Pacific Spirit Regional Park (Reactive Dog-Friendly)
Markus feeling happy that the park is nice is quiet
Perhaps our most visited park in the Vancouver area, you knew we would eventually do another update from Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Since we're limited to where we can go during the pandemic, you knew it was a matter of time until we started revisiting places we've been to in the past. For as much as we take Markus to Pacific Spirit Regional Park, we always seem to end up on a trail or a part of the park that we've never been on before and this was the case yet again this time.
Unlike other trails in Pacific Spirit where we wander our way into the unfamiliar, this dedicated part of the park has been one that we've been meaning to visit for a while now, but we've never been able to make it happen because of the park's rules. This smaller section of the park that's immediately north of 16th Avenue is a dedicated leash-required section of the park, which is absolutely fantastic for reactive dogs like Markus. The reason we haven't been able to visit the park so far is because dogs aren't allowed on weekend or statutory holidays.
Over the Christmas break and as things were winding down, we finally carved out a chunk of time to visit this reactive-friendlier part of the dog park and we're so glad to have found a quieter spot in the Pacific Spirit Regional Park to bring Markus.
About Pacific Spirit Regional Park (Reactive Dog-Friendly)
Type: Trail
Length: 2.6km
Traffic: Low
Route Type: Loop/Multiple Trails
Markus looking ahead on the trail at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park
The reactive dog-friendly part of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a combination of the Heron, Lily of the Valley and Salal Trails that takes you on a 2.6km loop (give or take depending on how big of a loop you want to do). What makes this part of the park unique is that it is the only area where you can walk through the entire section from beginning to end on a leash-required trail, which is great for a reactive dog like Markus.
While the rest of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park has leash-required trails designated throughout the park, their lines with off-leash trails are incredibly blurred and owners don't ever seem to realize (or care) to put a leash on their dogs when necessary. The result is that as owners of a reactive dog, we always have to keep our eyes and ears open for off-leash dogs who run ahead of their owners even though we're on leash-required trails. While it's not much to get upset about, it does bring about certain anxieties especially when Markus doesn't always respond well to off-leashed dogs.
Markus walking along a wooden walkway at Pacific Spirit Regional Park
For this reason, we've been looking forward to visiting this leash-required part of our favourite park, but finding the time to do it has proven to be difficult since it means you have to find the time to do it in the middle of week when it's not a statutory holiday. All that said, if your dog is reactive and if you can free up your schedule, we found this to be a great place to bring a dog.
Parking & the Trail
To enter the park, there's plenty of free parking along 16th Avenue on the side of the street. Once you've parked your car, there's a little bridge or walkway that'll take you over the ditch there and once you go up the small stairs, you'll arrive at the entrance of the park. Towards the beginning of the trail, there is a map that'll be worth taking a second to take a photo of on your phone to help you find your way.
Markus following the quiet trail at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park
When we began our walk on the trail, we immediately noticed that the trail isn't as well kept as the other parts of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. We found the trails to be a bit narrower with vines and bushes creeping onto the trail, but perhaps it was just the time of year that we went. Regardless, the trail is great and a lot quieter for our dog, so that's a trade off we're willing to take.
Much like the other trails at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park, the length of your walk will depend on your desired combination of trails and when you decide to start looping back. For us, we started on 16th Avenue going down the Salal Trail before making a loop around to get onto the Lily of the Valley Trail where we headed down for a while until we took the connector back onto the Heron Trail, bringing us back to where we began.
All in all, this trip took around 30 to 45 minutes to do and the fact that it was fairly low traffic made it a comfortable stroll in the afternoon for us and our reactive dog.
What we liked
It's a dedicated leash-required trail and it's part of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park.
We found most of the other dog owners on the trail to be very respectful of the fact that our dog is reactive since there's a good chance theirs is too (hence why we're at this smaller section of the park and not the larger part!)
The combination of trails allows you to take it as short or as long as you want.
What we didn't like
It's not as well-kept as the other areas of this park, but that's a trade off I'm willing to take. There are things growing into the trails and half fallen trees that feel like someone should just go in and finish the job for safety reasons.
There were still off-leash dogs even though the entire section here is supposed to be leash-required.
Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs
If you're finding that the other parts of Pacific Spirit Regional Park has too much activity for your dog, you will definitely want to consider this part of the park. While we were making our way through the trail, we did come across other dogs that were leashed up and it appeared as though those dogs were reactive as well since their owners were a bit more guarded about meeting Markus. As owners of a reactive dog, we are sensitive to this and are also very appreciative of the fact that other owners go through something similar.
I do need to say that we did come across a couple of off-leash dogs (same owner) on the trail, which was frustrating to say the least. This is a dedicated leash-required section that makes up maybe 10% of the greater park, but we still had to deal with off-leash dogs running up to Markus away from their owners. So while it is a leash-required section, do note that perhaps other owners might not be aware of its restrictions and let their dogs off. This is unfortunate, but there shouldn't be too many of these instances.
Markus taking a short break to enjoy the stillness at Pacific Spirit Regional Park
The Salal Trail actually begins east of where the marker is in the map above.
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.
