McDonald Beach Park
Markus in hunting mode behind some bushes and rocks at McDonald Beach Park
We've been on this journey of developing Markus into becoming a dog that's more comfortable being off-leash. In one of our recent meetings with other dog owners, somebody in the group suggested we bring Markus to McDonald Beach as part of his training. They described it as a long stretch of beach and water with plenty of dogs, and that there really is no place for dogs off-leash dogs to run off to. With that in mind, we visited McDonald Beach that weekend and have been back a number of times since.
Markus standing on rocks with the fog over Fraser River at McDonald Beach Park
About McDonald Beach Park
Type: Off-Leash Dog Park/Beach
Size: Large
Enclosed: No
Doors: None
Traffic: Moderate to Heavy
Markus posing by the fence that leads to the trail in McDonald Beach Park
As described, McDonald Beach Park is indeed a long strip of beach that goes along the Fraser River. It's located in Richmond, British Columbia, just down the street from the Vancouver Airport and has ample parking and it's away from traffic. The park itself is broken up into a few parts - there's a big field right off the parking lot for dogs to run, a beach down the path a little bit and a short trail if you go even further beyond the beach. The entire area is off-leash, so there are plenty of dogs running freely.
For the first few times we went to McDonald Beach Park, we had a great time watching Markus running up and down the beach and around the logs. He's never had experience in water and as much as we've tried bringing him in, he's never been interested and will actually avoid it. He also had a good time playing with other dogs. He would meet one or two dogs at a time and they would chase each other for a little bit. For a dog that we were told was aggressive when we rescued him, this was great for us to see.
There's also a path that goes down along with the beach, but the path ends at about halfway (but the beach keeps going). There's a small fence and beyond the fence is a short trail where owners can take their dog into the trees. The beach keeps going and there are fenced restricted areas where people and dogs aren't allowed to enter.
Markus walking by the water off-leash through the beach and the rocks at McDonald Beach Park
This beach keeps going for a while until it turns a corner and you hit a pirate sign (there's really no better way for me to explain this) and that signals the end of the path. Your ability to reach this pirate sign at the end here will depend on how low the tide is. If the tide is high, you won't be able to get to this point - not without your shoes and your dog getting wet, anyways! Oh, and on this note, make sure you bring a towel with you. Even if your dog doesn't go into the water, they'll likely be sandy once they're done and you'll want to wipe them down.
If your dog is reactive and doesn't do well with being bombarded by a lot of dogs at once, I would recommend coming to this park with caution. There are plenty of other dogs, many of whom are very active and want to play. For the times that we've gone, if there was a dog that Markus didn't play well with, it was hard to keep them separate. If your dog is uncomfortable with other dogs, then McDonald Beach might be a little much for them.
The Escape Artist
Markus leaping around logs at McDonald Beach Park
On another note, we previously mentioned that Markus is a very independent dog in that he doesn't crave the friendship of other dogs. He can play, but he would rather explore and discover new surroundings to expand his territory by himself. For this reason, we found that the more times we went to this park, the more difficult it started becoming for us. As he became more familiar with the beach, he would want to explore even further and it started getting hard for us to keep him within the boundaries.
The more we came to this park, the less interested he became with the beach (he doesn't like the water anyways). He kept trying to discover the other things from the path and beyond. The thing is, there really isn't anything beyond the path except for trees and forests. Remember when I had said someone suggested that dogs can't really go anywhere? Well, it is possible. Most dogs don't because trees act as clear boundaries for them, but for Markus who lived on the streets and has a high prey drive, trees mean that he might find something.
Markus smiling on a stump at McDonald Beach Park
In one instance, we had walked with Markus quite a ways down the beach and the only thing that separated the beach from the swamps on the other side was a fence with a no trespassing sign. A bird flew by and in that moment, Markus took off after the bird and cleared the fence as if it wasn't even there into the trees and swampy area. It wasn't until a few minutes later that we had spotted him in the distance standing by himself because he lost sight of the bird. His recall was just good enough that we were able to get him back in that moment, but if another animal had gone by in that moment, I don't know how deep he would've gone.
All of this is to say that at the end of the day, the park is still a small forest and there are areas that dogs can run off to. That said, if your dog is content playing in the water or on the beach with other dogs, then it shouldn't be a problem at all. We're just sharing our perspective as dog owners of a dog that doesn't exactly enjoy the company of other dogs and would rather explore and look for animals to chase.
In absolute fairness, it is an off-leash dog park, so with that comes the usual things to look out for. In our case, and with a dog who can be reactive and also has a high prey drive, it's certainly become a lot harder for us to handle of late. We can keep Markus on a leash, but that doesn't stop all the other dogs that are off-leash from grouping around him, which he doesn't like. It's also hard if he's the only dog that's on-leash. While we absolutely love this park, our dog doesn't seem ready for it, so we'll likely steer clear for now.
What we liked
It has a great combination of beach, trails and park. Dogs can play in the field and in the water.
It's a massive play area for the dogs.
There are a lot of dogs to interact with.
What we didn’t like
Not anybody's fault, but it's not enclosed and it's possible for dogs to run off.
Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs
It’s hard for me to recommend this park because we’ve had some bad experiences between Markus and other dogs. Keep in mind that the entire park is off-leash and that is the expectation, so other dog owners tend to be a bit looser with their dogs when they’re here. This sometimes means that dog owners are far from their dogs when the dogs are interacting and being approached, which can be tough if your dog starts to react. Since it is a straight path and because it gets busy, it becomes hard to avoid other dogs.
We’ve been able to come to this park when it hasn’t been as busy and those times were better, but for all the times that we’ve come here, it’s started to become pretty stressful and we mostly choose to go elsewhere (at least until Markus is better trained).
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.
