diff --git a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
index 9e6fce17aa5..f7f4c28dcb5 100755
--- a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
+++ b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@ if [ "$(which etcd)" == "" ]; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
+docker ps 2> /dev/null 1> /dev/null
+if [ "$?" != "0" ]; then
+  echo "Failed to successfully run 'docker ps', please verify that docker is installed and \$DOCKER_HOST is set correctly."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 # Stop right away if the build fails
 set -e