Dog Run Review: Washington Square Park
Beautifully Designed Dog Run
Last fall the website Curbed ran a “Best Dog Run in New York” contest. Users of the website voted the run at Washington Square Park number one. I’m not entirely sure I agree that it’s the best I’ve seen (one lady there told me she thought it won because people who use the run packed the voting!) but I will say it is one of the nicer dog runs I’ve visited.

There are actually two separate runs in Washington Square Park: one for large dogs and one for small dogs. Both runs are located on the south side of the park on West Fourth Street near Thompson Street.
Here is a picture of the large dog run.

And here’s a shot of the small dog run.
The runs were renovated a few years ago, so they look and feel new and fresh. The architecture is certainly some of the nicest I’ve seen associated with a dog run.

The large run has two entrances, a fair amount of shade, and plenty of seating for dog owners. There’s a water station at the west side of the run and a water feature on the east side of the park for dogs to play in. I’ve been to the large dog run with Bodhi several times and the people and dogs we encountered there were all very pleasant. My one quibble is that run surface is gravel which can get a little smelly and the dogs can get pretty dirty when it’s dusty.

The run is smack dab in the middle of Greenwich Village, so the walk to and from the park is very pleasant.
The friends of the run have a professional looking website where you can go to donate and volunteer.