Seattle opens new Georgetown off-leash dog area with June 27 celebration

Seattle is set to give Georgetown dogs a new place to run hard, and the opening comes with a public celebration on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A group dog walk will start at Ruby Chow Park at 10:30 a.m., turning the launch into a neighborhood rollout for owners looking for a legal, purpose-built exercise spot.

The new off-leash dog area sits at 1035 South Myrtle St., beside the Georgetown to South Park Connection trail, and the city says the final phase still includes irrigation, landscaping and lighting. Construction began in fall 2025. Seattle Parks and Recreation updated the project page on June 15, and the park and trail remain closed until final construction is complete.

The site is built for more than simple turnout. Plans call for a small-and-shy dog area, a water station, an entry plaza, meadow plantings and a small parking area, details that matter to dogs coming in hot for decompression, recall work or a sustained game of chase. Seattle Parks and Recreation budgeted $400,000 for the project. Seattle City Light is contributing $3.8 million for property and grading preparation, and the Seattle Department of Transportation is adding $400,000 for curbs, sidewalks, trail paving and marking, electric power, pedestrian lighting, 20 trees and a shared bioswale.

That investment is the latest step in a project with deep Georgetown roots. The City Council Transportation & Utilities Committee approved the property transfer on December 15, 2021, and the parcel once carried water from the Duwamish River to the Georgetown Steam Plant until operations ended in 1975. Washington Department of Ecology says the dog-park area is part of the North Boeing Field Georgetown Steam Plant cleanup site under a 2008 legal agreement, with a public comment period on the interim action work plan running from November 7 to December 21, 2022.

Seattle is also asking the public to submit name suggestions for the Georgetown Off-Leash Area by July 17, a final step that ties the project to the neighborhood before the permanent sign goes up. For Seattle dog owners trying to judge whether this is a real upgrade, the answer is in the design and the location.

Seattle’s off-leash rules still keep dogs out of athletic fields, beaches and children’s play areas unless they are inside a designated off-leash area, so a fenced site in Georgetown gives high-energy dogs another legal outlet in a dense part of the city. The city’s expansion study, completed in 2023, led to recommendations approved unanimously by the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners on March 28, 2024, and the official map already lists Georgetown Flume alongside other planned sites such as West Seattle Stadium, Othello Playground, Smith Cove and South Park Community Center.