OVERVIEW
In Wine Country’s city of Santa Rosa, home to the Charles M. Schulz Museum (The Peanuts) and world-famous Sonoma County vineyards and wineries resides A Place to Play Community Park. This park is known for its designated off-leash area in a larger neighborhood park. If you’re looking for a pet-friendly place to play at the gateway of Wine Country, you can do the CANGO at A Place to Play Dog Park.
HOW PET-FRIENDLY IS IT?
We visited this park because it was listed as one of the more popular dog parks in the Santa Rosa area, but honestly, I was unimpressed. In fact, we did not even enter the larger area where there were more dogs because we were charged by a dog at the gate and I did not think it would be wise to enter and the owner was busy talking on her phone instead of watching her barking dog. We did take a quick walk around the small dog area which you can view in the video.
A Place to Play does have separate areas for small versus larger dogs which is a common safety measure. Overall it is a generic city park. I would recommend this park, if any of the following applies to you and your dog(s): (1) you like to stand around and watch while your dog plays, (2) you have a puppy that you are socializing and would like a more controlled and confined area (I would suggest starting in the small dog area which is usually more hospitable to seniors and puppies), or (3) you want to give your dog a chance to be outside for enrichment, but they are not very active or do not need a lot of endurance-based exercise.
IS IT CONVENIENT OR A PAIN IN THE —?
Parking was easy and free in a lot. Located in a residential setting, the park probably attracts a lot of neighborhood folk. There were trash cans to dispose of waste and doody bag dispensers in the designated enclosed dog areas.
The overall park was fairly easy to find, but as with many dog parks situated in a larger park, it may take a moment to see the designated dog area.
I found two nearby 24/7 emergency vets: Redwood Veterinary Clinic located just over 3 miles away on Santa Rosa Ave in Santa Rosa and VCA PetCare East Veterinary Hospital located just under 3 miles away on Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa, both just under a 10-minute drive.
*[Please note: We provide the veterinary locations as a reference and resource, not a referral or endorsement].
