OVERVIEW
In Wine Country’s city of Santa Rosa, home to the Charles M. Schulz Museum (The Peanuts) and the world-famous Sonoma County vineyards and wineries, resides Rincon Valley 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 Rincon Valley Community Park.
HOW PET-FRIENDLY IS IT?
We visited this park because it was listed as one of the bigger and more popular dog parks in the Santa Rosa area, but honestly, I was unimpressed. In fact we did not even enter because we were charged by a dog at the gate and I did not think it would be wise to enter when we would have been trapped between the gate and the dog (who may have just been excited to see someone new, it was hard to tell and the owner did not do anything to assist).
It appeared to be under construction on one side so perhaps that is why you entered on area to access the second area where most of the dogs and their people congregated. For the most part it is a generic city park, other than the fact that there was some shade which many municipal dog parks do not offer. I think that without the construction there may be two segregated areas, separating small from large dogs, which I think would be good.
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) your dog will not react to other dogs boxing you in at the gate and is big enough not to get hurt if the barking escalates. Based on our experience, I would not recommend Rincon Valley Community Park to a visitor because it did seem like you would have to work your way into the pack. I also felt like the set up was conducive to fights because of the narrow entrance and the lack of separate areas by size.
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 at various locations in the park.
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 toward the back away from the parking.
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 less than a 10-minute drive away.*[Please note: We provide the veterinary locations as a reference and resource, not a referral or endorsement].
