Los Gatos Creek Dog Park Reviews

Overall: 5.7 out of 10 This park is a fun and interesting place to bring your pet, if you can get them there and you and your canine companion are hardy enough. Parking is either expensive or far off. The design of the park is second to none. Seating and shade is adequate but not outstanding. The terrain is varied but not maintained well. Water exists but may not be of high quality, and bathrooms are far from the play area. The general environment is noisy and a bit manufactured, but ponds, rivers and murals make up for the unfortunate location.

Parking and Ease of Access: 1 out of 10 The Achilles’ heel of this dog park has to be the difficulty actually getting your dog to it. County regulated admission to the large parking lot is $6.00, but offers ample space for park-goers. This is a steep price to pay for the use of a dog area even for several hours. The automated machine accepts bills, coins, and credit cards. Parking on Dell provides a free alternative to the high price lot fees. This presents its own set of problems, though. The hike to get to the dog park is quite lengthy and can exhaust a small dog before ever setting foot in the play area. Parking on Dell can be both congested and dangerous because heavy traffic flows regularly among the industrial and commercial buildings during business hours. Faded fire lanes and obstructed No Parking signs add to the difficulty of parking here. The main lot is asphalt and must be traversed to reach the play area; on a hot day the pavement may become hot enough to burn the feet of a more sensitive dog. If you are considering visiting this park regularly, a yearly permit is highly recommended. It will save time, money, and energy.

Size and Style: 9 out of 10 The park itself is well designed. Rules and regulations are posted and legible. The main entry leads to a small dog park and a large dog park. Small dog park size restrictions are clearly marked: "18 inches or less at the shoulder."  The parks are elongated and large enough for games of fetch

Seating and Shade: 5 out of 10 Both the Large and Small dog areas supply seating for about 12 people maximum. Each dog area has 3 benches, with 1 per side under a canopy. Despite the canopy, shaded seating is not available all hours of the days. The small dog park is especially sun drenched during the mid-afternoon, and in the summer this is a large discomfort. The large dog park offers extensive shade in the form of a grove of about 12 trees; unfortunately, there are no seats in this area, so you will have to stand. In the small dog park 3 standing trees offer some shade at all times of the day. In the large dog area, aside from the large grove of trees, 4 more trees add shade in the far area of the play space.

Terrain and Layout: 7 out of 10 On either side, paths of crushed gravel and bark chips surround an area of worn grass, which is now mostly dirt. Logs and large rocks enhance the terrain. In the large dog area, some river rocks further vary the play space. On both sides of the park, the plastic matting under the terrain is beginning to show, so if your dog is prone to chewing on plastics or pulling on buried items, you may want to avoid this park altogether. Further, the plastic mesh backing of sod rolls is exposed in several areas and may be a tripping hazard for small overzealous dogs. Few toys are left behind so bring your own if your dog needs a tug toy or ball to be happy.

Water and Bathrooms: 6 out of 10 Water towers that dispense water for you and your pet have been installed in both play areas. The water pressure is good and the water is good, but the drains are clogged and the dog bowls are permanently fixed to the structure. This leaves a pool of appetizing stale and slimy water for you and your dog. There are ample dog bags to clean up after your dog and 2 trash cans per side. The bathrooms for your are a good ways from the park and are of standard public park quality.

General Environment: 4 out of 10 The noise around the park is high because it is only feet from the Camden / Highway 17 interchange. This may frighten skittish dogs too much. The enclosure is made of standard chain link fence and is about 4 feet high. Slats block the view of Camden Avenue for the dogs rather effectively. Tuning out the road noise, the scenery and close environment is rather pleasing. The entrance to the park is near a large percolation pond, and the park itself is only a few paces from a sunken river that flows year round. The back of the park is next to several commercial and industrial buildings, but this is almost made up for by the beautiful mural of dogs on the adjacent cinderblock wall.