Is an off-leash dog park in Olympia’s future?

Until Olympia opens an off-leash dog park of its own, Thurston County offers only one official place where dog owners can let their canine companions run free.

Thurston County’s Off-Leash Dog Area has been meeting that need since 2010. The 5-acre park is on the Waste and Recovery Center campus, just north of the Marvin Road exit at Interstate 5 in Hawks Prairie.

Olympia’s last official off-leash area — located at Sunrise Park on the west side — closed in 2013. For now, the next closest option for Thurston County dog owners is the 22-acre Fort Steilacoom Dog Park in Lakewood.

However, the Hawks Prairie site could serve as a template. The park is divided into areas for small and large dogs. The area is nearly clear of debris, and dog owners are diligent about picking up feces.

The landscape includes benches, fire hydrants, water stations for thirsty pups and even short lengths of corrugated metal pipe for puppy play tunnels. An informational sign shows photos of canine body language and examples of appropriate behavior. The site also has plenty of parking.

Lacey resident Dan Edwards regularly brings his 2-year-old vizsla named Ellie to the dog park. This particular breed requires a lot of exercise, and thanks to the park, Edwards has a place for Ellie to burn off all that pent-up canine energy.

On a pleasant afternoon last week in a corner of the dog park, Edwards tossed a tennis ball over and over again for Ellie to fetch.

“This one gets the job done,” said Edwards, who uses the park at least once a week. “They take good care of it.”

Parks director Paul Simmons said Olympia has been unable to identify an appropriate site for an off-leash dog area within the existing park system. Problems include high development costs, for example, or potential conflicts with neighbors and wildlife habitat.

The city wants to avoid repeating past mistakes. In May 2013, Olympia closed its only official off-leash dog park at Sunrise Park at 505 Bing St. NW. The 1-acre fenced-in dog park had opened in October 2013, but caused neighbors to complain about the traffic, noise and smell.

In 2014, the city tried to make a deal with a private property owner to build a dog park on 3 acres near Kaiser Road and U.S. Highway 101. The plan soon fizzled because of development costs and site access issues.

City officials hope the proposed Metropolitan Park District (Proposition 1) in the Nov. 3 election can help generate more money for maintaining parks and buying more park land.

Simmons points to one potential opportunity for a dog park at the so-called Trillium property in southeast Olympia. The city has an option to buy the 74-acre site, but is banking on the passage of Proposition One to come up with the money.

“As we acquire new properties, our hope is to take a look at them and see if there’s a spot to make it work,” Simmons told The Olympian about creating a new off-leash dog area. “That’s an amenity that we’ll hopefully be able to include in a future acquisition.”

Even residents outside Olympia want to see an off-leash dog park in the city.

Sue Nott visits the Hawks Prairie dog park two to three times a week with Scamper, a 10-month-old mutt who’s part Maltese, part terrier and part miniature poodle. The two travel about 8 miles from their home near Pattison Lake, just east of Lacey.

Aside from some random shards of glass in the grassy area for small dogs, Nott praised the Hawks Prairie park’s overall cleanliness and well-behaved visitors. Nott also spends a lot of time in Olympia and said she would love to see a similar dog park downtown or on the city’s west side.

“We absolutely love the dog park,” Nott said of the Hawks Prairie site. “It’s very sociable.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2015 at 6:12 AM with the headline "Is an off-leash dog park in Olympia’s future?."