in that nearly all parks allow dogs off leash. I live in South West London and Wimbledon Common, where I walk my spaniel, is 1,100 acres of woodland and open grassy areas. We park in the car park and from then on he's off lead, and loving every moment of it. There are several ponds for him to swim in and it's excellent for socialisation, as he mets so many others dogs, not to mention children, horses (people ride there every day from a riding school), golfers, joggers, cyclists. It's like the most perfect training ground. After the walk we have a cappuccino in the cafe by the windmill, where you can sit outside at tables with your dog. Bliss for him and me.
The problem with the US-style dog parks, I imagine, is that your dog only meets other dogs rather than a whole slice of life.

[Dusty]

lIKE YOU .. I HAVE LOTS OF GOOD WALKING AREA FOR THE DOG LITERALLY OUTSIDE THE HOUSE. I THINK WE ARE LUCKY OVER HERE TO HAVE SO MUCH COUNTRYSIDE TO USE. DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD ENJOY HAVING TO GO SOMEWHERE SPECIFIC TO WALK THE DOG... ALTHOUGH I GUESS YOU WOULD ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK TO, AND THE DOGS WOULD BE ABLE TO MEET AND PLAY TOGETHER.

[molliesmum]

Our favourite walk is Heaton Park in Manchester. Lots of different terrain and a stream running through it for thirsty dogs. It's ideal for dog spotting too: we saw a Cirneco dell'Etna (Sicilian Greyhound) there.

I love Heaton Park. We go there with Molly sometimes. Not far from our house.

Alkrington woods, Middleton, Manchester.

Daisy Nook Country Park, Oldham, Gr. Manchester.

[Hazen 'n Mike]

Alice's Dog Park
Pasadena, CA

They have two sections, small breeds and large breeds. It is fairly new so the trees are small, but they added canopies and cement benches and slabs for chairs. They have two poop bag / disposal bins (in the small dog part-not sure in the larger area). They have a double gate- 3 gates have to open to get in and out- to keep the risk down of your dog escaping.

[esp1975]

There are a number of off leash parks in the Seattle area.
http://www.coladog.org/ Citizens for Off Leash Areas
http://www.soda.org/directions.html Serve Our Dog Areas

We used to go to Sand Point/Magnusun (COLA), where they had a small off leash beach as well as trails and a giant dirt lot. The only problem there was that there was a baseball field that you had to go through the dog park to get to, and due to careless/uncaring people, the gates were sometimes left open or damaged enough that Moree could get through them and "escape".

Since we moved, we go to Grandview park (SODA). We were nervous at first because Grandview has no gates. Most of the park is fenced, but the entrances and one side (wooded hills) are not. It actually works better for us, though, because Moree's escape instinct never kicks in and his recall remains good. Grandview is huge (37 acres), with both an upper and lower area, including a covered spot with picnic tables where both dogs and people can get out of the sun.

[lynnie]

Hi,

Here in the UK we don't have parks with such titles. Does it mean parks specifically just for dogs, or public parks that dogs are allowed in?

If its the latter, then all public parks here would qualify, only kiddies play areas etc are (rightly) out of bounds to dogs.

We live in a small village, our international friends may get some idea if I say its about half-way between London & Oxford. We don't have any local parks as such, but the village has 3 large 'commons' where the dogs can run free, (real close to the three 'pubs';-), & of course we have the lovely Chiltern Hills & woods, with dozens of footpaths, a step or three from our front door, so they don't do so bad!!!

We live not far from dover, and although we dont have any dog parks theres lots of walks you can take your dog on saftly, deal in kent you have the sea on one side and a golf course on the other, Dover Cliffs are great (not all the paths are on the edge) you can walk for miles, still looking for new areas as we havent been here for long

[Hazen 'n Mike]

Alice's Dog Park - Pasadena, CA

Upon arriving at the park, you will notice the large signs describing the rules:
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01606.jpg
Which are posted on both sides of the fence (in & out).

Two safety pens, upon entering/exiting is something most people take for granted- other parks do not utilize this system, and increases the chance someones pup may escape- and easier escape for those trying to leave in a hurry with your pup- I am very happy for this system- the second pen upon entering is where folks should unleash their dogs before entering the park.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01597.jpg
Just inside the gates, are trash bins and a doggy poop bag dispenser and waste bin.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01605.jpg

In the middle-ish area of the park is a dual bench and canopy set up.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01601.jpg

The small dog area is a decent sized compared to most fenced dog parks in SoCal- here are a few shots from the furthest point from the entrance:
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01587.jpg

Of which there is another poop bag dispenser and waste bin- so you don't have to walk all the way across to the other side:
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01589.jpg

There is a water bowl system, surrounded by rock in order to reduce mud-
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01592.jpg

And there is even a tube tunnel if your dog is interested- which I have yet to see any dog interested with so many other dogs to play with :P
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01593.jpg

Over to the side there is a concrete pad and canopy- it is on the line between the two sides (large and small dog)
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01599.jpg

And there is a bit of a hill to the landscape-
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q141/EMTrue1974/Dog%20Park%20Photos/DSC01600.jpg

[caitlin01]

I go to roundhay park its got lots of fields, plus it's great fun for all the family even the dog(s).All the fields are giantic.Max (my dog) loves it he chases my puppy and all sorts.By the way i'm talking about the one in Leeds,West Yorkshire.:D

[k9max]

nothing like dog parks here but lots of green areas and woodlands that dogs can be off lead in.

my favourites are epping forest and hainault woods although bith are about 40 min drive but also have some good spaces near home to roam in.:)