Highland Dog Park

First, the bad: nowhere near enough parking. The fence line along the railroadntrck side is allowed to overgrow with chokeberry and poison ivy. The gravel system they use (the ground has no gras over more than 50% of the dog area) is mostly OK, except for whennthe first refresh it. For weeks after it is super dusty until it has settled and compacted. It is also hard to walk on for a couple of weeks after they first lay it downnif you have any sort of mobility issue. Finally, wherever the source or store the gravel, it gets all sorts of glass throw in it and we picked up bags and bags of it for weeks after. The good: when the fine gravel and sand mixture they use is settled, it is very good on the dogs feet. There is both a big and a small side, and both have a decent amount of room. There are lots of dog owners in the area so dogs generally have someone to play with. If we could solve the glass issue, and maybe cut back the vegetation along the fence an additional time per year, it would be a much better park!

This is a small park. I am used to much larger parks, so this was just okay for us. Dogs were happy to roam for a bit, but it is not someplace I would rave about. There is an area for both small and large dogs if that is important to you and plenty of benches and water.

Nice place to bring your pup. Seperate area for smaller dogs. Safe area and neighborhood

I miss the old design of the large dog side.The city dumped small gravel on top of all the grass - creating a dusty, cat litter box. Gone are the days of dogs running, playing, and rolling in the grass. (At least the small dogs got to keep their grass in their smaller lot.) Thanks for ruining it Roanoke Parks & Rec. Perhaps next time, ask the people who actually use the dog park for their input.

I liked how long it was for my dog to run and there were several shaded spots. But even though it was hot and dry, there was a spot with gross water that looked dangerous and I had to make sure my dog didn’t drink any of it.