About Granville Island

Located underneath the Granville Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Granville Island is home to some of the freshest produce and seafood that you'll find. The small shops in Granville Island are filled with all things local or Canadian and it becomes clear why tourists around the world love coming here. In their Public Market, you can shop for seafood and produce and their food stalls and delicacy shops are great places for you to stop for a bite. This week, The Pawcific Explorer takes a break from the usual parks and trails to bring you our time with Markus exploring Granville Island.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to say that dogs are not allowed inside the buildings in Granville Island. There are plenty of things to do along the outside, but most of what Granville Island has to offer is experienced indoors. If you're hoping to experience all of Granville Island, we would recommend you to leave your dog at home for this one (unless you have someone to switch with and take turns going in). This post will be dedicated to those who wanted to come here with their dogs.

With the amount of people visiting Vancouver in the summer, Granville Island can get extremely busy over the weekends. At peak hours, it's hard to find parking spots so we recommend going when it's not as busy. It's also filled with a lot of foot traffic, so if your dog is reactive and not comfortable with large crowds of people, we would definitely recommend coming during quieter hours.

Our Recommended Path

• Type: Park/Shops

• Length: 2 km

• Traffic: Heavy

• Route Type: Loop

We should say that most of the activity happens towards the middle of the island. If you have a reactive dog or just want to have more peace and quiet, we recommend going around the outside areas of the island where there are plenty of other things to enjoy. In no particular order, we generally like to start on the entrance side along the water, right behind the Kids Market.

If you keep following that path behind the Kids Market, it'll take you into Sutcliffe Park where you'll find some of the most stunning cherry blossoms when they're in season. This park connects to the main area of Vancouver, but we're going to keep following the path which takes us to the boardwalk. As you walk along this boardwalk, you might find kayakers or dragon boaters exercising along the water to your right. Keep heading forward and you'll end up on Ron Basford Park, a peaceful area with a very large hill with a great view. You can walk up on the hill and get to the top where the flag is (or if you don't want to go uphill, you can just keep walking around it). 

As you round the corner towards the other side of Granville Island, you'll find plenty of boats and houseboats! I've always found these houseboats to be fascinating and have pictured myself living in one. Around this area, you might have to cut back into Johnston St. before you can keep following the path along the outside of Granville Island. A good place to cut back in is just outside the Granville Island Public Market. If you're able to, this is a good place to pause and grab a bite. There are some tables right outside the foodcourt area dogs are allowed, but keep in mind that there will be a lot of seagulls and pigeons here!

At this point, you can keep walking along the boardwalk and enjoy the views especially if it's a sunny day. When you round this corner, there isn't that much left and you'll end up around a few docks. We usually start heading back around this area by cutting through the inner streets of Granville Island if it's not too busy. We've done this walk a couple of times with Markus and it's usually enough for him to explore and tire himself out.

Granville Island has always been one of our favourite places. My wife and I had actually come here to take our engagement photos back in the day and we thought that it'd be fun to bring Markus here as well. Part of the reason why we took our photos there was because our session happened to land on cherry blossom season and Granville Island is absolutely gorgeous during that time. Last weekend also happened to be the tail end of cherry blossom season on Granville Island, so it was a great time to bring Markus!

A few other favourite things to do on Granville Island

Lee's Donuts

Who doesn't like a good donut? Located just inside one of the entrances (which is great if you have a dog with you), Lee's Donuts is one of our more scrumptious stops. Known for handmade classic donuts with fresh ingredients, Lee's Donuts is a perfect stop if you're looking for a quick snack. While you're at it, take a few more for the road!

Seafood City

Since Granville Island is located not too far from the ocean, they have access to some of the freshest seafood in the world and you can find it all at Seafood City. Whether you're looking for fish, prawns, mussels, oysters, crabs or lobsters (and so much more!), their staff is always ready to help and this is the stop for seafood lovers. I got hungry writing this.

Benton Brothers Fine Cheese

If you're a cheesehead, Benton Brothers Fine Cheese is a must-stop. The staff here is friendly and always provide some of the best recommendations for new things to try! They have a fine selection and if you're new to cheese or would like to try something more adventurous, let their staff help you out.

A la Mode

If it's cold out and you're jonesing for something warm, A la Mode has both sweet and savoury pies. Since I'm known as a soup monster, my favourites tend to be the Clam Chowder Pot Pie or the French Onion soup, both of which come in a bowl with a gigantic crust baked over top that'll leave you feeling warmer immediately. Yum!

Siegel's Bagels

Known for their Montreal-style bagels and smoked meat, Siegel's is one of our favourite stops for stocking up for breakfast! Speaking of breakfast, the Breakfast Bagel on a Rosemary Rocksalt bagel is one of my favourite things to order on their menu regardless of what time of day it is! It's a bagel with Montreal smoked meat, cheese and a fried egg. Yes, please!

At the end of the day, there is not shortage of things to do on Granville Island. You can easily spend an afternoon here, but if you're hoping to fully experience Granville Island, you're probably better off leaving your dog at home for this one. However, if you would still like to bring your dog with you, there are still plenty of things to do along the outside - just be warned that it can get very busy during peak hours!

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.