Ocean City’s Expanded Dog Park Officially Open

OCEAN CITY — The recently expanded and upgraded dog park at 94^th Street officially opened this week with a dedication and ribbon-cutting on Wednesday morning.

Almost 13 years to the day since the modest dog park at 94^th Street as part of the larger Little Salisbury Park complex was dedicated, resort officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon on the expanded facility. The modest pet playground that has existed on the site since 2008 has been expanded and upgraded into a modern dog park with many amenities thanks to a concerted team effort involving many of the town’s departments.

Ocean City Recreation and Parks officials and elected officials cut the ribbon on the newly-expanded dog park on Wednesday morning. Over a decade ago, the Mayor and Council approved the construction of a municipal dog park at 94^th Street due to mounting demand from the town’s year-round residents and visitors for a leash-free playground for pets.

The initial facility included a pet-friendly fenced area for dogs to roam, but was rather small and limited because it was part of a larger stormwater retention area for the old Ocean Plaza Mall nearby. In 2019, the town’s recreation and parks and public works departments collaborated on an in-house expansion project, regrading the site with fill dirt and rip-rap to stabilize the site.

In 2020, the town’s recreation and parks department applied for and later received a Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant of over $108,000 through the Community Parks and Playgrounds program to continue to expand and upgrade the dog park at 94^th Street. The new facility now includes a vast fenced-in area with natural and artificial grass, a sheltered pavilion area, a dog pool, agility structures and other amenities. Councilman and Recreation and Parks Committee chair John Gehrig said the evolution of the dog park took a long time and praised Recreation and Parks Director Susan Petito for her leadership in making it a reality.

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