Amanda Yang

Our dogs loved it here! So many interesting smells, fun spots to splash in the water, and the trail itself is awesome for them - many different textures (rocks, sand, dirt, etc) and hills & bends to trek through. They were thoroughly happy and tired after an hour of sniffing and exploring! We missed the turn for the first parking lot and ended up at a different lot than we had planned so definitely keep your eyes peeled for the entrance.

Also - if you’re bringing your dogs, there weren’t any pet waste stations or trash bins along the trail that we were on (to the falls) so we ended up carrying their waste bags with us the entire time.

This is such a fun and unique space! Our dogs love it and are so tired after exploring. It looked like there were 2 different parking lots - we parked in the one by the playground and closer to old town Alexandria. There’s always been plenty of parking when we’ve visited! There is a small building with public restrooms in the middle of the area under the bridge. Water fountains for humans and dogs. Basketball courts. We’ve even seen people grill out and have picnics! The lighthouse is also super cute and fun to visit.

By far one of my favorite parks in Northern Virginia! It is cleaner than most Nova parks and the shelters for bbqs and gatherings are SO much nicer than any other parks in the area! Our dogs love hanging out here and exploring the trails :)

This park is fantastic and owners are usually very attentive. My dog has had some encounters with a couple of dogs that should not be at dog parks (toy aggressive, owner aggressive, resource guarding, etc.) but that is unfortunately the risk we all take when bringing our pups to the park. It is also unfortunate that the owners of these dogs are usually the ones on their phones, oblivious/refuse to acknowledge their dog’s behavior, treating the dog park like it’s a day care center or space to run their dogs unsupervised, etc. Otherwise, we are huge fans and will continue to visit this park! 99.999% of the time we meet wonderful people that care about the community, are there for the dogs, and will throw a ball for all of the pups to chase :)

Other things to note that are awesome about this park:
- there are two areas with running water for your pup
- there are two entrances for the large dog area with trash bins for pet waste
- clean pet waste bags are also usually available
- picnic tables are placed around the “back” end of the park and there are benches in the “front” end for seating
- there are cute, little agility-type areas in both small and large dog parks
- there are plenty of toys/balls (and sticks!)
- huge, beautiful trees provide shade
- walkable paths/trails around the park if your dog needs a break from playing/socializing
- quiet, safe neighborhood

I love that there is a small dog area - but I wish that more toy/small breed owners would use it.

Parking can get tricky during peak hours (and soccer season - there’s a field right next to the park) but we usually don’t have a problem :)