Why should dogs have all the fun?
In recent years, metro Atlanta has welcomed several elaborate, off-leash dog parks that offer diversions and entertainment for people as well as their pets.
Fetch Park in the Old Fourth Ward was among the first dog parks to find success by adding food and drink, leaning heavily into the social aspect of dog owners mingling while their pets play.
Fetch now has three locations in Atlanta and competitors have sprung up across the metro area. The Charlotte-based company Skiptown opened its own full-service operation in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood last year, as did the Drafty Dane off-leash dog park and bar in Marietta.
Another upscale dog park called Off Leash had opened in Alpharetta, but it shut down in December after about six months and canceled plans for a second location in Decatur, Axios reported.
Although some of these dog parks serve a few light food options, they mostly focus on drinks. At one point, the tagline on the Fetch menu was “Get drunk pet dogs.”
The parks also offer events, including live music, weekly trivia and meetups for owners of different breeds.
Here’s more information on the metro area’s three upscale dog park options:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Skiptown
Skiptown is the most full-service dog park and gathering spot in town.
The facility offers dog day care, grooming, training and boarding, in addition to its large dog park. The park itself is a dog wonderland, with indoor and outdoor areas, a dog-scale water park, tunnels and plenty of turf.
Skiptown also offers a short menu of snacky food items, such as pizza and pretzel bites for dog owners who have worked up an appetite.
The drinks menu is much more extensive, with a full bar, including frozen cocktails, wine and more than 20 draft beers.
You can get a day pass for $10 for one dog, plus another $5 for every additional dog. Membership options are available from $15 a month.
200 Arizona Ave. NE, Atlanta. 678-672-6689, skiptown.io
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
The Drafty Dane
The Drafty Dane Park & Pint opened last summer with a two-story bar and a 21,000-square-foot, off-leash dog park.
The area for humans is set up like a sports bar, with plenty of TVs and a large drinks menu with dog-themed cocktails, such as the greyhound (gin, grapefruit and lime) and the old Dane fashion (a spin on an old-fashioned). Drafty Dane also serves wine, beer, a variety of nonalcoholic drinks and packaged snacks.
On weekends, Drafty Dane plays host to food trucks to give patrons a heartier food option.
A day pass costs $12 per dog, with monthly and annual membership options available.
942 Roswell St. NE, Marietta. 470-787-2861, draftydane.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Fetch Park
This is the most established upscale dog park in the metro area. The company opened its first combination bar and dog park in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward in 2018 and since has expanded to three other locations.
Fetch’s west Midtown location probably has the best food situation of any dog park in town, thanks to its location in the Works at Chattahoochee development. While most dog parks, including other Fetch locations, bring in food trucks to cater to their human customers, the Works is a proper dining destination. In addition to the Chattahoochee Food Works food hall, there are full-service restaurants — such as Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q and Chicheria — a mere tennis ball throw away.
There also are plenty of drinking destinations nearby, including Taste wine bar and Dr. Scofflaw’s taproom, and Fetch offers its own lengthy beverage menu, which includes more punny dog-themed cocktails such as the rum-based cocomutt and the paloma-like barks & rec’d.
The entrance fee for dogs is $15, with other membership options available for more frequent visitors.
1295 Chattahoochee Ave. NW, Atlanta. fetchpark.com
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