Whether you are new to Denver, been around for a few years or are a native, you know our #DenverLovesDogs call is true! Dogs love walks possibly more than treats or belly rubs. Many of us love getting our pups out and into Denver Metro’s awesome neighborhoods. Our fury friends enjoy meeting other dogs and bonding with us humans.
Pet parents know that walking the dog is important for health too—they need the exercise. It helps them burn off excess energy so they don’t go stir-crazy indoors and it lets them explore beyond our backyards.
Why are some cities better to walk dogs than others?
With those things in mind, the experts at Care.com explored why some cities are better for walking dogs than others. Are you may familiar with city and neighborhood Walk Score ratings for people? Walk Score measures the walkability of any address using a patented system. For each address, Walk Score analyzes walking routes to nearby amenities. Points are awarded based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within a 5-minute walk (.25 miles) are given maximum points. A decay function is used to give points to more distant amenities, with no points given after a 30-minute walk.
The Care.com teams graded the most “walkable” cities for dogs. The experts looked at 3 grading factors. Average minutes per dog walk, the amount of dog parks per 10,000 residents, and the city’s official walk score. Denver is 12 out of 29 cities on their list!
Take a look at some of the most “walkable” cities with the overall dog walking score:
- San Francisco, California; dog walking score of 94.6
- Portland, Oregon; dog walking score of 84.6
- Seattle, Washington; dog walking score of 64.3
- Tampa, Florida; dog walking score of 63.0
- Washington, D.C.; dog walking score of 62.3
- New York, New York; dog walking score of 58.3
- St. Louis, Missouri; dog walking score of 56.3
- Minneapolis, Minnesota; dog walking score of 54.4
- Riverside, California; dog walking score of 53.6
- San Jose, California; dog walking score of 52.6
- Boston, Massachusetts; dog walking score of 52.2
- Denver, Colorado; dog walking score of 52.0
A look at Denver Dog Walk Score
Denver’s Walk Score is 60. The average minutes per dog walk is 62. Dog parks per 1000 residents is 32 (More dog parks needed in Denver), which gives Denver a nice overall dog walking score of 52. Those stats combined with Denver’s famous claim of 300+ days of sunshine per year make it the perfect place to walk the dog!
Pet Scoop has been keeping yards and communities POOlution free for over 25 years. Learn more about our services at PetScoop.com or call 303-781-POOP.
