South Jersey’s Top Five Places To Walk Your Dog…Number Four – The Best Dog Parks

Where are the best places in our part of South Jersey to walk your dog?  Every dog owner has looked for  new and different spots to get your doggy, and yourself, some exercise.  The daily walk around the neighborhood gets boring for both of you after awhile, and when you have the chance to explore something new, it’s handy to have some ideas of where to go. But if you do an internet search for “good places for dog walk in New Jersey”, you’ll get pages of information and ideas for wonderful spots to ...walk ‘ol Rover, and almost…all of it will be for central and northern New Jersey.

As the owner of a ten-month old puppy (or,  is she really the one in charge?), I’ve wondered about this myself. It seemed like a good idea to try to compile five excellent places in Atlantic and Cape May Counties,  well within driving distance,  for you to try out when the opportunity presents itself.

This is not to say these are the only great places locally to walk your dog.  You may know of one in your town that’s not included.  If so, feel free to list it in the comments section below, along with any observations or experiences you’ve had walking your dog at any of my top five places.

Most, but not all, of the spots on the list require on-leash walking and some are only available seasonally.  Most are free, but some charge and insist on pet registration.  I’ll try to make that clear with each of the five listings.   Every place on the list has particular rules and regulations concerning walking your dog, and you should make yourself familiar with them before using any of the places for doggy exercise!

So, here they are….”Eddie’s Top Five Places to walk your dog in South Jersey”…..

Number four: a tie... Ocean City Dog Park, 45th & Haven Ave (8.a.m to dusk )and Cape May City Dog Park, Lafayette Street near the corner of Broad (609) 884-9525(Registration fee)

I've become a big advocate of dog parks since Sheba came in to our lives back  in September. At the time,  she was a four-month old puppy who had never had any socialization with other dogs. My local dog park in Margate worked wonders in making her more social.  I had never taken a dog to a dog park before, and I was really impressed with the benefits.

The two dog parks listed in a tie because they were the only two such parks I could suggest in the area.  Both offer separate areas for different sized dogs, double door entrances for easier leashing and unleashing, and plenty of room to run.   I  haven't included the Margate Dog Park here because they strictly enforce that the park be used city residents only.

Cape May City's Dog Park and the Cape May County Dog Park in Ocean City are  both open to anyone who registers,  and are not limited to residents of that particular city.  Both require various forms of  registration (by the week, season, or yearly, non-resident) and have a number of common sense rules you must follow to get along.

These dog parks are a wonderful place to tire a dog out in the best possible way...running with other dogs!  They are also friendly meeting places for the owners and fellow dog lovers.

Efforts have been underway for some time to bring a dog park to Egg Harbor Township, and those local dog owners remain hopeful something will be settled soon.  Every South Jersey town should have a dog park!  They're a wonderful asset for every dog and dog lover in town.

Please leave any comments below about dog parks or any good places to walk a dog in South Jersey.  Check back tomorrow for my Number Three Best Place to Walk a Dog!