DeGarmo Park

great park for dogs. safe double entry, lots of room to run.

I am happy to a point. My 2 median dogs love coming here and making friends. They seem to have a good time and get a lot of their energy out. One thing I don’t like is people bringing their dogs into the dog park that are not socialized They tend to be aggressive and don’t fit in. Please train your dogs before bringing them in this situation. If you can’t control them at home, DON“T BRING THEM HERE ie: if they don’t come, heal, sit, etc… (believe me it won’t get better at the dog park). Also everyone has a different way of controlling the situation and their dogs. Keep your mouth shut about it unless you are a certified trainer or your animals are in danger of harm. Remember dogs play differently then humans, sit back, relax and watch. If necessary always step in and LOVE YOUR DOGS always!

There are doggy fountains with people fountains, a water play area, a little grass, and a sandy area to run through. I have no issues with the dog park. There are irresponsible owners now and then but my dog is well enough behaved to avoid those dogs so I dont worry.
Everyone keeps going off about small dog area, from what I have seen the small dogs like being in with the big dogs, otherwise they would hide instead of romping around with them. My sisters Chihuahua loves geyting the big dogs to chase her.

This is a nice, open, large playground. They need more trees because it gets DARN hot out there.

I really like this park however, I wish there was a separation from the large dog park and the small dog park. Some small dogs don’t wanna kick it with the biggers and get super aggressive when put in «trample» situations. Mine, in particular– she goes from 9 pound mini dachshund to 50 pound pitpull crazy bitch in 2.2 seconds when one of the biggers comes around to sniff her lady parts. Uh uh, no sir, does she want a big doggie sniffer down there, not even for a second. Now for the little doggie sniffers, she’ll have a trade sniff and be on her merry way.
Really that’s my only complaint about the park. Other then that, the people hangin the park are usually nice and keep and eye on their pooches (big plus because problems can arise in ½ a second). There is a TON of other space to exercise your dog if they are kept on the leash outside of the actual «dog» park, this is where I take my dog (actually this is where she prefers to run around). Parking is super easy too, another huge plus :) 3 Stars– Arf!

I’m pretty disappointed. My bf and I and our dog were up in Chico visiting from Sacramento. We have a lot of dog parks down here that we frequent and we were excited to check out one in Chico.
We didn’t even take our dog into the dog area. When we got there we noticed little grass, mostly muddy/​dirt areas. Secondly, we noticed no small dog/​large dog segregation which is also a big no-​no. Thirdly, we notice several large dogs playing way too roughly and the owners of said dogs not correcting it.
Maybe they do things differently in Chico but at our regular dog parks that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated at all. My dog LOVES going to the big dog area but I was far too afraid to let him out of the car.
There was a german shepherd juts bulldozing a few of the smaller dogs, a pit mix and a lab snarling at each other and no one breaking it up!!! We only observed two well behaved dogs a boxer who seemed too worried to join into the «play» and stayed in a far off area and a Australian shepherd playing fetch. Every other dog was a little scary in the behavior department.
Also there was a pseudo-​partition about 3.5 — 4 feet high of steal stakes and plastic sheeting which I believe was supposed to be a separate area but even a small dog could clear that. Also noticed tons of «land mines» from lazy owners.
The design of this dog park was obviously an afterthought and has been overrun by irresponsible owners.
The city should make a separate small dog area. I would petition if i lived here because its just silly not to have that and owners with responsible dogs should start reporting any bites to prevent further issues. Also creating a standing time of day like «4pm on Saturday» and only inviting other friendly dogs/​good owners will create a strong network of people to enforce good behavior. That’s how we have ousted many troublesome dogs/​owners.
Incidents happen at dog parks, we all know that but if the owner does not take it seriously they should be made to felt extremely unwelcome.

This is the only dog park I have been to that didn’t have a «small dog» only area. I still go there because it is the only place to go but it is pretty much the worst dog park Ive been to. There is definitely enough space to fence off an area within the current park while still leaving more than enough space for the big dogs. I emailed parks and rec and they said they discussed this many times at length and decided not to do it. I want to know if its just because of cost. I would totally volunteer to spearhead a program/​fundraiser to raise money to make a small dog side.

Nice new park but holy hell… PLEASE plant more trees and not the baby starter ones. I freakin roast out there in the deadly Chico heat.
Park great for new families and kids. Obvious that is their demographic but unless there’s a reason, I personally wouldnt want to hang out there on my own. Just one massive open field with a play area. Bbq area nice but not enough seating under shade. Also park is located in the dingy industrial part of town. Zero style…
Certainly not Bidwell Park!

This used to be a great place to take your dog for exercise and socializing, but it’s really gone down hill. I was there yesterday, and was appalled. Dog poop everywhere and owners who don’t monitor their dog’s behavior. It’s a dirty — and potentially dangerous — scene. I recently saw a man come in with a beautiful young Standard Poodle, who was immediately set upon by 2 dogs. Just pathetic.

Great for sports, relaxing, bbq’n and dogs are welcome!

Worst dog park experience ever. Someone warned us about the aggressive dogs that frequent this place and we should have listened.
Our 1-​year-​old yellow lab was having a great time playing with the other dogs for about 20 minutes. Then a family with a brown pit bull came into the park. The dog was barking before it even got in the park and riled up all the other dogs. That should have been our sign to leave. Instead we stayed and about 10 minutes later that pit bull took a chunk out of my puppy’s back leg as my dog was playing with another big dog there. When my dog cried and tried to run away the pit grabbed onto his back leg again and shook him as he screamed in pain. We had to break it up, and the owner said his dog was «just playing.» Really? The stitches on my dog’s leg and our huge vet bill say otherwise.
On top of that, the water fountains weren’t working and the park was loaded with poop due to people failing to pick up after their dogs.
So beware of the aggressive dogs and lazy owners you’ll find here. Bring your dog to Bidwell instead. So sad.

Love it here. The rest of DeGarmo park is pretty awesome too.
There is nothing like going to the dog park after a long day at work… for both you and your dog. There are some drawbacks, but instead of complaining just make it better. Talk to the people that are there, learn how to read dogs and guide your dog to a different part of the park.
I am looking forward to Spring time though, I miss the grass portion being open.
Wouldn’t it be great to get a «friends of Degarmo Dog park» group going? maybe do some fund raising for renovations (small dog area since it seems to be a popular demand, solution for the grass becoming a mud pit, maybe doing a rinse off area?”

I love this dog park! I live in an apartment so I take my two dogs here every day. My big dog loves to run around and play tag with the other dogs while my little cocker spaniel liked to make the round and greet the people. I love the fact that they have shaded benches for the humans to sit on, bags and trashcans for dog poop, and even a little pool for the dogs to cool off in! My dogs love it!

My dogs and I love this dog park. Why?
Nice, friendly people and dogs
Good and plentiful seating
Dog-​friendly ground materials — wood chips and compressed granite
Plenty of poop pick-​up bags
Easy access and parking
Water station
Even if you have a yard for your dog, you should check it out. It is so fun to see all of the different breeds of dogs and talk to other like-​minded, dog-​loving people.

I love this place when it comes to my Pit Bull, he gets to run around, play with other dogs and just be himself. but this isnt great for my 4lb chihuahua… she does well with big dogs, i mean she has a 65lb pit bull as her brother… but she does get trampled by the other dogs and i fear she might get hurt… id love if there was a smaller area that was just for the small/​tiny/​toy dogs… i know they should get there exercise indoors but all dogs love outdoors, right.

DeGarmo is the newest and nicest park in Chico. The dog park is decently sized and maintained. There are usually a moderate amount of dogs there, they all play nice and the owners are friendly. There is water on site for the dogs and ample parking.

We visited this dog park during our weekend trip to Chico. The people are really nice and I thought it was interesting that there is a walking trail around the perimeter inside the dog park area for people to exercise while dogs played. Great concept and it’s something I’ve never seen before! I agree with others that there should be a separate small big dog area. I noticed most small dog owners congregating in the far corner but that still didn’t stop big dogs from coming over to sniff. Nothing malicious but owners like me with toy breeds know that they little guys can go Napoleon on big dogs so it’s not a good situation.

We have really loved this park — its a nice facility and our dog has a great time there. As several others have noted though, it really needs a segregated area for smaller dogs. Our little terrier has had a few bigger dogs plow him down (nothing malicious, just playing too hard for the size differential) and a particularly aggressive German Shepard bit him today and took a chunk out of his back. With the size differential our dog didn’t have a chance of not getting hurt when the other dog went after him.
Aggressive dogs aren’t supposed to be there but there isn’t really any way of ensuring that owners are responsible, and even if it’s just the usual rough play or the minor little scuffles that can break out, the big size differences can mean the difference between a minor scuffle and a real danger. I’d love to give this 5 stars and probably would if I had a big dog, but for those with small dogs, I think you have to be pretty careful.

Really need to just fence off part of the dog area for small dogs.
This is more of a large dog park. Please be careful with your small dogs.

Love this place! Super clean and everyone who i have met there seem to be super friendly with great dogs!
Go check it out!