Aptos Dog Park (at Polo Grounds Park)

Great space and friendly, irresponsible dog owners. Many of the owners are inattentive to their pets making this a dangerous place. I have witnessed attacks,fights and serious injury to dogs here. The owners gather in the shaded areas and the chairs around the water and are focused on each other and not their dogs. Small situations grow to problems because owners are unaware or, if they notice are much too far away to intervene. Of course, there are responsible folks who bring their dogs here, but the lazy ones spoil it for the rest of us. Sad.

This park is awesome for many reasons... a fenced big area with water fountains and there are almost always dogs there. If there isn't, wait about 10 minutes and more will come! There is a separate area for big dogs and small dogs. The trails that are on both sides of the park is nice for a long walk or jog! A local tennis club donates tennis balls for the dogs to play with which is thoughtful! Make sure you wear clothes that can get dirty as there can be a lot of dogs and mud. Also, bundle up in the morning... its freezing!

There are nearly always dogs here (as opposed to the Watsonville dog park), and most of the owners are nice and most of the dogs are well behaved. There is an area for big dogs and small dogs (although sometimes small dogs come in the big dog area too). There is plenty of seating and some shade. A tennis club also donates their used balls to the park, so there are literally hundreds of tennis balls already there for your dog to play with. There are also some trails for leashed walks.

The park does get muddy in the winter, so make sure to bring a few towels and clothes that you don't mind getting paw prints on.

By the way the "dirt bike arena" is for bicycles only, not motorcycle type dirt bikes. It's fun to watch them do back flips and stuff though while you're at the park.

This is one of my dog's favorite parks.  She has been to a lot of parks but the dogs and people here were great.  The dogs were friendly and playful and the dog park was well maintained.  The ground is covered in tanbark and some of it is softer dirt, which I bet is muddy in the winter.  There were doggy drinking fountains and benches and a small dog area and shade.  This is one of the only fenced dog parks near Santa Cruz but well worth the drive.  The surrounding park is just lovely with mowed fields, and a dirt bike arena, and some on leash walking trails all surrounded by the Santa Cruz trees.

It is also worth noting that the Surf City Coffee Shop at the entrance to the freeway is very dog friendly and a great place to stop on your way in or out of the park.