Nottoway Park-Hunter House

I have been to this dog park twice, and have since found other dog parks that I feel are much safer and are better maintained. This is not a testament to the entire park, just to the specific area of the dog park.
First of all this dog park has a seriously problem with water pooling. The posterior part of the park is constantly muddy and filled with water, and the rest of the park tends to be muddy as well. This leads to very dirty puppies after playing. I expect my dog to be dirty when he is done running around the dog park, but I don’t expect him to be literally caked in mud. There is also no grass in this dog park, so if the weather is not completely dry and sunny the ground that is mostly muddy dirt will be ever present.
I honestly feel fairly uncomfortable brining my dog here. My dog is very friendly, and very social, and if he wasn’t I would never bring him to an area with other unleashed dogs, and most people agree with this, and only bring well behaved dogs to dog parks. Apparently some people who frequent here do not agree. At a dog park it is normal behavior for dogs to sniff each other, and to run around the park if the dog is properly socialized. I have visited this park twice and felt on both occasions that there were dangerous dogs here who not only barked and growled at my dog, but many other visitors dogs as well as soon as they got close. Although their owners corrected this behavior most of the time it is still inappropriate and potentially unsafe.
Also, on my second visit here there were a group of unsupervised children running in and out of the dog park whos parents did not seem to care that every time they did so dogs would run to the gate and try and get out. Despite many adults trying to intervene a dog managed to slip out the front gate and was running in the street until multiple visitors (who had left their own dogs to help get this one back) managed to catch him.
There are many great dog parks in the NoVA area, particularly the Shirlington Dog Park that I don’t see the need to come here.

Nottoway Park has lots of playing fields, a children’s play area, wooded trails and an off leash dog park nearby The dog park is well kept and Clean Gravel surface which is great when it rains Some agility equipment A little on the small side

My favorite park with great tennis courts, a path to the Vienna metro, wooded path area where we always see deer — nottoway park is a local treasure for those of us who live in the neighborhood. Don’t miss the free summer concerts which are great for the whole family!

going to give this a 2 star due to my last experience at lake fairfax park. this park sucks ball compared to other parks– its smaller, and other far less amenities! but i do reconizge it service a good purpse in the smaller community there in veinna. (i play outdoor volleyball at this park-​serves all my needs)

I only play on the baseball field here, which is crap-​tastic. It’s easily one of the worst fields in the region: rutted, uneven, poor drainage, terrible pitching mound. Of course the soccer field looks awesome with its lights and Field Turf Pro surface. But such is the state of baseball versus emerging sports like soccer in America. Sigh.

I’m not sure if I just went during the wrong days when I tried this dog park out, but both times I went it sucked. I went in the middle of the summer during the afternoon, and on a fall evening after work around 6:45. Both times, I could count the number of dogs there on one hand, and both times there was only one or two who were interested in romping around with my puppy (which is why I go to the dog park, for my dog to play with other dogs) and even then it was only intermittent. It seemed all the dogs were just standing around, sniffing at things and digging holes, and entertaining themselves. When a couple dogs would start to play for a second and it would get the SLIGHTEST bit like romping dog play (which I consider totally normal), the owners seemed really surprised/​a little nervous about it. I am a regular at the Baron Cameron dog park in Reston, and that kind of romping, rough-​and-​tumble play is what the dogs there are all about!
The actual park itself is nice, mulch and shady with trees and various pieces of agility equipment that I guess adds a fun dimension to dog play (if they actually play). But, it is pretty small, and as far as I can tell, pretty low volume most of the time. Maybe people in the Vienna area are on a different dog park schedule and come during the day instead of before or after work (like they do at Baron Cameron), but it was a waste of time both times I ventured out there. I had to take my dog to Baron Cameron after going there the last time I went just to get his energy out, since he barely did any real playing at this dog park by the time all 3 people who were there left once it got dark (there is no lighting).
This dog park has great potential if 1) more people would bring their dogs, 2) the dogs would actually play and 3) people would be comfortable with rough-​and-​tumble dog play, the way dogs are supposed to play. I just got the impression both times I was there that everyone was a little stand-​offish and too prim and proper for a dog park, including the dogs… not that it’s their fault, I’m sure they’re just not used to the kind of play/​interactions I was looking for. If you want a quiet, serene, pretty place to let your dog off leash to play fetch, or work on training or agility, and calmly interact with some other dogs, I think this is a great place. If you want a place that reliably has a good number of dogs present before/​after work hours, where your dog can just let loose, run around, romp, wrestle and work some energy off with LOTS of other dogs, this is not your place… I’ll stick with Baron Cameron dog park!

This is a nice quiet dog park in Vienna. The ground is mulch, there is a water spicket, and only one section.
Pros: Very shady, quiet atmosphere, Running Water, Agility equipment, quite a few benches, water fountain
CONS: If it rains, it’s a mudhole, its small

It should be noted that I grew up in one of the townhomes bordering this park and so have a very deep personal attachment that probably colors my opinion. I’ve been gone for over a decade so returning was quite the experience; a far bit has changed, but all for the better. I’ll try to avoid too many comparisons or comments on what is new, as that’s pretty irrelevant to those curious about it now.
There is a dog park off of Courthouse road that is technically a part of Nottoway (I believe) but note that it does have it’s own parking lot. The entrance to Nottoway itself is a little further down Courthouse (away from Nutley Road). There’s also a parking lot in between, primarily for the basketball courts and public gardens. (I don’t know much about the gardens, but from what I read it looks like the lots are available through a lottery. There are a bunch of spaces and they all look to be in use; something I love to see.)
The park itself has several tennis courts (including one with a wall across for private play/​practice), a sand vollyball court, four baseball diamonds, two soccer fields, a playground, an open practice field, picnic tables and a fitness track. It looks like the paths that used to wind their way through the surrounding woods are mostly gone due to development, which is a shame, but they did also pave some of it which is apparently now part of the connector trail. (I think you can get to the W&OD trail from it, but I’m not totally sure.)
The park is all very well maintained with lots of parking and night lighting.