Address: Winter: 4115 SW Canby St, Portland, OR 97219
                      Summer: 7000-7198 SW 45th Ave, Portland, OR 97219

Fenced: Yes
Size Segregated: No
How many sections: 1
Water: No, though a lot of folks keep up on bringing jugs of water
Size: Medium (Winter)/ Large (Summer)

Note on location: Summer park is right next to the tennis courts off 45th Ave. Winter park is harder to find: from Multnomah Blvd, turn north onto 40th Ave (you’ll pass the Post Office), then left onto Canby St., then you’ll see a parking lot on the right. You can park there, or continue driving past the community garden and there is another small lot right next to the dog park area.

Winter park parking lot by the community garden

Weather/Health Considerations: The winter park holds up surprisingly well to Portland’s rainy winters.

Training/Enrichment Opportunities: There is a lot of open space around the summer park and trails around the winter park. This makes for a great space to practice impulse control and recalls.

General Thoughts: Samuel

I’ve only been to the winter park a couple times. I do appreciate the space (it’s three or four times the size of Wallace Park) but it does tend to have a challenging dog or two in the space at any given time. It works well for Rick and me, as he has the space to disengage with them. Though I wouldn’t recommend the space if your pup is smaller or more timid. The timid pups tend to get a lot of flack from the rowdier guys. Owner involvement is a bit lower here (from what I’ve seen), as folks tend to camp out towards the front of the park, by the table and chairs.

Covered table at winter park

General Thoughts: Rosie

The winter park is sand, and the steep hill generally keeps the messiness down. So, less chance of really dirty pups! I do like the winter park, as it’s big enough for Fiske to chase the ball and isn’t too messy, but it doesn’t offer much interest for dogs who like to sniff around on their own. I agree with Samuel that I regularly see some reactive dogs here, and often a pretty hands-off attitude by owners. The hill also creates a situation where humans are at the top and rarely venture out form there, so if an altercation develops, it’s often a good while before the owners can get there to disrupt it. If your dog is very dog-focused, she might run into some issues with the more intense/reactive pups here.

The paths in the woods nearby are quite pleasant, but are designated on-leash and I have seen park employees enforcing it. The summer park is very large and grassy, again without water but people generally provide jugs of it for use by the community. If your dog is a jumper, the fence on one side of the summer park is only about 4 feet high, so that might not contain your bouncy pup. However, there are a lot of different areas and interesting things to sniff here, so if you have a sniff-and-wanderer like my little guy Bill, it’s a great place for an hour of mental stimulation.

The main winter park area (Fiske and Rick modeling)

Sorry, we don’t have any summer park pictures up here yet!