cornwall9

heya,
i was just wondering if any dog owners in vancouver could tell me a bit more about their doggy experience in the city? are there many parks (and with parks i dont mean the type with benches and children playing football) within central vancouver where dogs can have a good run around? i have a young pointer who needs her 1-2hrs of proper exercise (off lead, pref. forest or at a beach) per day and am just wondering if we'd be able to do that within central van or if we'd have to drive out of the city for that?

looking forward to hearing your experiences!
thank you!

jobop

A list of off leash dog parks can be found here -

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation...ea-review.aspx

Hope this helps.

We are not in Vancouver yet, fingers crossed we will get there next year, and we will be bringing our dog too

jobop

this link is better as it shows you them all on a map

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:...eash_dog_parks

cornwall9

that's great, thank you!
if someone who already knows vancouver a bit better could comment on parks where dogs can run around for hours and where you can go for an actual walk (rather than just strolling through a pretty green field in a park) that'd be great! im not necessarily just looking for city centre parks but would love to hear about forest walks etc that might be a short (up to maybe 30mins) drive away.

thanks everyone!

cornwall9

just from looking at google maps stanley park looks like it ticks all the boxes. are dogs allowed off lead there?

christmasoompa

Iirc, there is an off leash fenced area in Stanley Park.

HTH.

cornwall9

so no dogs allowed (or only on leash?) on the numerous paths in the actual foresty park bit? thats a shame!

jobop

Here's another place just outside of Van, probably more what you are looking for -

http://www.pacificspiritparksociety....g_walking.html

cornwall9

jobop, thank you, that's perfect and it's still very central! we don't even know if we're definitely definitely moving to vancouver yet but having a big off-leash area like that pretty much in the city centre is enough to convince me that at least our dog will be happy there

ExKiwilass

our dogwalker takes mutt to Hyannis park which I believe is somewhere in North Van. All the dogs are off leash.

Oink

How delightfully middle class.

JonboyE

As mentioned above, some of the trails in Pacific Spirit Park are off leash. When the tide is out there is a huge area of Spanish Banks where dogs can run free. I’m not sure how much of it is officially the off leash area but I have never known anyone to care all that much.

For more adventurous hiking the Baden Powell Trail from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove is also off leash. Sticking to the North Shore Lighthouse Park has some good trails and is dog friendly.

As well as official off leash areas you can often find places where you can let your dog run free by customary use. Near where I live the beach in front of the Reserve is used to run dogs, but you won’t find it in any guide or on any map.

Aviator

Not for the people who get chased by the dogs that are let loose!

Oink

No kidding. Get a big back garden or don't have a big dog.

MarylandNed

Yeah and it's not just that. Some dogs (like mine) are very aggressive with other dogs. So even if the off-leash dog isn't aggressive, it can approach a leashed dog that is and then the fun starts. Outside of designated areas, having dogs off leash is usually not allowed, sometimes very dangerous and generally frowned upon.