Fraser View Park || Photo Credit: Flickr/ Ruth Hartnup
We all know that Vancouver has some stunning parks – 220 city green spaces, gardens and parks to be exact.
Visiting these parks with your pooch is generally an on-leash affair, but for those wanting to let their hairy best friends run free, 36 off-leash areas exist across the city. To optimize your off-leash explorations, Vancouver Parks Board has conveniently mapped out all of the parks, including off-leash areas here .
There is one dog for every six Vancouverites, so doggy/owner etiquette is paramount when hanging out dog off-leash parks. Common sense and Vancouver Park Board guidelines remind dog owners to: license your dog, clean up, keep him/her in control and stay in the designated off-leash areas.
Below you’ll find a little anthology of some of my favourite dog off-leash zones. I would love to hear about yours – where do you take your canine best friend for an off-leash frolic?
Fraser River Dog Park – If you love the mighty Fraser River, boardwalks and tugboats this is the dog park for you. The off-leash area is large and allows for spacious canine interaction and a swim in the river. 8705 Angus Dr at W 75th Ave and Angus Dr.
Spanish Banks off-leash area|| Photo Credit: Flickr/ RyAwesome
Spanish Banks Dog Park – For epic views of downtown Vancouver and Howe Sound the Spanish Banks dog park is great place to visit for both pooch and owner. In the summer you can sunbathe, dip, repeat with Rover by your side. When the tide goes way out, the space to run and play nearly doubles the size of the off-leash area. 4900 NW Marine Dr, Near the entrance to Pacific Spirit Park
New Brighton Park – Located on the shores of Burrard Inlet, tucked in behind the Hastings Race Course is New Brighton Park. Like Fraser River and Spanish Banks, this park is large and allows for some great games of fetch. There’s a tiny, log dotted beach on the northern edge of the park that dogs love to clamber around on before they plunge into the cold Pacific. 3201 New Brighton Rd, Between Windermere St and Nootka St and E Waterfront Rd.
Crab Park at Portside || Photo Credit: Flickr/ Heather Harvey
Crab Park at Portside – Crab Park is one of the best kept park secrets in Gastown/the Downtown Eastside. Located near the very northern tip of Main Street, Crab Park’s has two off-leash zones. There’s beach access at this park as well as ample benches and logs to sit on while Fifi checks things out. 101 E Waterfront Rd, East side of the park.
Stanley Park Dog Park – Tucked behind the Stanley Park Tennis Club courts, this petite dog park is fenced in. A former tennis court converted into a gravelled, landscape area is perfect for letting your dog socialize and rip around with other hounds. It’s a pretty social little park with benches and a regular following of locals who congregate to chat while pooches play. At Stanley Park’s shuffleboard court area, off Lagoon Dr.
Where is your favourite off-leash area in Vancouver? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
