Nov 17, 2018 2 min read

ROSTRAVER – Dog owners in the Mon Valley have a new destination for their pets to burn off energy.

Westmoreland County has opened a new, fenced-in $500,000 dog park in Cedar Creek Park, which also has direct access to the Great Allegheny Passage, a popular dog-walking area.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Kathy Komlos Smith, who was playing with her family dog, Rolla, at the park Monday.

“Normally I’d be home doing work, but this is so much better being in fresh air and getting exercise,” said Smith, of Rostraver Township, whose 6-month old female pit bull-husky mix appeared to be enjoying the park.

The dog play area grew out of public meetings the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation held two years ago to see what local residents wanted in Cedar Creek, said Lauren Jones, the department’s communications director.

“That was one of the top things people requested,” Jones said.

She said the county learned people were driving a half-hour or more from the Mon Valley to Twin Lakes Park near Latrobe to use its leash-free dog park.

“Young and old didn’t have anything like that in that area,” Jones said.

The Rostraver park features four large play areas with waste stations and water fountains for humans and canines, reached from a double entrance to prevent dog escapes. There also are new sidewalks and parking areas at the site, accessed from Evergreen Drive, not far from where Interstate 70 meets Route 51.

The dog park is the first of two phases of improvements the county has in the works for Cedar Creek.

Next year, Westmoreland will install a “universally accessible destination playground” in the park, a county news release states.

The park also will receive a new winter tubing and sledding area, as well as renovations to restrooms and new parking and walkways.