During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was a cartoon musical that came out about all the characters and happenings that make up Central Park in New York. The show was aptly named Central Park and because of its opening song, it's become impossible for us to talk about Central Park (even though it's not the same one) without singing it!

A few weeks ago, we visited Central Park - this one in Burnaby, BC - for the first time and we enjoyed the walk so much that we've gone back a couple of times already. For a park located in the middle of the city (you could even say it's central), Central Park gave us so many options for paths to take and things to see that we'll likely be coming back again sometime in the near future. There's always something new.

About Central Park in Burnaby

An urban park located within Burnaby, Central Park is known for recreational activities with their pitch and putt golf course, tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool and horseshoe pitch. Attached to one end of the park is Swangard Stadium, a big field that's known for hosting many events by the locals.

But we can't go too far without talking about the park itself. Covering over two blocks, the park is off of the Vancouver-Burnaby border and it's filled with trees, ferns and wooded areas throughout the park. Within the park are playgrounds and dedicated picnic areas for the public including two ponds where people (and ducks) like to gather.

Central Park is made up of dozens of trails within a two-block area and all the possibilities for paths make it a great place to bring your dog. Whether you're looking for a shorter or a longer walk, there will be a combination of the trails that will give you what you're looking for. As you're making your way through the park, also pay attention to the public workout equipment that the city's placed throughout the park! Since we're currently in a pandemic, the equipment's not as used as it once was, but it is plenty of fun.

During the pandemic, one of the parking lots at Central Park has been converted to a COVID-19 assessment centre. You can avoid this area since the signs are pretty obvious and there are plenty of other parking lots around the park. The entrance to the COVID-19 assessment centre is off of Boundary Rd., so don't bother trying to access the park through that parking lot. For our path, we start at the parking lot by Swangard Stadium.

The Two-Pond Path

• Type: Park & Trail

• Length: 2.1 km

• Traffic: Moderate

• Route Type: Multiple Trails/Loop

To start, look up Swangard Stadium on your GPS or map. There's an entrance off of Kingsway with a parking lot with quite a number of spots. This is likely because it's the parking lot for Swangard Stadium, which isn't being used as much, if at all, during the pandemic. This is also the parking lot that's closest to the playground and the picnic area. Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed into those areas, so be aware of that. What we're going to do instead is take a back route on our way towards the two ponds.

Towards the end of Swangard Stadium where the scoreboard is, there's a path in that area where the trail starts. You'll know you're in the right place if you see a gazebo in the vicinity. Where the gazebo is, you'll have to take the first right and switch trails, but you generally keep heading south. You'll emerge out of this path near where the outdoor swimming pool is and if you keep following that path towards the horseshoe pitch, it'll lead you to the Upper Pond.

There are actually multiple ways to get there, so don't be too tied to this particular path. We just found this path to be one of the quickest routes to the pond and it's also not as busy as the other paths. The area around the pond draws a lot of people and their dogs (and ducks), so if your dog isn't great with that, just keep this in mind. Most of the dogs will be on-leash, but we did also come across some that weren't.

From the Upper Pond, there's a path that'll take you directly to the Lower Pond, but we preferred to veer off a little bit toward the west side of the park onto the Trail of Hope for a couple reasons. The first reason is that we wanted to complete a full loop rather than going up and down the same path twice and the second reason was that this trail was quieter.

If you keep on this path, it'll eventually take you to the Lower Pond. Since this is the entrance to the pitch and putt and one of the other parking lots is located here, there will be plenty of people hanging around and it can get quite busy. For us, we just made the loop around the bottom of the Lower Pond and started making our way back, loosely marking the halfway point.

If the trail hasn't been long enough and you're looking for a longer walk, you can keep going on the Trail of Hope (unfortunately, their naming convention isn't very useful for specifying which part of the park since the trail is very long and branches all over the part) from the east edge of the pond, but it does make the loop considerably longer.

For us, we made our way back up north towards the parking lot from where we started, which is basically a straight shot along the path all the way up. In passing, you'll come across the Upper Pond again, but on the other side this time. The way back will be slightly different from the one on the way there, but it will complete the loop and you'll end up at the parking lot.

What we love about this park is that this path was just a small portion of the larger combination of trails that you can take. You can come to this park multiple times and you won't have to take the same path for each one of them. It's easy to get a bit turned around in the trail, so we recommend bringing a map with you or at least taking a photo of one of the maps that they provide (although we didn't find those ones to be very detailed; you're probably better off with a phone map). 

Although the park is quite large and people are spread out well (especially during the pandemic), areas of the park can be pretty busy especially around the parking areas where there are seating public areas. The trails are generally pretty clear and people are well spread out. As a side note, the squirrels at this park aren't very afraid of people or dogs and they're quite plump and well-fed looking.

What we liked

• There are so many trails that you can take and every time out here is a different experience.

• Most of the trails are pretty quiet, which is great for a reactive dog like Markus.

• Lots of parking, though one of the lots is currently converted to a COVID-19 assessment centre.

What we didn’t like

• The primary public parts such as the playground, picnic tables, pitch & putt and ponds can get pretty populous (alliteration!).

• The handful of dogs were running freely off-leash along the trails even though it's an on-leash park.

Our recommendation for reactive dogs

Central Park is a great place to bring your dog and we have been back a handful of times since. Most of the dogs are leashed up and the paths are generally wide enough for dogs to get by, but as with most parks, there are some dog owners who let their dogs run free. There are some trails that are quieter than others, but we haven't been able to figure out which ones and why. It seems to be the ones that are further away from the public areas like the playground, picnic and pitch and putt.

One other thing of note that we mentioned, was that the squirrels aren't very afraid of people or dogs. Our dog has the hunter mentality and he got pretty close up to some squirrels before they decided they should probably move. They're so well-fed and plump that we could hardly blame them. We don't think they'll do anything to dogs, but just be aware of that.

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.