We've been in the middle of the global COVID-19 pandemic and in British Columbia, we recently moved into Phase 3 of our restart plan. Phase 3 of the restart plan allows BC residents to do non-essential travel within the province, so we recently took advantage of this opportunity and made an overnight trip up to Squamish to scratch the travelling itch. 

Trying to catch up on the trips that we've missed over the past few months, we packed our schedule like sardines to try and make the most out of our days. Having made our way into Squamish, one of the things that we had on the schedule was a stop at Newport Beach - a hidden, but very dog-friendly beach and trail.

About Newport Beach/Oceanfront Park

Newport Beach (sometimes known as Oceanfront Park) is a stretch of beach that's tucked towards the edge of Squamish looking out into Howe Sound. The view here is spectacular and if you can time it so that you arrive during low tide, there's even more space for your dog to play.

In recent years, this area around Oceanfront Park has been undergoing major development towards becoming a waterfront village with condos and community spaces. In the meantime, you can still go through this development area to visit the beach. When you're at the beach, there's also a hidden trail around the corner where you can bring your dog.

Getting to Newport Beach

Since Newport Beach is a little tucked off, I wanted to take a moment to try and explain how to get there. When you're in the downtown area of Squamish, you want to go down any of the main roads (Winnipeg St, Victoria St or Main St) and take a right onto Loggers Ln. The road starts to get pretty bumpy depending on the time of year and how well they're maintaining the potholes. On this path, you'll eventually want to get on Galbraith Ave. Just keep following this road all the way down and you'll hit an empty lot where cars are parked. The beach is right off of the lot.

Oceanfront Loop Trail

• Type: Trail

• Length: 2.0 km

• Traffic: Low

• Route Type: Loop

This is a very large beach and if you get to pick when you're going, we recommend timing it so that it's low tide. When it's low tide, you can walk pretty far out and it's a massive space for dogs to play. Even if it's not low tide, the beach is still very wide and there's plenty of room for dogs to play. Along the beach, there are a lot of washed up logs and trees where dogs love to play up and around.

One of the spectacular things about being on the beach is being to see the view of Stawamus Chief towering above with Shannon Falls next to it. If the weather holds up, the combination of the beach with the view is hard to beat.

If the beach isn't enough, you can also do the Oceanfront Loop Trail, which is roughly 2 kilometres. If you're on the beach, you can keep heading further in towards the right end of the beach. The trailhead to the Oceanfront Loop Trail is tucked right around the corner of the beach.

If you head down this trail, it will take you back out towards Galbraith Rd, eventually having to cross it to continue on the trail. The trail picks up on the other side of Galbraith Rd, which goes along the Mamquam Blind Channel. If you keep following this trail a little bit, you're more or less back at the parking lot from where you began.

What we liked

• The beach is so wide so there's plenty of room for dogs to run around. The beach has a lot of washed up driftwood and logs, which makes it a fun place for dogs to play.

• The views of the Chief and Shannon Falls are spectacular.

• Dogs get to play on the beach and also do a trail, which is a nice combination.

What we didn't like

• The trail is narrow and not very well kept. There were a lot of thorny bushes growing into the path.

• The path going into the parking had a number of potholes and was quite bumpy! Just take it slowly and you'll be fine.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

If your dog is reactive, we recommend checking out Newport Beach because of its sheer size. Because the beach is so big, you'll be able to avoid other dogs. This is another reason to look at a tide chart and time it so that you can go when it's low tide. There's even more beach to run around. Additionally, it doesn't get too busy here, which is nice. While there are dogs here and there, you should be able to avoid most of them.

If your dog is reactive, the Oceanfront Loop Trail is fairly narrow. The path is so narrow that even as regular hikers walking through the path, we have to pull Markus over just so they can pass. If your dog isn't comfortable in confined spaces with other dogs, I would just be mindful of this. The saving grace is that it's not very busy and we hardly came across other dogs while we were there though there were a couple and they were off-leash.

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.