Your community dog parks are ways for everyone who has a dog to socialize with other pet owners and their special friends. It's always a good time to be had here, especially at Ala Wai Dog Park.
I was here with a friend of mine with her dog on one September 2020 evening. We just happened to be walking her dog and passed by this dog park on her way home from Walmart Keeaumoku. It was a nice walk here and there wasn't too much people with their pets. The only thing I didn't enjoy about this experience was the weird odors that tend to come from this place. Dog waste and urine smells are a turn off, if you're not used to it or don't have a pet. It certainly put me off, but it was a social place for dogs and their owners t come and enjoy themselves. The experience here with my friend and her dog lasted about 1 hour before it got dark. This little dog park is a block away from the larger Ala Wai community park and situated next to Iolani School. I ended up watching my friend and her dog socialize with whoever was there behind the fenced area, away from the dogs. I enjoyed the outdoor space, as usual, being outside is helpful especially these days from COVID19. The smell, not so much, but it was nice to see dogs running around and the people talking, even if they were social distancing and wearing masks. Sometimes, you just need to get yourself and your pet outside of the house for some fresh air. We did just that.
The overall experience here at the Ala Wai dog park was nice for what it is. While it is not a community park per say, it's a small place for dogs and dog owners to come together to chill and hang out. It kind of made me want a dog in my life. The Ala Wai dog park is maintained by the good folks at the City and County of Honolulu - Parks and Recreation division. It was nice to see people and their pets roaming around and it reminded me of simpler times before this whole COVID-19 thing came about. Now, its practically what anybody thinks about nowadays. For the most part though, this small corner of Ala Wai Community Park helps bring families with pets together and sharing commonality with each other. It helps dogs socialize and brings somewhat of a normalcy to their lives when a lot of things are in turmoil right now in our world. I try to focus on these things as the dogs play with each other and the dog owners talk about various topics. It helps to remind yourself of how life was like before COVID-19 and being at the dog park helps, along with any other community park. It was nice seeing the various breeds of dogs and how they playfully interacted with each other. If you are in the area and want to bring your dog here for social interaction, best bet would be to come here during the morning hours or the late afternoon hours for maximum social interaction. Hidden gem if you're in the area.
The Ala Wai dog park is located in the University / Ala Moana area of urban Honolulu. It's kind of tucked away from the main thouroughfare of Kapiolani Blvd, but it's there when you do a detour. It's physical address is 2444 Hihiwai Street, 96826. Like all dog parks in the community, there is no admission fee charged. There's even a partition for larger dogs to play with each other, separating them with the smaller dogs, so there's no big dog small dog confrontations. For the most part though, my experience here at the Ala Wai dog park was nice and definitely well needed. It was nice to see social gatherings amongst pets and people while trying to be socially distancing too, in this COVID world we all currently live in. I normally don't hang out in this part of town, but it was nice to be here. Watching the dogs play and interact was nice. It was symbolic of how humans treat each other - at least that's how I see it. As far as parking goes, your only choice would be street parking on neighboring streets nearby. If you are like me, best bet is routes 1, 3, 9,13, and Country Express A. It's a nice walk from Ala Moana Shopping center and you can take a break here to watch cute dogs interact with each other. The ambiance is nice and definitely cool to be outdoors, especially when the lockdown can be so depressing.
5.0 stars for the overall experience.
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