Jeffrey Fontana Park

Lots of memories have been made for me at this park. I’ve been throwing my boomerang here with my brother for the past 9 years and still going. Very family friendly park, connected to a nice hiking trail. A lot of nice mini workout stations around the park.

It’s a very dirty/​dusty play area, no grass here. I always have to give my pup a full bath after playing in this park. We also ran into some rude misbehaved bully dogs a few times, it was a bad experience and some of the dog owners don’t seem to care that their dogs act so embarrassing!

The hubs found this park doing a little research online so we thought we would bring our dog Bruce over since we live relatively close by. It was Sunday around 2:30. Bruce loves dogs and loves running but I was just a little nervous becuase I know how prejudice people can be with a pit bull. If only they knew what a love bug he is.
We got to the park and there were about 6 other dogs in the large dog side of the dog park. Inside the dog park we were welcomed by all the dogs and owners. Bruce is a social butterfly so that helps a lot. After about 45 minutes the park had cleared out. We waited for about a half hour and then more dogs began to trickle in for the next round.
What we liked:
The large dog section is huge
Friendly atmosphere overall
Nice neighborhood surrounding
Water was available for the dogs
Pooper scooper was availalbe and people actually picked up after the dogs
There is a seperate small dog section
Lots of places for owners to sit down and watch the dogs play.
What we didn’t enjoy too much:
The dirt or sand was fine for the most part because it was a dry day but I wouldn’t go if it has recently rained or you will have one muddy dog on your hand! We also had an issue with the dirt because our Bruce runs so much and so hard it started to cut open the pads of his feet.
Over all this was a great park!

this place is great. ok, so it doesn’t have grass. i’ll take off one star.
but here’s what’s great about it:
1. nice long run for big dogs
2. friendly people — the thugs with their pits and rots don’t come here.
3. great water supply — the water blasts out of the spigot like a fire hose.
4. nice and quiet.
5. neighbors that seem to have finally realized that the park was not going to
become a noise problem.
considering all of the things that often go wrong with big dogs on grassy fields
at the local schools at night — let’s see, stepping or rolling in geese poop, eating garbage left by kids, chasing wild cats, and wandering off, i’ll take fontana dog park – any dog park, for that matter…

WHen this park first opened there were major issues — extreme dislike from neighbors led to nasty things happening here. THings have calmed down. Here’s a pro’s and cons list:
Pros:
–Separate small and large dog side
–shady and sunny areas in both
–water troughs and running water available
–most dogs and owners have been friendly
–large dog side is large
–in a great park with trails
Cons:
–no grass or turf here — just sand/​dirt.
–you could go here without encountering other dogs
–you can hear the power lines sizzling above you.
–pylons in the middle of the park hold up aforementioned power lines

Nestled away in the Almaden neighborhood, is this interesting little dog park. Here are some quick facts:
–Two separate fenced yards. One for small and the other for larger breeds.
— All dirt, no grass, no turf
— Popper scooper’s and fresh water is available
–Some tennis balls for the doggies to play with (but the ones I saw were very dirty and old)
— A lot of friendly dogs, friendly owners, a few not so much
— A small park with trails next to the dog park where you can walk with your k9 companion on a leash.
The reason why I came here is because I was looking for a relatively mellow spot to start getting my dog to get use to the idea of socializing with his own kind. I’ve been here a few times before with friends and it seemed like a good place to start. As expected, when we arrived, the park had about 8 people or so. This is definitely a small crowd compared to a park like Butcher who easily has 15 – 20 during peek hours. Don’t get me wrong, I like Butcher for other reasons but I like this one because it seems more low key. The down side I think is that when it starts to rain, I’m not sure what will become of the dirty/​sand lots. That has yet to be seen by me.

We took the pups here to burn off some energy on New Years Day. It was pretty quiet with just a few other dogs and parents. I liked the availability of fresh water and pooper scoopers are a nice touch (since plastics bags were eliminated on the first, I think this will be even more valuable soon!).
There isn’t any grass but as long as you come on a nice day, the dust brushes off. I’d probably avoid this place after a heavy rain. Lots of space and a seating area make for a fun place to play fetch and chase each other or just watch. The area was clean and the fence is well maintained. Be wary if you bring a smaller dog into the big dog inclosure — the far end of the park has a double gate that swings open for utility and cleaning. A determined little guy or gal could wiggle through the space in between if they weren’t being watched.
The proximity to Guadalupe Oak Grove Park is another plus with lots of on leash meandering to be had after burning off some energy in the fenced area.
Bring a picnic and some blankets and make an afternoon of it!

I still like Butcher better. More predictable amount of dogs and it is all dirt. To me, it is annoying because if someone else has their dog jump up on you, you are screwed… and if other dogs are mouthy on your dog… you have a muddy mess. The small dog part is kinda small too and the chairs supplied are NASTY. But, it is close to my house so if I am short on time, we will go there.

This place is pretty hit or miss.
Sometimes my girlfriend and I will arrive with our puppy and be greeted by 6 – 8 dogs… other times we’re the only ones there.
The owners are generally nice, but like any dog park, you’ll occasionally encounter a few rude/​inattentive owners.
The park itself is pretty good, and consists of a few things.
1) One large fenced in area for large dogs. No grass at all… so your dog could leave very dusty!
2) One medium fenced in area for small dogs (dusty as well)
3) A massive open space with lots of grass (it’s a park after all). But your dog must remain on leash in this area.
All in all, I wasn’t completely impressed by this park, and we have since moved on to another dog park. I don’t think we’ll be coming back here.

Just got back from the park. There are two gated areas for small dogs and big dogs. The area for the large dogs is significantly larger than the other. My dog had a lot of room to run around. However, since the entire park is dirt (no fake grass anywhere), my friend’s two dogs left covered in dirt and sand.
I would say this place is the best in my neighborhood, but not my favorite dog park.

Large enough for some serious playing, no grass and empty unless the weather is really good.

this is a monster dog park very huge! It’s all dirt though I wonder if they have any plans on renovating it because it would be an awesome park if they did!
The park has a separate area for small and big dogs.
Water fountain to drink from.
Nice owners nice dogs.
Downside is it’s all dirt. Wish they had turf or something besides dirt. I feel like I’m in the desert.

This is my local dog park. What I love about it is that it is surrounded by an abundance of grass and trees, with a lengthy walkway and a nice woodsy path next to it. If your dog gets tired of the dog park, you can always walk them around in the surrponding areas.
The dog park features one large, fenced-​in area for bigger dogs and a smaller one for small dogs. Unfortunately, the signs have been removed to indicate this (I hear that some park patrons have done this) and some people are too clueless to figure out that their giant dog should not be in the small dog area with the little pups. On more than one occasion I have had to leave because I was not comfortable with my 8 pound dog in the same small area as a sketchy 75 pound dog. So minus one star for that. It doesn’t happen too often, but enough to make it worth mentioning.
NOTE: Just because your dog is «friendly» doesn’t mean that one «friendly» altercation won’t hurt a dog a fraction of the size.
Anyhow, they always have a good amount of doggie waste bags and people seem to be pretty good about picking up after their pets here.
It’s worth checking out if you haven’t been here before.

One thing I really like about this park is that there are a lot of seating. There’s benches, one seater chairs, more benches. And there’s good shade too.
What I didn’t like about the park was the water bowls… there’s a water fountain for you to drink, and then another spout which pours water into a bucket for your dogs to drink. The bucket comes off to me as gross.
Everyone I encountered there was so friendly, even though my chihuahua was a bit feisty at first. If only I lived closer I would come back more often.

My mom told me about this dog park because she said everytime she drove by it was never very busy. My 8 month old lab puppy has only had his cast off for a little over two weeks. He had torn the cartliedge in his knee and had a cast on for a month to allow it to heal and in hopes of having to avoid injury.
I didn’t know it was a dirt only dog park which normally I wouldn’t care about. However the water spicket had two metal tubs near it, one of which the dogs kept lifting their legs on and peeing into the tub and a smaller one. The dog owners I saw there this past Sunday had their own water dishes they brought with them. There was a water fountain exactly like the one at Butcher Dog Park but it wasn’t functioning and it didn’t look like it ever had. But what you get with a dirt only dog park and water that doesn’t stay in the dishes… is mud which comes with yellow jackets. They only really seemed to be a problem near the water spicket though.
However I loved the size of the park and the abundance of seating! There were a lot of chairs there as well as picnic tables under in the shade of some beautiful oak trees. It’s nice and long and wide too. My lab LOOOOOOVES to run! There was a Golden Ret. puppy the same age as my lab and they ran it out! It was good to see him running especially after having the cast on.
As long as I’m here in San Jose, this dog park is added to the rotation of the ones I like to take my dog to!

We walk here on the walking path almost every night and pass by this dog park. It is huge, well-​maintained and filled with dogs and loving owners. There are two separate dog parks I think with lots of chairs for their owners to sit on.
Funny how the dogs get the exercise while the owners sit, not fair is it?
The dogs seem very happy and excited to get here. They leap out of the cars and tug on the leashes to get there and drag themselves out on the way back so it must be good for them to come here to socalize with other dogs of all shapes and sizes.
It’s also very well maintained and is surrounded by cool oak trees for shade. Lucky dogs, lucky owners.

Father’s Day today and my family went to Fontana Park for a walk through the Oak trees. We did the loop trail and then cruised to the dog park at the north end of the park.
Along came Rocky, my brother’s 1 year old Shih Tzu .
He’s a peppy lil pup with an endearing smile and a omniprescent motor.
The dog park is very mellow, 2 areas with dirt, pooper scoops, chairs… it’s not lush with greenery, but it is a clean, well maintained area.
There alot of friendly dog owners that make their way here. Pretty much had a conversation with every owner we encountered. The pristine Siberian Husky, the Golden Shepherd, a trio of frisky poodles, everyone has a common ground to talk about. The love for their pet!!!
It was nice to get together with the whole family, get some exercise, and let Rocky do his thing with nature.

This dog park was so-​so for a one time visit. I came at about 3pm on a weekday, and there were only three people on the whole of the park. The dog park was empty.
There are separate areas for dogs of different sizes. The big dog area is quite large, and the small dog area significantly smaller. Both sides are just dirt, that was quite dusty. I do not think I will frequent here very often since it warrants a bath for the dog afterwards. There are plenty of poop bags available, and water fountains for your pets in each side. I just sat down in a chair and watched my dog run around by herself.
There is also plenty of parking on the street and in the residential areas. Small park though!

This is a great park to bring dogs of any size. It has two enclosed areas, one for small dogs, and another for large dogs. The park has nice grass fields and tanbark, with shady oaks, benches, water, trashcans, and scoopers provided.
The Almaden community apparently loves dogs, because each time I’ve brought my beagle and frenchie, I’ve seen many dogs of various breeds. Come here to treat your dog and to see and play with other playful dogs.