This park used to be our neighborhood park. We lived just down the road, so when my husband and I first moved to the neighborhood, we would walk down and intersect with the Rivanna River trail which goes through Azalea park. Or we would loop around the garden plots that are down there at the far end of the park and see what folks were growing. Or we would go use the big spread of grass to throw the frisbee around. The playground is pretty cool, too. (Admittedly, around sunset when the kiddies had all gone in for dinner and bath time, we'd utilize the freedom and play on some of the playground equipment--lots of exciting things you can spin on/in!) Kid (and "big kid") approved. Then we had a baby, so I would stroll the babe down to the park and loop around the park's paths and back home, or I would sit on a swing and hold my babe and swing with him for a bit. Ah, the circle of life. Now we've moved and I already kinda miss Azalea Park. (Note: There's also a dog park; just a fairly large gated in area of grass where you can let your dog off the leash.) read more

Azalea is our preferred dog park in Charlottesville. It has two large fenced-in areas that share a fenced entry pen. We bring our sheepdog Appa here at least once a week when the weather is cool/cold enough for him, less often in the summer (Charlottesville's summer heat is pretty brutal on our fluff monster). In all of our visits we've only run into a few dogs that aren't very well socialized and are aggressive towards other dogs (we've encountered this multiple times at Darden Towe). For the most part all of the owners are very responsible, friendly, and approachable and their dogs follow their example. There are always tennis balls laying around that are up for grabs, several picnic tables for humans (and sometimes for dogs to climb on), poop bags/trash cans, and water bowls (and a pump to fill them). Overall it has just about everything you could need. The one major downside about Azalea's dog park is that it has very little shade. There's a single large tree on the west side that casts some decent shade in the evening during the summer, but for the most part the sun scorches down and there's no hiding from it. It would be fantastic if the town could plant a few more trees here. There's plenty of parking, and trails and a stream nearby. Appa's a better socialized dog thanks to Azalea. We're very glad we found this park. read more

A great fully fenced dog park with 2 separate decent sized areas. There is some limited shade and pretty good grass coverage. Also a great playground and baseball field. read more

We go to Azalea a few times per week for the dog park. You can access it from the main park's parking lot, or you can get in on a paved trail from Azalea Drive (actually a shorter walk). The dog park is a large fenced area that is divided into two separate zones. Most of the time, all the dogs are on one side so they can hang out, but every once in awhile someone will bring a dog who's skiddish, and it's nice that they can separate their pup on the other side of the fence but still get some socialization. Each side has a picnic table or two. There are water buckets out and free poop bags with a trashcan. One thing that would make it better is if there was some turf. Right now, it's patchy grass, so your pup might leave dusty or muddy depending on the weather. Still, I think there's good attention to maintaining things, either on the part of the city or the dog owners. Some dogs dig holes, but every few days they're filled in. We've also never had a mean dog experience, which is reassuring! read more