People without dogs often seem to think that dogs don’t have personalities.  But, if you’re a dog owner, you know that every dog is as unique as every person.

Some, for example, love fenced-in dog parks.  Our dogs don’t really like them.

Chewy gets intimidated by the large dogs running in crazy circles at the big dog parks, and Abby gets bored.

Instead, they prefer woods and fields in which we can take long walks.

Their favorite park in Atlanta is Herbert Taylor Park.  Set smack in the center of the Virginia Highlands area, it’s easy to miss unless you know it’s there.

Once you enter, you could forget that midtown Atlanta is only a few miles south and Emory University is less than a mile to the west.  The neighborhoods disappear in wide pathways of pine needles and giant trees.

Dog owners know about this place.  In fact, most walkers at Herbert Taylor Park bring their dogs with them, usually off-leash but some on-leash, to run and romp through the woods.

Eventually, all the dogs and people wind up at the small beach area facing running streams and rivers to the extreme left of the park when you enter.

Happy dogs splash in the water and tired, wet dogs return home.

Details

Herbert Taylor Park is located on Johnson Road.  The easiest way to get there is to take East Rock Springs Road, coming from North Decatur, and make a right onto the first major road immediately after the large townhouses on the right.  Keep going down that road and you'll see Herbert Taylor Park on your right.  (Sorry for these vague directions but it's fairly clear once you get onto the roads).