Markley Creek Dog Park

It’s been a few years since I actually came to this park with my Labrador, Buddy so I guess my review isn’t completely accurate. I actually came here a few days ago with my Miniature Pinscher, Moxy and took a quick look and decided it was a horrible idea. When I took Buddy to this park it was during a hot summer and I could tell that the sharp gravel was hurting his paws. There was NO WHERE for him to lay down and hang out. There also wasn’t any other dogs for him to play with. So when I came back to give it a second chance I decided any place that has sharp shards of rock as playing ground for animals isn’t a good idea in ANY weather conditions. Also there is a bigger, better, GREENER dog park literally around the corner.

I had a lousy time trying to find this place. A sign out on road would’ve helped. Gave up and will try again. Antioch is not a dog lovers city.

I am giving this park 3 stars because I had a bad experience today. If it were not for today’s experience I would have probably rated this park higher. Before I talk about my experience I have to mention that I have two dogs: a miniature pinscher and a pit bull/​lab mix. I get mixed reviews when I take my pit bull mix places. I take him to Petsmart and everyone loves him but then I walk him down the street in my own neighborhood and a neighbor who I have never met feels the need to say «hey lady, you have a mean dog» and people always feel the need to mention someone they know who got attacked by a pit bull. The stereotypes of pit bulls have nothing to do with my loving and compassionate dog.
Anyway, today before I could even go inside the gate a snooty woman and her upity friend preceded to tell me that pit bulls could not go in the fenced in side that they were on and that I had to go on the other side. I would not have taken my dogs to the small dog side that they were on anyway, that was not my plan. I was very taken back by their rudeness. Especially since one of the ladies had an evil small dog and the other lady had a freakin German Shepherd. My dogs were not misbehaving and here they are opening their rude mouths when they are the ones breaking the rules.
Besides the two nasty ladies that I met today my other experiences at this park were pleasant. I have met plenty of people here who are extremely pleasant and have fun and friendly dogs. The park is in a nice neighborhood. I usually park on the cul de sac right by the dog park which is pretty convenient. Although there is only gravel inside the actual dog park there is a large area of grass right outside of the gated park that I let my dogs run on. Most people are good about picking up after their dogs except I seen a little doggy waste today. There is some shade and benches inside the gated park.
Overall, I would say this is an okay park. Mainly because it seems to be a hit and a miss with the type of crowd that goes there.

The dog park is at the end of summit rd. There’s also a very nice clean play area, very kid friendly.
The dog park was clean and people do pick up after their dogs which is a huge plus.

Not bad! It’s the best we’ve found so far! My dogs didn’t quite know what to do at first with the rocks vs grass but they had a ball and went crazy running around. It’s very clean, secure and there is a separate area for small dogs that is a good size. It’s not easy to find through navigation. Go all the way to the top of James Donlon, make a right. Drive to the first stop sign and make a right (Sierra I think) and drive straight down. It will be on the right. Walk through the pretty park and you’re there.

So I don’t understand other reviews. After reading the reviews I didn’t think it would be nice at all.
First of all it’s pea-​gravel not «large sharp gravel» our corgi was running not stop and not a problem. It may be warm in the summer but I sincerely doubt it will be any hotter than the sidewalk you walk along to get into the park.
There isn’t a parking lot and you have to go through a subdivision to get to it. This was quite obviously built for the subdivision (streets named the same) and It is more than likely maintained by the HOA.
Poo bags provided garbages were near empty and there is even a dog drinking fountain. There were around 5 benches with shade. Well some with shade.
As for your car not being safe seriously!!! The houses are in the $ 390’s. People are super friendly and there wasn’t one creep hanging about.
How many dog parks are there in Antioch?
Count your blessings people.

I’ve always wanted to take my pups here but was worried as to how they would react since I’ve never taken them to a dog park. There is rarely anyone here and almost always empty.
We park right in from of the park because I read that some people’s cars were broken into. We could clearly see our car from the dog park.
The dog park itself is pretty huge! It is divided into 2 sections-​one for smaller breeds and one for big breeds. In the middle of the section is a gated area where there is a water fountain for the dogs and doggy bags.
I personally love that the park isn’t so crowded as my dogs seem to enjoy playing with only a few dogs at a time. But we did bring my dog once and he was extremely bored by himself.

So everyone is right, there is no grass. Best time to go is on chilly days. between the hours of 2:30 till 4. That’s when dogs come. Its great for my dog. She’s a German/​bulldog.

I would give this «park» negative stars if I could.
Cons:
— No grass
— Large sharp gravel used in the entire area. If your dog likes to run intensely, it will get its paws cut.
— Street parking in a subdivision. No dedicated lot.
Bottom line: Hot Antioch summers makes this place a virtual oven due to the lack of grass. Would you have your dog chase balls on hot pavement?

I am regular at this dog park. I go because it is the closest dog park to me, and there are not very many options in Antioch for dog parks.
I usually go in the evenings, and very often, I’ll be the only one there. The most packed I’ve seen this place would be on a Sunday afternoon.
You should know– the dog park has gravel,… no grass. But sometimes the park outside the dog park is empty, and I let my dog off leash for a nice run in the grass.
Friendly folks though Ive come across a number of not very well trained dogs there. There are two sections, one for smaller dogs and one for larger dogs. Although there is a sign saying big dogs are not allowed in the small dog park, it is common practice for good owners to allow their well trained big dogs in the little dog park sometimes (good to know if there is a non friendly dog in large dog area).

Love the dog park, but be warned today one friends car was stolen and another broken into… It is a nice area but lots of folks say it is common to get your car broken into … Cops were called but after 1.5 hours they did not show they were called back to go to the house instead,

I take my puppy here. Overall I think its a great park. People complain about the gravel but the gravel is what helps your dog exercise more. It causes more friction causing the dog to get tired faster and its better exercise for them. I agree though its not as packed as other dog parks but its still very nice and new.

Just not worth it. My family took our 3 yr. old puggle here for a visit on a Saturday and what a waste. No one was there! Two other dogs showed up but didn’t stay very long. My dog is very social and loves to play with other dogs so this was not a good fit. I’ll list my turn offs below.
1. All gravel, no grass. Antioch is always hot. Therefore, the gravel is hot.
2. No shade. And again, Antioch is always hot.
3. No courtesy poop bags. We bring our own but still, it would smart for there to be the option should you run out.
4. The poop bins were ALL FULL. Gross and stinky. Looks like they hadn’t been emptied in months.
My opinion is this, you could come here with your pup but what would be the point? Go somewhere else.

This is the Club Med of dog parks. Tucked into a newish development, it’s a little hard to find, but worth the effort.
A receiving/​leashing area — with dog and human water fountain — opens to separate gated areas for small and large breed off-​leash play areas. (I deducted a star because the doggie water fountain part is missing a button, but there’s a stick you can use to push the water to flowing.) It’s gravel and pretty clean, with nice dogs and owners. They have courtesy poop bags, so that seems to be an update from a 2008 review, below.
To get there: go south on Somersville Road towards the Black Diamond hills, away from HWY 4, past Buchanan, then turn right on James Donlon Blvd., right again on Summit Way, right again on Crescent Ct., and park at the end. The dog park will be up the path at the end of the street.

Any dog park around here is great as far as I’m concerned. I used to bring my dogs to this park, though we now go to Contra Loma. It’s in Antioch, so is often empty during early lunch hours on weekdays – I actually liked that. I liked having the whole park to myself.
There’s a separate area for small dogs. Both sides are decent sized, but not huge. The ground is gravel, which my dogs sometimes liked to dig in. Gravel is great for cleanliness, but as one reviewer said, it could get hot in the summer months (though if it’s THAT hot, should you really be taking your dog to the park?). I didn’t have a problem with the gravel.
The dog park is attached to a small regular park with lawn and a kids’ play jungle. When it’s empty, I let my dogs run around on the lawn. They seemed to enjoy that more than running around in the actual dog park.
People were nice, never had any issues.
One of the reasons I stopped going here though is that the parking area is notorious for car break-​ins. My friend’s car window was shattered (even though she left her locks unlocked on purpose – so the thieves WOULDN’T feel the need to break her window if they wanted to steal something) while we were at the dog park. I got into the habit of parking in front of the lawn area, where the park sign is located, where my car would be in full view.

Good dog park to come to during rainy season. There is a section for the smaller dogs to go to when the bigger dogs are there.
Nice people there, much nicer than the people that I have experienced in Brentwood.
Might not be the best park though in the hot summers because of lack of shade.

This dog park is fine, especially during the winter months when it’s wet. The gravel surface is great. I have two dogs, small and medium and the surface is fine for them and I see plenty of tiny dogs there who have no problems. I have met only nice people there and have never had any issues with break ins in my car. You can park your car so you can see it from the park if you want — I can’t imagine anyone would break into your car that close to the park where you can clearly see. I’ve never seen any suspect characters in the neighborhood (not that there aren’t any, I just haven’t seen them).
There have been kids playing there who have all been kind and dog friendly — only once did I come across a guy who had an unneutered dog there and the dog kept mounting all the other dogs but he wasn’t aggressive (we were just leaving at that point).
When it looks like it might rain or rained the night before, we go to this park (since the other parks are usually closed or too muddy). It’s totally fine and I suspect those folks complaining complain about everything.

This is the nearest dog park to my home and it’s open every day and that is very convenient. However lately, it has not been being maintained; weeds/​plants grow out of control in the fenced in dog areas, poop bags are no longer provided and simply left empty for weeks and the gravel is not what it use to be.
the gravel is great because it’s easy to clean but when you throw a toy, the dog gets it, slobers on it and then when the toy it’s the gravel, it picks up all the rocks/​dirt on the toy and makes it kind of grosser than usual.
best time to come is around 3pm it seems, although that’s not a gaurantee. many times I’ve come here and there are no dogs which dissapoint me and my pup.
the people are nice and very understanding if you’re concerned with introducing your dog to new dogs.
water is always provided and toys are already there for you!
there is also a kid’s park right across the lawn with turf and slides etc.

It’s close to home… gravel gave us the option of less mud during the rainy season. I liked the separate small/​large dog areas. I liked the doggie drinking fountain and YES they do have courtesy poop bags.
I have not had any trouble with my vehicle. There are children playing in the park beside the dog park.
All in all, an ok park. But I am guessing it will be miserable in hot weather.
I had to remind one guy of the park rules. His dogs were constantly starting fights and barking incessantly. He said he had gotten bit earlier in the week at the park. I don’t suppose it was because he brought his un-​fixed male and female dogs to the park! Duh!

This dog park had large gravel as surface. Combined with hot Antioch summers, the discomfort of gravel underfoot was painful to my two dogs. My tough large dog did not even want to run, just walked around and sat under the bench in the shade.
A message to whomever created this park:
–What sadist planned and put this together? Why don’t you visit the park and walk on hot rocks without your shoes on, Torquemada!. Hope you go to doggie hell when you meet the maker and walk on hot coals the rest your infinite existence.-