REVIEW: Have You Been To This Area’s Off-Leash Dog Park?

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by Jim Branson

Have you been to this area’s’s off-leash dog park?

Grandview Park is Disneyland for Dogs, the happiest place on earth, according to my dogs.  My youngest will start yipping with joy as soon as we turn off of I-5 at the 200th Street exit.  Although this park is actually in Sea-Tac, it’s only ten minutes away from the middle of Burien, and it is supported, in part, by Burien tax dollars.

We have been going to this park ever since it opened in 2003.  It’s a great place to visit on a sunny spring day, but it’s even better, from a Labrador Retriever’s perspective, when we’ve had two inches of rain, or when it has a blanket of snow.  Actually, there’s never a bad time to visit the dog park.

With 37 acres to roam, you can spread out and find your own space, or you can congregate at the main play field to let your dogs socialize.  To the north of the main dog areas, you’ll find a healthy forest with native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.  The park is maintained, in part, by volunteers from SODA, Serve Our Dog Areas.

Currently, the grass is higher than a dog’s eye.  It’s kind of fun to play in, but one of my dogs came home with a tick, which must have been lurking in that tall grass, waiting for a tasty dog to trot by.  I’m sure they will be cutting the grass soon.  It’s hard to find a ball when it goes into that deep grass, and the mower will probably be spitting out shards of tennis balls on mowing day.

My youngest dog always finds a mud hole to wallow in, but you can keep your dogs clean if you steer them away from the low spots.  I have found that a muddy dog is a happy dog, and I can always give them baths when we get home.

PROS:

• Large open space with good gravel surfaces and plenty of grass.
• Great view of Mt. Rainier, most days.
• Friendly, happy dogs.
• A nice trail through the forest to the north.
• Bathrooms, bag dispensers, and drinking water.
• It provides a place for Burien’s dogs to play off-leash, instead of our local parks, which aren’t designed for dogs to safely run off-leash.

CONS:

• DO NOT leave valuables in your car.  Many cars have been broken into.
• Dog walking services sometimes come with dozens of dogs at a time, and they can’t always keep track of all the messes they should be cleaning up.
• It’s not actually in Burien.
• It is not 100% fenced, so people with dogs at risk of running off should choose a fully-fenced dog park, such as Westcrest, Genesee, or Magnuson.

Here’s a photo slideshow of my dogs in action at Grandview Park:

Click to View Slideshow

Grandview Park is located in SeaTac:

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