Where in the U.S. can you find the most pooch-friendly green spaces?
LawnStarter sniffed out 2023’s Best Dog Park Cities to mark July as National Lost Pet Prevention Month (in case Rover runs away from the pack — or the park).
We compared 98 of the biggest U.S. cities based on Access, Quality, and Climate. More specifically, we factored in the number of dog parks per 100,000 two-legged residents, visitor ratings, and historical weather data, among eight total metrics.
See the 10 dog park cities that are up to snuff — and the 10 on a tight leash — below, followed by key stats from our report. Best Dog Park CitiesRankCity1Boise, ID2San Francisco, CA3Henderson, NV4Tampa, FL5Arlington, VA6New York, NY7Sacramento, CA8Las Vegas, NV9Portland, OR10Norfolk, VAWorst Dog Park CitiesRankCity1Garland, TX2Cleveland, OH3New Orleans, LA4Laredo, TX5Columbus, OH6Kansas City, MO7Arlington, TX8Santa Clarita, CA9Newark, NJ10Irving, TXKey Insights:
Barking Up the Right Tree: Aptly nicknamed the City of Trees, Boise, Idaho, asserted its dominance as our top dog park city with the best access to pooch-friendly green space. Boise earned over 10 points more than San Francisco, our 2022 gold medalist.
Lost Angeles: The City of Angels (29th worst overall) has the 3rd-fewest dog parks per 100,000 two-legged residents. This outcome is a shocker, considering an estimated over 550,000 LA households own at least one dog — and single LA residents are known to be pup magnets.
Pupproved Parks: Toledo, Ohio (No. 42), boasts the highest average consumer rating, 4.75 out of 5 dog bones, across all of its dog parks. Corpus Christi, Texas (No. 52), and Buffalo, New York (No. 63), tied for the 2nd-highest rating, 4.67.
The Biggest — and Coldest — Little City in the World: Not all desert cities are sweltering. Reno, Nevada (No. 24 overall), registered the 3rd-highest historical average number of very cold days — even more than the Twin Cities, which are notorious for below-zero winter temperatures.
No Vitamin D for Dog Owners: Pittsburgh (No. 53 overall) receives the least average amount of monthly sunshine, 42%. That’s less than in Anchorage, Alaska (No. 74), which gets more sunlight than anywhere else in the U.S. — between mid-March and late September. It’s dark the rest of the time, placing Anchorage 2nd among the cities with the least sun.
Quantity Over Quality: Laredo, Texas, placed 4th-worst overall, no thanks to its unfetching dog parks (2nd-worst in Quality) despite the 18th-best Access rank.
