The Mimi De Marta Dog Park is a real gem for dog lovers in Santa Cruz, and pure nirvana for their dogs!I recently took care of a friends two Basset Hounds (brother and sister--so cute!) for a few weeks and ALL THEY WANTED TO DO was to go play in that park, and it was easy to see why! Every day they made at least one new friend, and each side of the triangular park is tremendously exciting for very different reasons.The first side, where you enter, becomes very exciting once youre inside the park because new doggies appear at random intervals, and provide lots of wonderful new opportunities for butt-sniffing, making new friends, and being reunited with old ones!And then the first very loooooong side to the left is adjacent to a sidewalk, which is itself adjacent to a busy road where traffic often comes to a complete stop while the cars wait for the traffic light. Sometimes when the traffic stops there are doggies in the cars with their noses sticking out the windows and the doggies in the park can bark at them and then run around and tease them because they are free in the park while the doggies in the traffic are stuck in their cars!Lots of people use the sidewalk, and sometimes the doggies like to bark at the ones who have backpacks, but almost all the time they like to bark at the ones who wear trench coats. And of course when the skateboarders go by all the doggies who are paying attention to that side of the park go bananas and have a lot of fun trying to chase them aaaaaaaall the way down to the end of the triangular park.From there doggies can continue along the second looooooooooong side of the park, which is also the third side of the triangle. It runs parallel to the river walk multi-use trail along the top of the river levee. And THIS side is for doggies who need a little more excitement than the first loooooooooooooong side can provide. I mean this side is for the REAL adrenalin junkies in their midst! Along the river walk the doggies can see and try to chase walkers, joggers, bicyclers, unicyclers, surfers carrying their surfboards to the beach, rangers wearing UNIFORMS (Bark! Bark!) while on patrol, skateboarders, water fowl (Bark! Bark!), and lots and lots of ground squirrels (Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!).Youd think it would be tough to ever get your doggies to leave such a wonderful place, wouldnt you? Interestingly enough, after an hour or so they are ready to go. They come walking up kinda droopy and slow because they are all tuckered out from having so much fun! Its the darnedest thing I ever saw. Until I took care of those Basset Hounds, I never knew that doggies could possibly have too much fun. Hahaha!Once you get a feel for the rhythm of the park, you learn to watch for your doggies getting droopy so you can begin to wrap up any conversations that you might be having with some of the many friends that are so easy to make with the people who frequent the park. I guess it makes sense that dog lovers are such crazy-friendly people and so easy to talk to, but I just never thought about it--again, before I took care of those silly ol Basset Hounds. I met more interesting people in a shorter amount of time than at any other point in my fifty-eight year old life! Absolutely amazing!Well I could go on and on about this place, but Ill just mention a few more things. For example, the park has a nice safe double-gated entrance with a peg board between the two gates where you can hang your doggies leashes when you enter, and then pick em up again when you leave. And theres a big ol picnic table where you can sit and read, talk with other folks, or surf the web on your phone while your doggies play themselves into droopiness. Also there is cool, clean water available from a spigot, a nice big trash can, and volunteers keep a dispenser stocked with all kinds of plastic bags in case you forget to bring your own poopie picker-uppers. I told you dog lovers were cool, didnt I?There now, isnt that enough? I mean this dog park rocks! It is indeed a gem in the crown of Santa Cruz! :-)

I like this park because it is convenient to get to, and there is a great group of regular dogs who come here. The ground is mainly covered with wood chips so it gets dusty in the summer. Unfortunately there are lots of dog owners who dont pick up after their pups, so the place does have some land mines.

Great safe place for my dogs to run around for a while.

Mostly big dogs come here, some are VERY big. But my brother and I can act real tough and we have an incredibly loud bark.

Decent dog park next to the Santa Cruz river walk. Its fairly small with trees and tanbark, a picnic table, and a water faucet for the pooches. Theres no small dog section -- everyone goes together. I like taking my dog there for a quick romp to get her wiggles out.

We bring our grown puppy here regularly and she loves it. Most people who come here regularly are very caring about the experiences of all the dogs, which I think is one of the best attributes of this park. When new people come, they are made to feel welcome, and people watch out for small dogs too, to be sure they have a good experience.Last Fall the City put bark on the ground, but the hillside, with trees, is all grassy, and cool on a hot day, and a breeze comes off the river nearby. In the wet winter the park was still usable when others were closed due to mud. The dogs love to romp around the trees chasing each other, and can get a really good run when chasing balls as the park is long and fully fenced. It is also big enough so people who want to work with their dog on training or fetch can go down to the far end and have more privacy. There is a campground type water spigot, and a bucket of some type is almost always there (though they do get stolen sometimes).There is a picnic table where people sit watching the dogs. But dogs do jump up on it frequently, considering it part of their play area, so not a good place to have lunch!At night, because it is right on Broadway, there is lighting, making it one of the few dog parks that you can see in somewhat after dark. It is fully fenced (with a double entry gate) and it has always felt very safe, even though it is close to the levee, as there are homes right across the cul-de-sac, a full view of it from Broadway, and parking right at the park.Sadly the one problem in spring and summer is not enough dogs go there. With Frederick St park just opening again (May 2019) about half the dogs go there, so there are often not many dogs there, which is too bad. But we love this park, and so does our dog. Please come try it out! :)

A kind friendly dog park. Great people and a good park with some trees and grass

Good place to play ball with the dog even after the rain. Its on a hillside, so doesnt get all puddly.

Nice dog park

Dogs and their peeps are great.

Its a dump, small dirt lot is what we saw, with a beat up picnic table and bark on the ground.

This is a great park to let your dog run in the fenced enclosure. I would give it five stars if it werent for all the riff raff loitering in the river bank area.

There is a great community of regulars at this dog park. All are welcome, and there seem to be a lot of young people and young, large, dogs.The park has wood chips, grass, trees, a big hill, and water fountain for people and dogs. Also a picnic bench. The area around the water fountain is usually wet or flooded due to a poor drainage system.This park also seems to get some tourists traveling with their dogs. Always be cautious and vigilant with new dogs.

Not usually crowded. Great folks and their pets go there.

Loved it!

Small

Too much drug useage in and around that particular park.

Its fenced in .

Its OK, but its not anything special. And theres been two or three times that very rude men have started insulting each other.

Small but i guess having grass makes it the best dog park in Santa Cruz?