*A Mission To Visit Some Parks in the San Gabriel Valley

Greetings Canine Angelenos!

My pack and I traveled to the city of San Gabriel to visit some friends and check out a couple of the local parks. We didn't do much planning (just looked for green spaces in our Thomas Guide), but we could not have been more pleasantly surprised by two of the nicest parks I've encountered in Los Angeles County.

*** VINCENT LUGO PARK *** 

Rating: 4 Paws

Corner of Wells St. and Ramona St.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-308-2875


Vincent Lugo Park, named after the former San Gabriel parks commissioner who helped turn a landfill into this beautiful place, is San Gabriel's largest park and has just about everything a dog could ever want in it.

This park has it all...even a farmer's market!

The landscaping is gorgeous. Native plants grow alongside a dry riverbed with small bridges crossing the river in a few places. A perfect little baseball field sits at the East end of the park and an outdoor classroom is available to teach the local kids about the natural and cultural history of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, you can't swim in a dry river...

There are 3 easy to walk paths that total just over 1 mile and take you through the entire park.

The longest of the 3 paths goes alongside the Alhambra Wash.

There is plush grass to roll in, dozens of shady trees to lounge under, picnic benches, water fountains, public restrooms and poop bag dispensers. 

My compliments to the groundskeeper - this lawn is like a golf course.

This place really does have it all, including one unique feature just for the small human members of the pack....

How many parks have a playground ranked by Yahoo as one of America's Top 10?

La Laguna de San Gabriel (aka. Dinosaur Park) is a unique playground built in the 1960's that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. It's full of hand sculpted sea creatures that the kids can climb on and slide down while their parents sit on a bench under some shade trees. A must visit for any little Human Angeleno...

Bummer for me...dogs aren't allowed on the slides.

  

*** ALMANSOR PARK ***

Rating: 3 Paws

800 S. Almansor Ave.

Alhambra, CA 91801

626-570-5081

Only about a mile down the road from Vincent Lugo Park is the entrance to Almansor Park in Alhambra - a recreation center for humans that has facilities for just about every sport imaginable.

This place is designed for human games, but there are plenty of things for a doggie to do as well.

There are baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts, ping pong tables, soccer fields.... even a lawn bowling club!

I'm not exactly sure what lawn bowling is, but anything that involves rolling things in the grass is ok by me.

There is also plenty of grass and trees for a dog to explore and there are water fountains spread throughout the park; but not a poop bag dispenser to be found. Additionally, there's an area designed for parties that includes a cabana and some barbecue grills and dogs are allowed to join in the festivities.

Some green grass is all I need to have a good time.

Baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner is an Alhambra legend and there is a nice statue of him next to the baseball fields.

Ralph Kiner hit 50+ home runs twice in his major league career - a big deal back in the 1940's.

Right in the middle of the park is a little pond with a pretty water fountain that is full of birds and turtles.

I love lakes and ponds....even the ones I'm not allowed to go swimming in.

Next to the pond is a bunch of picnic tables where you can have a snack and enjoy the scenery; just watch out for the bird droppings because apparently birds have no qualms about doing their business just about anywhere.

The birds like this park so much that they're dancing on the picnic tables...

That's all for this week's adventures. I hope you visit and enjoy these wonderful parks soon and be sure to check out my website CanineAngeleno.com for more great places to take your humans. 

Click here to see what factors I look at to come up with my park ratings.


See you at the park!

Chloe Canine-Angeleno









Much of the information I've shared in this blog came from the following sources:

The City of San Gabriel

The City of Alhambra

All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross

Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.

*What Makes A Good Park? A Paw Based Rating System...

Greetings fellow Canine Angelenos!

I've spent my entire life looking for fun places to explore in Southern California and I'm often asked what is my favorite place to visit. I really don't have a single favorite because there are so many great things to see and sniff around here that its impossible to choose one. Almost any place a dog can go has some redeeming quality to it and the incredible variety of features available from one location to the next makes it difficult to compare them.

Here in Los Angeles alone, we've got forests, beaches, mountains, deserts, and of course...parks. Heck, the word "park" itself can mean many different things and there are a lot of different types. You could visit city parks, county parks, state parks, national parks, wilderness parks, dog parks, pocket parks, and so on and so on and so on...

So just what do I consider a "park"? Wikipedia defines a park as:

...an area of open space provided for recreational use. It can be in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and is set aside for human enjoyment or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as play grounds.

I'd call that a pretty accurate description; except I'd add 'for canine enjoyment' too.

You never know what you might find at the park! (at Franklin Canyon Park)

Because parks are probably the place you visit most often with your pack and friends, I've decided to create a rating system, based on my personal experiences, to share what I think about them.  I'll include my rating whenever I visit a park in future blogs. Notice I've mimicked the popular restaurant star rating system, replacing the stars with paws.


The Official Canine Angeleno Park Rating System:

0 Paw - Wouldn’t set paw there.
1 Paw - Its better than staying inside.
2 Paw - Its got the basics.
3 Paw - Pretty Good; has a lot going for it.
4 Paw - Very Nice; a place to visit again and again.
Tail Wag - Awesome; a doggy paradise.

What am I basing my rating on? Here are some of the major things I look for in a park:

• Surface

Is it easy on the paws? Are there bald spots, dirt, and rocks or is it lush grass that you can roll in?

Plush grass is always a good thing...

• Trees

Who doesn't like trees? They're beautiful, provide shade, clean the air, and all the boy dogs can't resist "lifting a leg" around them.

• Creatures

Trees often come with squirrels, which all dogs know are a menace to society. They must be chased back up those trees, and that's a lot of fun to do.  Many parks in greater Los Angeles are also inundated with gophers.  At least I think they’re gophers (if anyone is an expert on the topic, please comment). Gophers make those little mounds of dirt; which I just love digging in search of the little buggers.

Humans just don't appreciate how evil squirrels really are.

Carl Spackler knows what I'm talking about...

• Poop Bag Dispensers

You should always carry your own bags because you're not one of those rude jerks that doesn't pick up after your dog.  But we all forget them from time to time; and sometimes we have to go more than once... you just never know.

• Trash Cans

Because nobody wants to walk around too long with a bag full of poop.

• Water Fountains

If you know the park you’re going to has them, then you won’t have to carry a water bottle around. Just don’t forget a dish because most of us are too short to drink from the spigot. If you have a spare dish or any old container you don't use anymore, consider leaving it at your favorite park by the fountain so other dogs can use it.

There are other factors that go into my rankings such as whether or not there is any water I can dip my paws into, walking/hiking trails to explore, and interesting things for my human friends to see and do. These things aren't necessary for a typical "park" to get a high rating (its not fair of me to compare a local park to something like a National Forest) but they sure help.



*** MISC TIPS ***

• Parks that have tennis courts in them are an excellent source of lost tennis balls. Many of the City of L.A. Recreation Centers have them and the “finders keepers” rule is in full effect.

I found the Mother lode!

• If you visit a particular park regularly, pay attention to what day and time the grass gets mowed and insist on going out then. Is there anything better than rolling in freshly mowed grass? I don't believe there is...

It feels sooooooo good....

• If you think its time to go to the park but your humans aren't taking you, try to look as good as possible and don't be afraid to use those "puppy dog eyes"...

Works every time...

Well there you have it. The Official Canine Angeleno Park Ranking System. I hope it helps you when you're deciding where to explore. If you know of a great park you'd like to see me cover in this blog, please leave a comment. I love discovering new places!


See you at the park!

Chloe Canine-Angeleno





All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross

Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.

*I Am A Canine Angeleno

The City of Angels, The Entertainment Capital of the World, Tinseltown, La-La Land.....

Los Angeles already has a lot of names, but I would like to propose a few more:

Houndwood; Bow-Wow Land, Poochopolis, The City of Canines?

OK, maybe those aren't the greatest of names, but my point is this: 

According to the Found Animals Foundation Survey, there are about 500,000 dogs in the City of L.A., and about 1,000,000 of us throughout L.A. County.

That a whole lot of pooches! 

L.A. is indeed a place for dog lovers.

But for some reason, our city never seems to make any website or major publication's list of the top dog cities in America.

So, with this blog and my new website, I've taken on the mission of enlightening the world on just how great we dogs have it here.


Let me ask you this. How many cities: 

- border a National Forest with over 500 miles of hiking trails? 
- are intersected by the world's largest urban park with another 500+ miles of trails?
- have the largest municipal park with an urban wilderness area in the U.S.?
- enjoy 174 County parks and over 15,000 acres of City park land?
- officially have the most pleasant weather in America?

The answer is just one, the beautiful City of Canines Angels

And its not just an outdoor lovers' paradise. There are dozens and dozens of luxury day care centers and spas that pamper us, restaurants that let us sit on the patio and wait for you to drop something yummy, and boutique stores, hotels, and bakeries that cater to our refined tastes and sense of vanity...

It's good to be a Canine Angeleno.




About once I week I'll be posting information, pictures, and my thoughts about the places I've visited in L.A. and Southern California. Most of the time it will be about a place in L.A. County, but I do enjoy the occasional road trip.

My next post will be about one of my favorite yet most under appreciated places: 

The Los Angeles River

So subscribe to this blog and check out my website. Your best friend will thank you.


Chloe Canine-Angeleno