Fall Off-leash Hours

Soon it will be fall in Portland. Here's a question for you: How many hours in the evening are available to dog owners in September at "shared" parks? The answer might surprise you: none. Sure, you can take your dog off leash at 8 p.m. at one of the few off-leash areas, but take a flashlight. Beginning in the first few days of September, off-leash hours will START well after sunset.

Even better, when they change the times in November, you'll gain less than one hour of daylight in the evenings for exercising with your dog off-leash. You'll need it because there's less than 2 hours of sunlight in the morning for the entire months of November, December, and January.

The good news: Even in dark December, there will be a full 8 hours a day for you to play horseshoes at any one of the Parks' 20 locations!