Union Street Dog Park

My dogs always enjoy coming here and I like that it’s super close to where I stay. Most of the time it’s empty or just a few people and dogs there, which I like. It’s decent sized for being so close to the downtown area. Love that there’s a water fountain for the dogs. Everyone that I’ve met has been super nice and chill which means the dogs are as well :-) Sometimes there are even balls laying around if you forget yours. Same with bags in the dispenser, but I still bring my own. There’s plenty of parking right on the street. It’s also close to Wooster Square in case you want to walk over and sit with your pup (s). The gravel on the ground is a nice change in pace, but I wish something would be done about the end closest to the small dog area instead of it being dirt and patchy grass. Also, it would be nice to have some human seating towards that end. I’m mostly up with my dogs, but if I do want to sit, I’d prefer to sit near where they are at the given time. But overall a wonderful, little park.

LOVE this part. The regular groups in the morning and afternoon are all super friendly. The dogs that Watson has played with were super great all the way from a great dane to a small little hairball thing. Its a great size space for running, lots of area. Benches to sit on, water, trash cans for… well trash. Small amount of parking right in front of the park. Its pretty much awesome

Pathetic. Small, virtually grass less, an embarrassment to the community. Fido deserves better. Much better.

A great place for your pup to socialize — and for you to socialize as well! I fostered dogs in New Haven last year and would bring each new one to the Union Street Park. I met such lovely fellow dog-​owners, and it was a great way to introduce the dogs to friends as well. The place has been worked on so hard by so many committed volunteers — it looks great, is safe and fun for everyone! Enjoy!

Took my newly adopted hound to the park for the first time today (had to celebrate the first day of spring with a bang… err, bark!). Pleasantly surprised by the experience overall… clean/​safe park, free street parking, brand new doggie water fountain and nice dog owners to chat with while there. I think I was more nervous than my dog even though he’s very sociable. He was quiet at first, but also busy sniffing out the entire park (that’s what basset hounds are known for). Once he got acclimated, he was off… running back and forth, greeting the dogs and humans and seemingly sad as they eventually left the park.
I definitely plan to bring him here as much as I can, now that spring is here, it’s only a 5 min. drive from where I live and great exercise/​socialization. Also, it’s a wonderful community of dog owners who frequent the park and volunteer to keep it clean and safe.

Nice clean dog park close to home! My baby loves it so I do too! We were going all the way to Hamden so I’m glad I found this one on Unilocal!Thanks

Review in short: Surprisingly great space in a great location, and parking too!
Review in full: The union street dog park is what I have been looking for for about a year now… I wasn’t aware that a dog park existed so close to the downtown area. I adopted a dog last fall and I would just run her around my apartment’s courtyard. As she has quickly outgrown that space I have struggled to find a place for her. I can’t always drive out of New Haven to take her to Sleeping Giant so I needed a place that I could take her within a stone’s throw. Enter Union Street!
I had actually tried the dog park in Edgewood first and it was an unfortunate experience. That space is poorly kept and, at the time (summer), overrun with mosquitos. Union St., on the other hand, is well maintained and a large area. The space is probably a 40 ft by 300 ft rectangle that is 75% covered in loose pebbles and 25% grass and dirt. There are trees and small platform structures for the dogs to play on. There is also small 40ft by 40ft space that is sectioned off and is ostensibly for smaller dogs although nobody seems to use it. People who come here seem to keep track of their pets but it can get a bit awkward when there are a handful of people and dogs in the mix.
My only complaint is that the crowd can be a little odd here at times. Like anyone coming to a dog park, I like to let my dog play. At times I get the feeling that not everyone at Union St. is on the same page there. I get odd looks from people as my dog runs laps around their dog and so forth. Usually I can attribute to this to someone putting a smaller toy dog in with the general population but the dogs are here to socialize and PLAY! Just an observation but I feel like some of the crowd here would be better off with cats…
On the whole this place is a godsend. It is clean, spacious, and perfectly located. Most impressivly parking is readily available within 10 feet of the park’s entrance.

Union Street Dog Park was one of the selling points for me when I decided to move to New Haven. The park is in a convenient location and is a pretty decent size that allows for larger dogs to roam around, sniff, and do what large dogs do. Most of it is gravel but there’s still some dirt and grass. The dogs are usually chill and that sentiment goes for the owners as well. There’s a group vibe as it seems most of the owners know each other. Maybe if Roscoe (my dog) stops trying to hump their dogs, I’ll get in the clique too. Doesn’t hurt to bring a bottle of water — there’s usually a water bowl there.
Oh. One side note: Sometimes you’ll run into the occasional «urban camper» hanging out in the dog park sans a dog of their own. They’re just usually doing urban camping activities like taking a nap, drinking a forty or whatever. They don’t seem to bother people or cause trouble though.

The two best things about the Union Street Dog Park are the dogs and the «parents». My dog, Oliver, and I visit frequently and it’s always a fun time. The dogs are well-​socialized and so are the owners, who are attentive and top of things should playtime get too rough. My dog is a seven year old pug who loves coming to the park to play with the big dogs. In fact, he knows exactly how to get there and often decides that we’ll be visiting the park as opposed to merely going for an evening walk.
There is a real community feeling associated with this dog park because the community made it happen. That feeling of community, as well as ownership, is obvious in the way that users treat the park: picking up after their dogs, making sure that any foreign debris are picked up and thrown away, and volunteering to participate in park improvements and/​or donate money to the cause. This park represents what I love about the city of New Haven.
Oh, and the lights mentioned in other reviews have been installed and are working.

This park is very convenient if you live downtown or Wooster square. We love coming here!

I’m so happy that the dog park opened here. It’s a great addition to the neighborhood where you can let your dog off-​leash and talk with your neighbors. The only reason it gets 4 stars and not 5 is that the lights aren’t up yet.

I have to give the Union Street Dog Park 5 stars, because its been a community project that’s taken several years of planning, and will have a positive effect on the Wooster square community. Love it!
As you would expect, the park has a large, fenced off area for dogs to run around in, and a smaller area for the smaller dogs. There is a plan to install lighting, although this has not been carried out yet. At any given time there are several dogs and their owners running around the park, and it is a great way to chat with other dog owners in the neighborhood. People have been very responsible cleaning up after their pets– I have yet to accidentally step in something that smells bad.
A great addition to the community– dog owners should definitely stop by!