Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary

So glad to reconnect with my inner rodent. It’s been over a year since my honey and I visited. We’ll make the Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary an annual destination for our anniversary…

Pretty good. Saw more interesting people than rats, but did see both. 4/​5, will visit again.

I went to walk my dog and saw a HUGE rat the size of a football scurry across the street. I turned around and came straight back into the hotel. yuck.

This is by far the best rat sanctuary in the whole DC area. They really know how to treat your rats here. Highly recommended for anyone’s pet rats that you unfortunately need to relocate from your apartment. Pet fees are a bitch!

If, for example, you want to re-​enact the Black Death, this is the place to be. It seems to me that a bunch of dude-​bros catching the bubonic plague is not the worst thing ever, and there are tons of dude-​bros. Come to think of it, rats are better than dude-​bros.

Can someone throw out rat poison/​traps/​whatever/​everything and just post signs saying «rat poison/don’t let your dog in this area» or am I just old fashioned to think vermin are gross and carry disease? Anybody?
This is far from comedy… No way in Hell I would pay 3k per month to live in Dupont. Bye Felipe!

Rats are not that good any more
They departed from here long ago
Now it’s mostly ghosts and mice and killer bees

As entering the sanctuary my 6 year old daughter tripped over a large rat and landed in a small town the rats had created for themselves. The other rats wee furious and they started to attack her violently. I didn’t interfere because that I already felt bad about the damage my daughter did to the sanctuary so I let the attack take its course. My daughter was relatively unharmed except for her left ear which was chewed off, but over all it was a good trip and I would gladly visit again

There weren’t any rats! I mean, if you promise a girl rats at a park, deliver on it!
My friends and I were looking for things to do around Washington on our vacation. We tried to use Unilocal to find some events. This place was the first thing to pop up around our area and I instantly wanted to go to see what the buzz was about. My friends, on the other hand, did NOT want to go.
At first, we thought it was an actual place that took care of rats and we could go visit but no, it’s just a rat infested park.
We tried for this place towards the late morning and walked around. From the review, I expected for there to be a lot more rats and critters but none! There were just your average people in your average park with an average fountain. Sad face.

At first, I thought these were just fanciful reviews — largely exaggerated and the work of fools.
No exaggeration, dear reader. These works come from wise travelers across the Circle.
I walked from La Tomate back to The Fairfax just before 10pm and could have sworn I was next to the Plaza at the SE corner of Central Park. The old expression (if you see one, one hundred are lurking) means that seven hundred were lurking. Seven, SEVEN rats in plain site — over the course of 500 yards. Some slow — some quick — but all certainly Rats.
Just as Central Park is infested with brown and black rats — so too is this l’il Magic corner of DC.
Alas, no photos.

I first discovered the Rat Sanctuary in 2003 when I visited DC. My friends had set me up on a blind date at some asian fusion place there. After our initial meet and great we took a romantic stroll along the Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary. As it was still early in the evening, the walkways were festooned with only a handful of maybe 3 – 4 dead rats.
As it grew darker, the shrubery and grass became alive with activity. A street musician played some familiar toons as the rats played on the lawn watching us as we walked hand in hand.
Nothing brings a woman close, and tight to you than to have a band of rats scurry across your feet! Even on a first date!
I recommend the DCRS to all those lucky fellas looking to impress your masculinity by stiding bravely through the sea of swinging tails!
— — –
Flash forward to 2014 as I hosted a dinner social at one of the nearby non-​profit organizations. One of our volunteers shrieked as she pointed to a dead rat on the steps leading to our event. No problem, I said as I deftly snapped out a plastic bag to pick it up. It’s really NOT a dead rat, I demonstrated as I picked it up by it’s tail using the bag and it started to wriggle… SEE It’s still ALIVE! I wrapped it loosely in the bag and dropped it into a refuse can to join it’s friends.

I wandered through Dupont Circle one warm fall evening. People were sitting on benches and the wall of the fountain. Nice warm night. I was looking on the grass beyond the walkways and noticed dozens of rats. Going about their business on the grass. Some watching the people, some chilling out in their own world. I sat and watched both the humans and the rats and was entertained.
Come here to see urban wildlife. It could almost be a petting zoo except you’d probably catch the plague.

The DuPont circle rat sanctuary is a best-​in-​class rat observatory. It is one of the few locations on earth you can find a «king rat» it its natural habitat. Best time for «king rat» watching is in the spring.

When the job listing said, «Dupont Circle,» I thought it had to be too good to be true. Health/​Vision/​Dental, metro benefits AND a 30 minute lunch break that could be spent among one of the top 15 greatest American Rat Sanctuaries?! Unreal. When I arrived early for the interview, I sat in the Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary. It was a great place to get motivated and centered. I needed to be like these rats – bold, confident, unfettered by large automobiles, humans, or predictors. I left the bench, walked past the bible peddlers and transient twenty something’s, leaving the rats for the interview. Upon exiting the interview, I left uncertain – would this be my daily lunch spot? Could I actually become one of the lucky hoards of humans who make the daily pilgrimage to and through the sanctuary? This is what moving to DC is all about. Months later, I sit in the sanctuary, reflecting and grateful that I landed a job so close to one of DC’s greatest landmarks. Obviously it’s not the #1 rat sanctuary in the country, but if you’re in DC it’s still a must-​do.

I stumbled upon the rat sanctuary the other night, very pleasant. However a squirrel attempted to enter the sanctuary, the rat security promptly handled removing the sub species. I just hope that security is a little tighter in the future, I would hate to see «those» creatures ruin another beautiful sanctuary

Visited the rat sanctuary this evening, and must agree with the last poster. If you like rats, this is the place to be! The rats at the sanctuary were very active, appeared to be in great health, and definitely have been breeding successfully. The highlight of my visit was one particularly cheeky rat jumping out from a bush and eliciting a high pitched Unilocal (shoutout Unilocal) from a grown man in front of his girlfriend. Docking a star because it doesn’t seem as though they have learned to swim in the fountain yet.

By far the best rat sanctuary in town. As a resident of Dupont, I always find myself spending time in the circle gazing at the wonder that is this rat sanctuary. This evening, for example, two rats were spotted wrestling. Then, five minutes later, a baby rat appeared — the circle of life right before my eyes! Now, for the prime rat watching experience, venture at night. Grab a jumbo slice and sit at the fountain with your latest e-​beau. It will definitely secure date number two. Awe them with the furriest fruits of DC; play «spot the rat,» you may even get a kiss oot of it.

As rat sanctuaries go, the Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary is one of the best in the country, IMHO. It’s not just that the DCRS has so many wild rats, it’s that the rats are also so big and afraid of almost nothing. On warm nights, I’ve seen over a dozen fat rats scurrying here and there, looking for food scraps, and I’ve had to stamp my feet to keep them from running over my shoes. In lesser rat sanctuaries, you’re just not likely to see nature like this, up close, frightening and possibly rabid. Kudos, DC!