Mill Valley Dog Run

This is the dog park of dog parks in Marin. What makes it so are the natural surroundings, the beautiful views and the wonderful open feel of the very large dedicated space.

Overall LOVE this place. Ample space with lots of green grass. Usually full of very friendly dog-​owners. We have gotten some great doggie advice here :-) Bummer is low-​tide, super stinky mud! We had one run-​in with a very large mastiff, but he was leashes right after. Owners are usually aware and respectful. We hit this place up daily and are hoping to get to a Friday happy hour!

A dog park with a view? — How fantastic is this!
While much of the hills surrounding Mill Valley are a huge dog park in themselves, this is the perfect place to come to when you want to play fetch with your dog or want them to socialize with other dogs. Most of the time when I get here, there’s a group of dog owners standing around and chit-​chatting while their respective canines are playing hide’n’seek or catch.
There’s plenty of fresh water and bowls as well as heaps of (empty) poop bags.

Dog owners beware! This dog park is notorious for aggressive dogs and attacks. I would NOT take a puppy to this dog park. For some reason the park tends to attract owners with larger, more aggressive breeds. In addition, many owners don’t seem to pay attention to their dogs and if an incident arises, they are not quick to step in.
My dog was bitten there recently by a mix (looked like Pitbull and Dalmation) and the dog broke skin. The owner told me not to worry as the dog had never bitten another dog. Famous last words…
It’s a lovely, large space on the water, which is great on hot days as the dogs can swim. Beware of low tide though as you may end up taking a dog home that’s covered in green, stinky bay water sludge!
There’s a group that convenes on Friday night for Happy Hour, and while it might sound fun, the group is usually focused on socializing and not watching their dogs.
If you go, beware, and be prepared to leash your dog and leave early in order to avoid potential incidents.

I have very mixed feelings about this place.
Pros…
It’s huge! Plenty of place for pups to run.
Water is available for the dogs at the park.
Couple benches to relax on.
Cons
Every time, and I mean every time, I have gone there I have seen an «incident.» Usually a dog that is obviously not socialized and an inattentive owner.
If you’re dog likes water expect them come back filthy!
I used to go every weekend but due to the unfriendly dogs I don’t go very often anymore.

I was looking for off leash dog park and found this one. If only we live close enough, we would’ve taken our dog here everyday. Our little girl has such a big smile on her face every time she comes here. Plenty of dogs to play with and fun to watch as well for us human. One advice: watch out for landmines :)

Best dog run I’ve found in the area (and I mean from Petaluma to Mill Valley). Grass (!!! yes! real green grass!!! the soft kind!!), and a river for the dogs to swim in.
Shaded areas, with benches (and, again, only in Marin: the bench arms have a spot for a coffee cup/​water bottle – it’s actually really awesome :))
Saw someone else posted about ‘landmines’ all over the place. That has not been my experience at all here. Seems like most people got the message and are cleaning up after their pups.
There are always extra balls laying around and even an extra Chuck-​it! at the entrance if you forget yours.
It is a little bit of a walk, past soccer fields, to get to the dog run area. It’s worth it – especially if you have a dog that likes to swim!

This is a large dog park with a lot of amenities. Some of them (like the agility equipment) have been well used and are a bit dated. But unlike many other dog parks, it’s nice that they have them.
The park itself is somewhat fenced. There is a fence that goes along the bike path, and one that keeps the dogs out of the playing fields but there are no gates. So, your dog does need to be the kind that can obey voice commands relatively well.
There were lots of containers filled with fresh water and bowls for the dogs at the north end of the park. And there was a small «beach» that is full of clay for water friendly dogs, but beware, your dogs will get dirty.
The area is large, but through heavy use the grass has worn away in several areas and is down to mud/​dust. There are trees around the outside for some shade, but it’s never really hot in Mill Valley, so no worries there. However, when we were there, some kind of Y group was practicing racing bikes around the dirt path around the park. I thought from reading descriptions the path was for dog walkers, but they had an adult with them shouting out warnings about the approaching bikers. And they looked like they were supposed to be there.
Our favorite thing about the park though, where the other owners. They were welcoming, kind and very talkative. Their dogs were equally as sweet.

This is a nice park (i.e., grass that hasn’t been totally trashed to a mud puddle or dirt pad) and a bit off the beaten path in Mill Valley, right by the bay. Important to note that while it is not near streets or traffic, it is not enclosed or secure. Might not work for all dogs…

What a dog park, at first when we arrived and parked by the skateboard park, I was skeptical… this is not a dog park at all!
you have to walk past it and then you see fields of grass but tons of soccer kids and fences saying no dogs… again I was bummed!
BUT THEN! you walk past that also and TADAAA, lush green open field of grass, dogs running around, sunny and beautiful views! there were water bowls and toys and a cool agility test area. shades if needed, and benches for you to sit. not quite a flat surface, plenty of bumps, so careful where you walk.
not toooo many dogs when we went but all of them were fairly friendly. it is not fully fenced, so you do have to be careful. if ever in the area, this place would be a great place to go to.

Would it be too «only in Marin» if I revealed that this beautiful dog park has a Friday evening happy hour? Yeah, thought so.
FOR YOUR DOG:
Big, green, grassy area with lots of friendly dogs.
Fresh water for drinking.
Richardson Bay for the swimmy dogs.
Agility course for the trick dogs.
Lots of space to run, run, run.
FOR YOU:
Big, green, grassy area with lots of friendly dog owners.
Beautiful views of the bay and the City.
Dewy, fresh, cool, sometimes breezy air.
Ample benches for sitty owners.
Agility course for the tricky owners.
«Fridays in the Park» for the drinky owners.

Pretty dog park, but be aware that IT IS NOT COMPLETELY FENCED IN. The people and dogs in the dog park were fine, but there is a path around the dog park that is open to the dog park, and I found that people walking around were not always dog friendly. For example, when I was there, a jerk walking a little dog around the perimeter told me to «control my dog» when my newly adopted Flat-​Coated Retriever ran up to his dog to socialize. He continued to be verbally abusive every time my dog ran up to his dog in a friendly way. Not very relaxing dog park since you can’t just let your dog run free and socialize. Doubt I’ll go back there.

Just came back from taking our little rescue dogs from the Mill Valley Dog Run. First off, the term dog run doesn’t do this place justice. It’s not those narrow, dirt and gravel fenced in areas without a speck of greenery you’d find in san francisco or new york. Ohhh Noooo. This place is huge, partially surrounded by water and a low fence. Trees, bushes, benches and grass everywhere. There is a strong support crew here who refill the free doggie bags, refill the fresh water containers, pick up litter, etc. Plenty of other doggies and their mellow owners. This is dog heaven. What a great view of the water, the trees and mountains. Damn, it’s a dog life, ain’t it?

Dog parks don’t get much better than this!
–Lots of grass for romping
–Swimming in the Bay
–Agility course
–Some trees for shade
–Views!
There are lots of designer dogs here. We even met a cloned dog! Only in Mill Valley…

Tons of space, water for the dogs to drink and to swim in. The park has even has an agility course. Best dog park I have ever been to! Big thanks to all the people that have made it happen.

Excellent dog park that is well thought out. You can park along the street coming here, or in a city lot on the right or a school lot on the left. Moly my friend’s black lab loves coming here, and stands up in the front seat and begins the tail wag when she realizes where we are. After parking, we and the leashed dog come towards the best part, a fenced in run about area, no leash required, where Moly will run about as much as she wants.
After the initial buzz and energy wears off, we take the dog for a stroll along the bike and walking path south. Beautiful views of some ducks and coots on the water, and mostly happy people running or biking by. A delightful time is had by the two footed and four footed friends.

Mill Valley Dog Run, I like you.
You’re rather large with plenty of space to run, play, or swim! You’re also big enough that if my doggie doesn’t want to play with others, he doesn’t have to, because there seemed to be plenty of open space. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and while busy, it did not feel overwhelming. Oh, and your grass is nice and green. Was decently free of land mines too.
I like that you have a little agility course too. Wish there were a couple more obstacles, but the handful there are will do for now (until the dog is an agility pro, that is).
The only downside was that most of the pet parents there were much more interested in socializing with other pet parents, so they paid little attention to their pooches. Socializing is cool and all, but if that’s what you want to do, go to a bar. No one likes a giant German Shepard running around unchecked, looking like he wants to make a snack out someone smaller.
We’ll be back for sure.

This place is paradise for my puppy!
She loves all the water bowls whenever she gets thirsty, loves the ammount of space she has to run, loves going in the water and not getting bowled over by waves, and I LOVE that someone put a hose on the drinking fountian on the way out so I can get all the mud off of her before she goes back in the car!
The only thing that kept this from getting all stars is that sometimes there are TOO MANY dogs here, and she can’t play with them ALL!!!

Dear Mill Valley Parks Department —
I really, really enjoyed romping around at your dog park. Nice green grass to roll around in and plenty of big bowls of water scattered about to rehydrate myself. I met a few nice doggies with excellently smelling behinds. What’s the secret? I think you have some kind of special water up here because these were the best smelling doggie behinds I’ve experienced in quite a while!
I apologize to that little yipper that I barked at, but seriously don’t invade my space running towards my face at 60 mph whilst barking and yipping and expect a loving reception! I’m almost 8 years old for goodness sake!
–1 star for the land-​mines that seemed to be everywhere and that my daddy accidentally stepped in! Come on Mill Valley dog owners, clean up after your doggies! I can’t watch out for daddy all the time! I mean, look at the pictures; he obviously needs a lot of help!
Sincerely.
Little Maddie

A very nice, well cared for dog park, with plenty of off-​leash open space, ample drinking water and bowls, and a calm inlet for the canine swim set. My dog goes nuts for water, but being short in stature, if not attitude, he’s usually hammered by the waves at Ocean Beach, or even Crissy Field, for that matter.
The Mill Valley Dog Run is the perfect alternative for him, and for me as well, for it’s a very pleasant location, peaceful and calm, with benches scattered about. Bonus points to the thoughtful users who have jury-​rigged a hose on the drinking fountain, which kept my four-​legged friend from spending the rest of the day smelling like low tide in the mudflats.