Match your pup with the right local off-leash area

It's beginning to look a lot like dog-park season. Warmer, drier, longer days inspire leisurely play dates in leash-free frolic zones around town.

We're lucky in Seattle. Thanks to the tireless advocacy and stewardship of Citizens for Off-Leash Areas (COLA), we have 11 OLAs within the city limits (with two more in the works), from one situated along the Duwamish Greenbelt in the south to a forested woofy-land near Northgate.

Of course, not every off-leash area is ideal for every person or every dog. So in this brief roundup, we sniff out reasons to leap and reasons to howl in all of the city's dog parks.

Postage stamps
Two of the city's three newest off-leash areas, Belltown's Regrade Park and Capitol Hill's Plymouth Pillars Park, are small slivers of the urban landscape -- designed to be interesting places to congregate off-leash, but not places for Flyball practice or trail walking.

Leap for games of minifetch, obedience training in a fenced environment with distractions, and socializing for dogs and people. (Plus, Plymouth Pillars has lovely views.)

Howl about gravel and pavement and not much space -- not ideal for full-tilt running. If you don't like crowds, avoid high-use times such as before and after work and sunny weekends. Also, parking is a pain: These are true neighborhood parks for folks within walking distance.

Combo packages
Westcrest Park in White Center, Northacres Park in Northgate and Magnuson Park in Sand Point offer a little of everything, with open space for serious tag, herding and fetch, plus wide avenues for walking together -- albeit in large circles.

Leap for the parks' decent size and varieties of terrain. These parks are the prescription for families with two or more dogs with different play styles. Interesting trails through brambles, mounds to climb and large pipes make Westcrest an explorer's haven. Dense, mostly fenced-off forest creates a primordial atmosphere at Northacres. Beach access to Lake Washington (chorus of angels sing!) and room to really stretch your legs puts Magnuson on the destination map for doggers all around town. At each of these locations, there are additional trails to hike and open space to stroll with sidekicks on-leash.

No reason to howl at these multipurpose parks.

Hill workouts
At Golden Gardens Park in Ballard and Woodland Park in Wallingford, you'll find open corrals on hillsides under a leafy canopy.

Leap for shade on hot days and plenty of room for fetch and games.

Howl over slopes that suffer from erosion and mud problems.

Playing on a highway median
OK, Dr. Jose Rizal Park on Beacon Hill is not actually a median, but it peers over I-5 and absorbs enough of the experience that it's almost like being there.

Leap for the park's decent size and abundance of green: trees, brush and grass. (Yes, grass, something you don't see much of inside the fence of many OLAs.) Lovely views of stadia, the downtown skyline and the Olympics are other reasons to kick up your paws.

Howl, as if anyone will hear, over the deafening highway noise, reports of homeless inhabitants and human feces, which drove out at least one regular.

Big sky country
If you think of trees as obstacles that get in the way of Frisbees and tennis balls, bring your cruisers to Genesee Park in Rainier Valley and Blue Dog Pond Park in Leschi/Mount Baker.

Leap for Genesee's flat, open space, which is ideal for retrievers and dogs you need to keep an eye on. Blue Dog offers the same advantages with hills.

Howl during the rainy season, when the ravine at Blue Dog gets soupy, or during the summer, when Genesee is a Sahara.

Concrete jungle
Crushed gravel, concrete barriers and cyclone fencing set among concrete pylons supporting Interstate 5 overhead make up the I-5 Colonnade "park," one of the most recent to open.

Leap, sort of, for I-5 protection from the rain (which, of course, also blocks the sun). Maybe once the new mountain-bike skills park is hopping, there will be more activity down here and fewer people dumping garbage and sleeping in and around the park.

Howl over the idea that this environment is good enough for people and their dogs. The Colonnade is as noisy and unparklike as it sounds.

Future Parks
Folks in Queen Anne and Magnolia needn't feel left out. Pilot dog parks could be coming to these neighborhoods soon.

Closest to hosting Wubba-toting families is probably a quarter-acre slice of the five-acre Magnolia Manor, off 28th Avenue West, not far from Magnolia Bluff. Seattle Parks and Recreation Department staff will meet with COLA representatives in April to talk money and fencing for this location.

A second possible pilot area at Lower Kinnear Park on the southwest edge of Queen Anne appears to be moving at a place slower than that of a 14-year-old beagle on a hot day.

Regardless of where you romp, remember to pick up karma poops and volunteer to help COLA open new parks and keep the areas you love in tip-top shape.

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