Dog Parks in Palm Bay — Palm Bay, Florida

Palm Bay has two city dog parks: one at Ken Greene Memorial Park, 550 Riviera Dr NE, in the northeast, and one at Fred Poppe Regional Park, 1951 Malabar Rd NW, in the northwest.

Those are the only two entries in the City of Palm Bay parks directory that carry the Dog Park amenity, and both also carry the Pet Friendly - YES flag (City of Palm Bay, City Parks directory). The directory lists 36 parks and facilities across two pages, so the city list shows a dedicated dog park at two Palm Bay sites and nowhere else.

Ken Greene Memorial Park is on Riviera Dr NE, in ZIP code 32905, with a phone line of (321) 952-3443 and posted hours of 7am until 10pm (Ken Greene Memorial Park). Fred Poppe Regional Park is the city's 200-acre regional park on Malabar Rd NW in ZIP code 32907, reached at (321) 952-3231, and its listing describes a dog park for small and large dogs (Fred Poppe Regional Park).

Neither Palm Bay facility page lists an entry fee for the dog areas. Questions about the Riviera Dr NE dog park go to the City of Palm Bay Parks and Facilities Department at (321) 726-2777, the number given in the city release that opened it (City of Palm Bay News, February 28, 2025).

The Ken Greene Memorial Park dog park on Riviera Dr NE has a fence splitting large and small dogs, four sunshades with dog bone benches, agility obstacles, waste stations, sidewalks, a 20x20 pavilion, and water bowl and wash stations.

The City of Palm Bay listed those features when it announced the grand opening on February 28, 2025. A secure fence divides the yard into distinct areas for large and small dogs, and Parks staff installed four sunshades with dog bone benches for owners (City of Palm Bay News). Dog obstacle courses form an agility course inside the fence, conveniently located waste stations help keep the park clean, and smooth concrete sidewalks give easy access throughout it.

Two features at Ken Greene answer the Palm Bay summer. A new 20x20 pavilion gives shade and shelter, and doggie water bowl stations and wash stations sit on a new concrete pad, so dogs can drink and be rinsed off on site at Riviera Dr NE (City of Palm Bay News, February 28, 2025).

The dog yard is one part of a larger neighborhood park. The Ken Greene Memorial Park directory entry also lists a lighted basketball court, a pickleball and tennis court, a playground, picnic tables, restrooms, a water fountain, parking and rentals, which makes it a stop for families with children as well as dogs (City of Palm Bay facility directory). The same entry gives the park hours as 7am until 10pm.

The Ken Greene dog park moved from fence-line clearing in August 2023 to a ribbon cutting on March 14, 2025, and the City of Palm Bay paid for it with impact fees.

The project started under the park's old name, Riviera Park. At the August 1, 2023 meeting of the Palm Bay Recreation Advisory Board, parks staff member Mr. Hudak reported that bids for Riviera Dog Park had been resolicited because of an error, and that the Public Works Department had cleared 75 percent of the perimeter for the proposed fence (Recreation Advisory Board minutes, August 1, 2023). By the November 7, 2023 meeting at Turkey Creek Sanctuary, the fence was finished at Riviera Park, but the yard stayed locked until its amenities were approved through the city Procurement Department (Recreation Advisory Board minutes, November 7, 2023).

The park changed names before the dog yard opened. On June 18, 2024, the City of Palm Bay held a naming ceremony for Ken Greene Memorial Park, formerly Riviera Park, at 550 Riviera Dr. NE; Ken Greene, a Marine Corps veteran, served on the Palm Bay City Council from 2002 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2014, according to the July 2024 Mayor's Message from Mayor Rob Medina (City of Palm Bay, July 2024 Mayor's Message).

The last stretch was site work. The November 12, 2024 Recreation Advisory Board minutes record that a geotechnical survey of the Dog Park at Riviera Park was scheduled to be completed by November 20, and that sidewalks, water stations and the pavilion would be installed once it was done (Recreation Advisory Board minutes, November 12, 2024). The February 28, 2025 Palm Bay release then credited impact fees with making the dog park possible (City of Palm Bay News).

Fred Poppe Regional Park, at 1951 Malabar Rd NW, has a dog park for small and large dogs inside a 200-acre park whose athletic fields are closed to all animals.

The Fred Poppe Regional Park listing names the dog park among the additional facilities next to lighted multipurpose fields, basketball and volleyball courts, picnic areas, a playground, bicycle and walking trails and ponds (City of Palm Bay, Fred Poppe Regional Park). The same page carries a warning: although this is a pet friendly park, animals are not allowed on any of the athletic fields. That rule matters at Fred Poppe because the park is home to the Brevard Soccer Alliance, the Bayside Bears and the Brevard Caribbean American Sports and Cultural Association.

Fred Poppe adds space beyond the dog yard. The park has four lakes for fishing, two large pavilions and one small pavilion with charcoal grills and restrooms, and bike, hike and jogging trails, all listed on the Palm Bay facility page. The Ted Whitlock Community Center, an 18,000 square foot building with a gym and banquet room, sits inside the park, according to the same Fred Poppe Regional Park listing (Fred Poppe Regional Park listing).

A visitor heading for the Fred Poppe dog park from the Ken Greene side of Palm Bay is crossing the city: Riviera Dr NE is in ZIP code 32905, while Malabar Rd NW is in 32907, as the two Palm Bay directory entries show (City Parks directory).

Besides the two dog parks, the Palm Bay directory flags five more parks as pet friendly (Ais Trail, Dewar, Liberty, Lynbrook and Stearns Point), marks Bill Madden Park as not pet friendly, and Turkey Creek Sanctuary admits service animals only.

The pet-friendly list covers very different ground. Ais Trail Park sits on Turkey Creek with a boardwalk, a fishing pier and a kayak and canoe launch; Dewar Park on Margaret St NE has access to the Ais Trail and a pond; Liberty Park on Carlyle Ave SE has trails and a lighted roller skating rink; Lynbrook Park on Lynbrook Rd. NW has nature trails; and Stearns Point Park on US 1 has a dock and fishing pier on the river (City Parks directory, page 1; City Parks directory, page 2). Most other Palm Bay entries, from Goode Park to Veterans Memorial Park, carry no pet flag at all, so the directory neither invites nor bars dogs there.

Turkey Creek Sanctuary is the clear exception. Its City of Palm Bay page says service animals only and no pets allowed, and it points dog owners to Ais Trail Park at 2800 Hickory Ave. NE as the pet-friendly alternative on Turkey Creek (City of Palm Bay, Turkey Creek Sanctuary).

Palm Bay posts three dog rules on its park pages: pets on a leash with owners picking up after them at Ais Trail Park, no animals on athletic fields at Fred Poppe, and no pets at Turkey Creek Sanctuary.

The leash rule is stated most plainly for Ais Trail Park, where the Palm Bay Turkey Creek page says all pets must be on a leash and owners must pick up after themselves and their animals (Turkey Creek Sanctuary page). Inside the fenced yard at Ken Greene Memorial Park, conveniently located waste stations help keep the park clean (City of Palm Bay News).

State law sets the vaccination floor for every dog in a Palm Bay dog park. Section 828.30 of the Florida Statutes requires all dogs 4 months of age or older to be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian or another person the statute authorizes, and the owner must have the animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination (Section 828.30, Florida Statutes).

Hours are the last rule to check. The Ken Greene Memorial Park listing posts 7am until 10pm, while the Fred Poppe Regional Park listing does not post hours, so the park phone listed there, (321) 952-3231, is the Palm Bay contact for Fred Poppe. Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay parks directory and facility pages.