Dogs come in all shapes and sizes; so do dog parks. Houston has tiny, barebones parks, huge, well-equipped parks, parks with shade, parks with no shade, parks in the middle of the city and parks in the middle of other parks. Where you take your dog for its daily exercise and recreation depends on location, sure, but with as many parks as Houston has, owners usually have a choice of two or three nearby parks. Here are our top ten. Did your favorite make the list?
10. Elizabeth Glover Park 1400 Elgin
Elizabeth Glover Park is officially the smallest park on our list (taking the honor away from T.C. Jester). It's tiny and relatively unadorned. Bark chips are used as ground cover (based on the holes and piles we saw on our last visit there, bark chips are fun for dogs who like to dig). There are two double-gated entries...and that's it. No benches. No shade (unless you count the shadows of the office buildings directly west of the park).
Outside the fenced area, there's a small lawn of lush grass with an "exercise platform" at one end (we thought it was an outdoor stage). A line of robust native grasses and bushes create a bit of a barrier between park and the always-busy Elgin Street; there's a small noise factor.
So how did this tiny, barebones park make our list? Location, location, location. It's perfectly situated to serve the growing number of Midtown residents. Another big plus is the fact that the park is right across from a busy fire station (the wailing sirens are big fun for the dogs every time the fire trucks race out).
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