5 Santa Fe Dog Parks for a Fun Time | SantaFe.com
Santa Fe has several dog parks. This dog is looking towards a sign for Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park.

If you’re wondering if Santa Fe has dog parks where you can take your four-legged friend for a fun time, you’re in luck. Santa Fe has quite a few options to explore, from the huge and immensely popular Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park to pocket-park-sized areas. Some Santa Fe neighborhoods have more dog-friendly options than others, but the city is compact enough that everyone can find a place to play.

You’ll find some basic rules apply at about every dog park, including ensuring your dog is at least four months old and caught up on vaccinations, that unneutered males or females in heat are not allowed, you must monitor your dog’s behavior, and (it should go without saying, but . . .) you need to clean up after your pet.

Let’s review some of the more popular places to take your dog for a good time in Santa Fe.

 

Fort Marcy Dog Park

490 Bishops Lodge Road

This park offers two fenced areas, one for petite pups and another for the big guys. The surface is wood chips, which makes it easy on the paws. The Fort Marcy Complex has 30 acres with tennis courts, play equipment grills, restrooms, and an indoor fitness center and pool for when you go for some exercise without your four-legged workout buddy.

 

Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park

160 Camino de Las Crucitas

People and dogs at Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park.
There’s plenty of room to roam with your four-legged friend at Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park in Santa Fe. Photo by McCall Sides.

This is the “big dog” of Santa Fe dog parks! If you have dogs that really like to explore, this unfenced park has 138 acres of trails and desert for their sniffing and running pleasure. The park offers a shaded area with a table for those looking for a rest, but you may be too busy tracking your dog’s adventures to relax! There are 13 benches around the park and three dog water stations.

This park is so big (the largest of its kind in the country) and so popular it has its own 501(c)(3) organization that supports enhancements like the shade structure and benches and organizes park cleanup days (with donuts and coffee!). They hope to create a fenced small-dog area and are accepting donations to help match a donation that started the project rolling.

Love the park? You can support it by volunteering or even purchasing a piece of art donated by area artist John Alsip. His pieces are created from objects found at the park. Learn more at the Dog Park Project’s website.

 

Salvador Perez Dog Park

Dog with a blue ball and man at dog park.
Playing at a dog park is fun for dogs and their people.

601 Alta Vista

You may know this park as “the train park” since there’s a display featuring a vintage Santa Fe Railroad locomotive in the more than 16-acre park. Dogs have their own play area near the pool and McGee Memorial Chapel.

 

Santa Fe Humane Society Dog Park

100 Caja del Rio, near Tom Aragon Softball Complex

It makes sense that a humane society that works hard all year to help pets in need would also provide a place for dogs and their people to play. On the shelter’s 100 acres, you can find a fenced seven-acre community dog park for dogs that play well with others. For dogs that need to burn off energy but are better off alone, the park even has three small dog parks to be used by one dog at a time.

Owners of small dogs will be happy to find Samantha’s Park of Small Dogs across the entrance drive from the large park. This area is for dogs smaller than 30 pounds or weak/impaired dogs of any size. Of course, if you are looking for a new canine companion, the shelter has plenty of dogs waiting to be adopted.

 

Villa Linda Dog Park

Wagon Wheel Road

This small half-acre off-leash dog park is conveniently located near Santa Fe Place Mall. It is next to Villa Linda Park, which encompasses more than 11 acres and offers picnic tables, play equipment, and a multi-purpose field.

Dog at dog park in Santa Fe.
A dog enjoying the wide open spaces at Frank S. Ortiz Dog Park in Santa Fe. Photo by McCall Sides.

Learn more about Santa Fe dog parks here. Find out about more fun in Santa Fe here.

Story by Cheryl Fallstead

 

Sponsored by:

VISIT WEBSITE

CONTACT RICKY, CATHY, AND TARA

RICKY: 505-470-8233  |  
CATHY: 505-500-2729  |  
TARA: 505-660-1734 | 

 

This article was posted by Cheryl Fallstead

Please Share!

Heating It Up | Las Cosas Kitchen Shoppe & Cooking School | So Many Things to Love
Exterior of Las Cosas Kitchen Shoppe in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Karen Walker loves to bake and whip up desserts. Husband and retired oil executive Mike Walker always dreamed of owning a hardware store. Looking for a business to purchase when the pair decided to move to Santa Fe in the late 1990s, what could have been a finer match than a small kitchenware shop called Las Cosas? They immediately started putting their own stamp on it, relocating it from a sleepy end of DeVargas Center to the north side mall’s … Read More

Santa Fe Renaissance Faire

Every year in September the museum grounds at El Rancho de las Golondrinas are transformed into the Kingdom of Golondrinas, where the arts and revelry are the order of the day. New Mexico’s premiere Renaissance Faire invites you to experience all the fun and excitement of ages past, in a safe and family-friendly environment where you can eat delicious foods, dance to medieval music, and buy unique arts and crafts. Like a budget-friendly medieval theme park, the Renaissance Faire offers … Read More

Santa Fe Opera 2023 Season
Santa Fe Opera

Santa Fe Opera General Director Robert K. Meya announced today the repertory and casting for the company’s 2023 Season and revealed its 19th world premiere slated for 2024. Opening the opera’s 66th Festival Season will be Puccini’s Tosca and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, followed by Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Dvořák’s Rusalka, and Monteverdi’s Orfeo with a world premiere orchestration by American composer Nico Muhly. In 2024, the company has commissioned a new opera by two of America’s most exciting talents, composer Gregory Spears and former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith titled The Righteous, which … Read More

Featured Things To Do