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Harry Griffen Park
Rating Details »
9550 Milden St
(between Daggett Way & Lemon St)
La Mesa, CA 91942
(between Daggett Way & Lemon St)
La Mesa, CA 91942
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
8 reviews for Harry Griffen Park
I go here sometimes to take a walk around the entire perimeter of the park and/or sit at the tables to eat a salad and drink I bring from Costco.
The picnic tables and restrooms are right next to the playground, so I understand the "creepy" factor mentioned by Erin C. Being a single male, who has the right to use a public park, I have found myself being stared at by paranoid parents. On one occassion while eating my lunch and minding my own business, I had a crazy parent demand to know what I was doing sitting near the playground ! (because that is where tables are located, maybe ?)
I take my kids to the playground here when it's not hot as hell out. They have a nice play structure for young kids and one for older kids. There is also a large grassy area and a few shaded picnic tables - perfect for parties with bounce houses.
There's a decent amount of parking when there isn't a birthday party going on. The bathrooms seem creepy, so I keep my kids away.
I don't have a dog, so I've never been to the dog park part.
Whenever I'm here, I think about the bodies that landed here after a plane crash. Creepy.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (2)
- Cool (3)
As a dog park regular I have found that I really enjoy the people here than at other parks. They are social and regular. Come at 7 am and hang out with a great group of people, come at 6 at night and a different crowd but just as nice. Just like any other place where regulars tend to hang they can seem to be a little clicky but say Hi they aren't so bad and their dogs are great. One of the best things about this park is it is one of the few that actually has plenty of balls just laying around for you to throw and buckets of water that are filled often. There are 3 seperate fenced areas, one for small dogs and 2 for all dogs great and small.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
Based on the dog run only:
Ewww.
Dirt. No grass, just dirt. Surrounded by wire fences. With some white plastic chairs and dirty water bowls.
Two stars instead of one for the little dog/big dog areas and the fire hydrant - I'm sure the hydrant was just THERE, but it made me chuckle anyway.
Took Dharma here while housesitting for my parents in La Mesa. Should've just driven to Grape Street...
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Funny (2)
- Cool (1)
This is not really my type of a dog park.
Like the others have said it's a 3 dirt areas for the doggies to run in with wire fences.
We took our doggie here when we were touring the area for a good place to take him to run....and it didn't really work out very well for us.
He ended up smelling like poop when he got home....it was so gross.
I like a bigger area for me doggie to run in and grass....he likes grass.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (2)
Although I'm a die-hard Grape Street Dog Park fan, I'd heard about Harry Griffen from a few East County residents and decided to give it a shot one Sunday (okay, today) when I was feeling too lazy to drive all the way to South Park.
The park itself is huge and has ample grassy areas for picnicking and the like. I just Googled it and apparently it occupies a total of 53 acres of space. There's a baseball diamond, a jogging path, playgrounds for kids, etc etc etc. There's also a large ampitheatre that I somehow missed seeing entirely. Quite frankly, I only intended on reviewing the dog park area, because that's really my only particular interest, but this does seem relevant. Bear with me.
So... the dog run (more of a "run" than a "park", in my opinion)... It's basically a fenced-in dirt area with three separate sections for small, medium, and large sized dogs. Abundant poop-bag dispensers and water containers, although the fountain was pretty clogged up and nasty. Sunday morning and there were only six or seven other dogs in the large-sized area. While sitting in a chair in a shady area, I got peed on... TWICE. Not that this really has anything to do with the park itself, but seriously, I've never been pissed on anywhere else, and certainly not repeatedly. There was a lady with corroded teeth that was rudely and audibly insulting my dog and my roommate... so I have to say that overall my first experience wasn't totally thrilling.
However, the fact that the park is segregated and fenced might appeal to dog owners whose pooches have a tendency toward running off and/or terrorizing the little guys. Incidentally I have to say that I saw more mini-altercations here than I typically do at Grape Street, Coronado or Del Mar beach, but maybe it was an off morning.
My three stars are an average between the Park itself (4 stars) and the dog area (2 stars). Anyway, I'm really hoping someone else reviews this soon. :)
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (2)
This review is really about the dog park:
I've been to HG dog park a dozen times or so but prefer Wells Park Dog Park (see my review on that).
I appreciate any dog park as a place for dogs and dog lovers to get together. One thing to keep in mind about HG park is it is all volunteer maintained and the city provides very little. Most of the other parks that people are raving about are city maintained. That being the case I think HG is a fair dog park and I know it has a very loyal cadre of regulars.
Most of the issue with have been stated but I'll summarize my thoughts:
1. Mostly dirt and sand - so be prepared to get it in your shoes, I don't recommend sandals.
2. The fact that it is smaller and so many seats available means that people tend to gather, sit and gab and not watch their dogs very carefully which means dog fights are more likely to break out and progress further than they would otherwise.
3. No lights so its closes when it gets dark
4. Bring your own water as the fountains have never worked since I've been there. Some people fill up big buckets that many dogs drink out of but I'm wary of those because it is easy to pass on bugs causing kennel cough, etc.
5. Generally, as in most dog parks the people are friendly.
6. Because the grounds are as meticulously maintained as many other places, you dog is free to be a dog and do things like dig holes which are much more frowned upon at most parks.
7. Because of its smaller size it can sometimes get a bit crowded.
If you are planning to go to a dog park and don't go often please see my list of things to keep in mind when going to a dog park in my review of Wells Park dog park.
I'm saying it is not great for kids because many small children don't know how to behave around dogs and it is too easy for kids to get snapped at or run over unless the kids are well supervised
This park is not the best. We use to take our dachshund and the small dog section is mostly dirt so she would come home filthy. It is also a pretty small fenced section - not a ton of are for them to run. The water fountains are always clogged but there are a million poop bags available. The other problem we run into are the people here - not the cream of the crop and most of them don't watch their dogs at all! Our dachshund has gotten roughed up on more than one occasion while the owner of the other dog was oblivious.
