5 Best Dog Parks in Seattle, WA

Seattle is fast becoming one of the dog-friendliest cities in the U.S. With 14 off-leash parks and plans to build new ones, the city offers many choices for dog-lovers and their fur babies! Seattle is also home to pawsome on-leash trails like the Montlake Cut National Waterside Trail, and pooch-friendly restaurants and bars. The Barking Dog Alehouse and the Ballard Kiss Cafe are just a couple of the places where you and Fido can find dog-licious food and drink.

Dog-friendly parks abound in Seattle. Spread out over several neighborhoods, it seems like there’s one around every corner! Most feature water or cityscape views, forest, and flowers to look at. Here are five of the best Seattle doggy playgrounds!

Neighborhood: Sand Point

Located in the northeast corner of Warren G. Magnuson Park, this puppy paradise has everything a doggo and their human could want. Small and shy dogs can romp with other lightweights in their own yard if they choose. This furbulous dog park also has access to a beach on Lake Washington dotted with rocks that show off pupsters’ climbing skills. The off-leash park is fully fenced except on the water side, where puppers can have a furtastic time swimming and cavorting in the lake.

Grass and compacted gravel provide a paw-protective surface and limits mud. The gravel also paves the winding fenced-in trail where pups and parents can find a change of scenery, or join a pup "parade" complete with happy barks!

The Warren G. Magnuson Park Off-Leash Area is the biggest fenced-in backyard in Seattle! Boasting 8.6 acres, the doggy playground is just the place for fur babies to socialize with humans and other dogs while burning off some excess energy!

Neighborhood: Queen Anne

Whoever said "great things come in small packages" could have been talking about Kinnear Park Dog Park. This play space provides a calm oasis. Located on the lower tier of two-tiered Kinnear Park, it abuts a steep hill covered with large native trees and shrubs. Shade trees encircle the perimeter and a quaint wooden fence reinforced with wire adds a homey appeal and pooch safety. While this doggie playground might frustrate a speedy greyhound, it offers plenty of room for canine rolling, wrestling, and exploring. Large rocks and logs are strategically placed throughout the play area and make fur-rific places for pups to catch their breath. 

If your fur baby still has some energy left after a romp with his pals, the way back up the steep hill to the entrance will probably squeeze the excess out of them. The views from the top will be worth it, but the dog park doesn’t provide water, so pet parents should remember to bring some for their thirsty pup. For a barking good time, Kinnear Park Dog Park can’t be beat!

Neighborhood: Columbia City

The Genesee Dog Park is a medium-sized canine playground within the bigger Genesee Park and Playfields. The dog park’s location in a quiet neighborhood makes going there a pleasure for pet parents and puppers alike! With a two-and-a-half-acre field with grass, gravel and dirt areas, dogs may sometimes come away with grimy paws unless they limit their cavorting to the one-acre gravel area in the middle. A clump of trees brings welcome shade on sunny days, and the waist-high fence encloses the play area entirely. If you have a jumping expert, though, keep an eye on them in case they try to explore outside the fence!

Sporting two double-gated entrances, waste bags, trash cans, a small dog section, and even a doggie drinking fountain, this pupperdise seems to have it all! But even with all the amenities, the biggest attraction at the Genesee Dog Park is the open expanse that allows pooches to run full speed, fetch balls, and sniff out news of everyone who’s ever set foot there. Whether your dog wants to run with the pack or stay close to their human, Genesee Dog Park is a furtastic place!

Neighborhood: Haller Lake

Located within North Acres Park, the fully fenced North Acres Dog Park offers a small open play yard for pooches to wrestle and chase, and also several fenced paths where you can explore with your pup while they sniff out critters. A wood chip surface reduces potentially muddy and slippery conditions after a rain and provides traction. 

While the small common area limits games of fetch, the park does offer ample trees and logs for your pup’s workout and lots of shaded benches for pet parents to relax on. Wrestling and exploring can make Fido thirsty, but water’s available from a convenient spout, just bring a bowl! For people who want to stay current on dog park rules and news, the kiosk inside the puppy paradise is the place to look. Small and large doggies mingle in this park, so be sure yours is up to the challenge. For a change of pace, bring your woofer to North Acres Dog Park for a barking good time!

Neighborhoods: West Seattle, White Center

Westcrest Dog Park on the edge of Westcrest Park covers 8.4 acres of doggy heaven! It’s second only to Magnuson Dog Park in size and the park’s vast open space gives pooches a ton of freedom to roam and run. This furtastic park features doggy and human water fountains, fenced paths through the woods, and many shade trees. People can watch their puppers cavort while sitting comfortably on benches and chairs. 

Seattle’s ongoing improvements for this park include five-foot fencing, a parking lot, lighting and shelters to get out of the sun or rain. A separate section is reserved especially for small or shy dogs who would rather not run with the bigger, more physical pups. Doggos’ parents can leave their cars in a parking lot about 150 yards away from the dog park, and leashes must stay on for the walk to the dog park gate. While there are no posted rules, good petiquette and polite manners are expected. This off-leash area away from busy downtown is the paw-rfect place to help Fido release their zoomies!

Good manners and park etiquette are the foundation for a great time for doggos and humans in Seattle’s off-leash areas. These include:

• Fido’s leash must be on anytime they’re outside the dog park fence

• As a pet parent, your responsibility is to promptly clean up after them 

• Access requires dogs be at least four months old, vaccinated and licensed, and is not a female in heat
  

• Stay with your dog and remain close enough to reach them quickly in case of emergency or behavior problems

• And always practice polite petiquette to ensure everyone has a barking good time!

Exploring new parks is always fun with your pup, but sometimes, accidents or injuries can occur. Compare pet health insurance plans today to keep your fur-child protected for all your outdoor adventures!