The Trust for Public Land Releases U.S. City Rankings for Dog Parks

The Trust for Public Land today released new data on the nation’s dog parks, a rapidly growing segment of city park space. The new report comes in advance of National Puppy Day, this Saturday, March 23.

According to The Trust for Public Land’s 2019 survey, there are now 810 off-leash dog parks in the nation’s 100 largest cities, an increase of 37 parks over 2018. Since 2009, the first year that the survey included dog parks for these cities, their number has increased by 74 percent, or 344 additional dog parks.  

“Dog parks are built for dogs, but are fantastic resources for people,” said Diane Regas, President and CEO of The Trust for Public Land, “As anyone who has chatted with a neighbor while taking their four-legged friend to the dog park knows, community is created there. Having places to meet our neighbors can help us find common ground and encourages everyone to get outside.”

According to the data, the city with the most dog parks is New York, with 145. The Trust for Public Land’s rankings are based in the number of off-leash dog areas per 100,000 people. The top cities for dog parks in 2019 are:

1. Boise, Idaho, with 13 total dog parks, or 5.7 per 100,000 residents.
2. Portland, Oregon, with 35 total dog parks, or 5.4 per 100,000 residents.
3. Henderson, Nevada, with 15 total dog parks, or 5.0 per 100,000 residents.

Other cities in the top 10 include Norfolk, Virginia (4^th place); San Francisco, California, and Tampa, Florida (tied for 5^th place); Las Vegas; Nevada, and Madison, Wisconsin (tied for 7^th place); Oakland, California (9^th place); and Arlington, Virginia (10^th place).

The full rankings of the largest 100 U.S. cities, along with information on how to create a dog park and some examples of successful and unusual dog parks and dog-park features can be found at: www.tpl.org/dogparks

“Dog parks are one of the fastest growing components of parks,” said Charlie McCabe, director of The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence. “People have many questions about ‘the right way’ to build a dog park and want to bring together the correct combination of people and resources. We’re providing this information to serve as a guide, so these dog parks can be a resource to as many people, and dogs, as possible.”

Each year, The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence collects data on the nation’s 100 largest city park systems—numbers displayed in its online ParkScore® rankings. The full ParkScore rankings and data for 2019 will be released on May 22.