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John Mclaren Park

4.0 Bone Rating

7 Reviews


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Mansell St (at Visitacion Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94134
www.jennalex.com/projects/fomp/h...

Neighborhood: Excelsior
Category: Parks

Fido Factors

Park Leash Policy
Off-leash permitted
Permitted Dog Areas
Restricted
Fenced Area
Certain sections
Park Size
Large (20+ acres)
Poop bags
Yes
Fog Factor
Low

Reviews (7)   Your reviews help homeless dogs in San Francisco! Learn More

 
Flag Review

8/19 11:53am

lenny k.

We just moved to "the best neighborhood you've never heard of", Portola, in Febuary. McLaren park is great!!!!! it's literally our front yard. lotsa of trails. leash your dog, though, if you see kids. the parents here are veryvery protective. Upper resevoir for dogs to swim in, Lots of gophers to hunt.

Josephine Flag Review

7/14 3:15pm

Margaret M.

This is a very rough area of the city. I don't feel comfortable walking my golden retriever at this park. As a single woman I would advise not to venture off the main paths, and definitely don't go into this park at night or even dusk. Also there have been incidents of roving pitbulls attacking other dogs at this park. Dog walkers beware!

Flag Review

1/12 7:39pm

Madison O.

The only reason why we did not vote five bones is because the droppings from the ducks and contaminated water at the duck pond caused our dogs gastrointestinal problems necessitating a Vet visit and antibiotics on more than one occasion. Stay away from the ducks and pond if your dog is prone to these types of infections.
Otherwise, there are acres and acres to explore off leash. This is the largest park in San Francisco excluding Golden Gate Park. We've been going there for 10 years. The weather tends to be more tepid than Ft. Funston on a blustery day as this park is inland and protected from fog and wind by the hills. Lots of beautiful birds flying overhead as well as geckos. Pack a lunch and make a day of it!

Flag Review

12/25 8:58pm

steve h.

As one of "the locals,"I guess I'm just used to The neighborhood but this is as good as dog parks get in this part of the world. It's not Funston, but what is? The second duck pond is outside of the off-leash area, and it is not so nice, but the one where us locals take our dogs is a City reservoir, is within the very large off-leash area, and is pretty clean. Since the water is constantly being pumped in and out of the pond(there's a water tower just above it), it never gets stagnant, which is the problem with the other pond. If you want a putting green for your pooch to poop on, go somewhere else, but If you like to walk trails with your dog, and you don't want to go to tick country(across one of our bridges), this is the place, ...if you can stand the neighborhood that is. Don't go to 1600 Geneva though, that would be Crocker Amazon Park. Take Mansell to John F Shelley. Shelley forms a big loop, and everything inside that loop is off-leash. With regard to any lack of upkeep, That's the way the city treats the lesser neighborhoods. If any of the mayor's friends lived in the Excelsior., our parks (and everything else would get more upkeep. http://www.HookersHappyHounds.com

Jazz Flag Review

9/21 12:05pm

louis h.

Kind of a hidden treasure, always pretty empty and not maintained very well, but if your dog is a swimmer the small "lake" or pond cant be missed. Fun chasing ducks can ensue too!

Flag Review

9/21 1:09am

ginapoon

This is a park not too many seem to know about. It's pretty quiet so you can have a nice peaceful walk with your pooch.

There's great views of the city and plenty of trails to explore. There are two ponds in the park. One is extremely filty and sadly, my dog has fallen in by accident. The other one is newly renovated made for dogs to swim in.

Go check out this park if you haven't already!

Captain at Bernal Hill Flag Review

7/14 11:22am

Garrett

This isn't the best maintained park in the city but it is big and has a lot of diverse habitats. There are two duck ponds, one that the dogs swim in. I didn't really want my pup going in and he wasn't too interested. The water was murky and full of duck poo but plenty of other dogs seemed to be having a good time swimming. Never the less my puppy came down with Ghiardia after out visit.

There are plenty of hills and open fields to frolic in, as well as great views. We spent a couple hours exploring. I would definitely come back although it is a bit of a drive from where I live.

On the down side the neighborhood isn't that great. A large group of people were playing bones, drinking and getting a bit rowdy when we left at dusk. Given the drinking and the fact that dead bodies have been pulled out of this park, I probably wouldn't stick around after dark.

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