Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South)

About Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South)

Type: Trail (Paths for Leash Required & Leash Optional)
Length: Varies
Traffic: Moderate to Heavy
Route Type: Multiple Trails

Markus finding a shortcut and cutting on top of the trees at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South)

Located near Westbrook Village of the University of British Columbia, the Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a popular spot and one of our most frequented parks because the number of trails and the possible combinations provide countless different paths to take. You get to decide on how long or short of a walk you would like to do depending on how you're feeling and this type of flexibility and the fact that you're surrounded by the nature's beauty makes the Pacific Spirit Regional Park one of our favourites.

While there is no one path for me to recommend, we have tried starting our hikes at different trailheads and our experience at each one of these did seem to differ. We hope to share our experience from a wider perspective at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park, but also point out the minor differences so that you know which paths to take if your dog is more reactive.

As a whole, the park is very well-marked and the maps are easy to follow. Since the maps are very accurate, it's easy to know where you are at most times, but I still recommend saving a picture of the map, just for reference purposes. It is a very large park (there are supposedly 73 kilometres of dog-friendly trail, so take your pick!), after all. The park is surrounded by trees and a lot of people use these trails for exercising, so be aware of runners and especially the cyclists. The paths are mostly flat throughout the park and it's made of dirt, which is always subject to weather. On sunny days, you won't even notice it, but on wet (or snowy) days, there may be small puddles along the path.

Leash Optional vs. Leash Required

Map of Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South) taken from www.metrovancouver.org

Although the map makes it pretty clear which paths requires your dog to be leashed and which ones don't, I've found the lines to be pretty blurred when you're actually in the park. The problem is, as you might be able to see, is because of how much the trails intertwine between those that require and those that are optional. They begin and end so seamlessly that many dog owners don't even realize they're on a new path where the rule has changed.

It's also not practical. If an owner and their dog is only going to be on a leashed path for a short stretch, they're likely not going to leash their dog up because it'll be faster to just walk right through it. You may have noticed that there isn't one path that's leash required all the way through, so you can imagine how easy it is to confuse the paths when you're physically in the park.

This is all to say, and it's been our experience, that chances are high that you're going to come across dogs who aren't leashed up in Pacific Spirit Regional Park. If your dog is reactive and doesn't do well with other dogs running up to your dog and the other dog's owner is catching up, this might not be the park for you. That said, we have also experienced subtle differences to each area of the parks depending on the trailheads where some aren't as busy as others. These differences could also have been dependent on the time and day rather than it being the norm, though. We haven't been there enough times and during various times to be completely sure.

Trailhead(s) at Binning Ave.

Of all the times we've gone to this park, this is by far the busiest area or starting point. My theory is that these entrances are closest to the apartments, so many people wind up starting here. For as busy as the trails get, we've always managed to find a parking spot, which is all free street parking. You can find these spots along Binning Ave., which is just a little bit off of Westbrook Village.

From Binning Ave., there are three trailheads. From these trailheads, we usually end up going down the Council Trail or the Powerline Trail, heading east until we hit one of the other trails and circle back. You can certainly choose to keep going and extend your walk. That is the beauty of this park.

On one of the trips up the Powerline Trail, we came across an area that was completely flooded, so we had to back out and take another route. Of course, this was fine since there are plenty of other trails to take, but just be aware in case you're coming on a wet day that puddles and even small ponding can happen.

This path tends to get busy and is mostly leash optional, so I wouldn't recommend it for reactive dogs. Though the trails are wide, we've come across a lot of off-leash dogs (even in the leash required areas), so bear that in mind. Dogs will sometimes take off ahead of their owners, so if you're not comfortable with off-leash dogs quickly approaching your dog with their owners too far behind, I would avoid this trailhead and path as a whole.

Trailhead at the corner of SW Marine Dr and Camosun St.

Markus posing on decomposing logs at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South)

In one instance, we entered through the trailhead at the corner of SW Marine Dr. and Camosun St. Since we came here on a Saturday, we were able to find parking on a school parking lot just a little bit to the right of the trailhead. There also appeared to be plenty of street parking in the area as well, so parking isn't an issue here.

I thought that this trailhead and area of the park was nice for reactive dogs because as soon as you enter, you're already on the SW Marine Trail, which is a leash required trail. That said, and as I've warned many times now, there's a high chance that you will still come across dogs who aren't leashed up. I did find that because this trail is straight next to the road and it's not the most exciting, people don't usually come here unless they're avoiding the leash optional areas. Also keep in mind that unless you're planning to get to walk to the end of the trail and double back, you're going to end up on the leash optional trails on the way back.

For us, we started on the SW Marine Trail and then went up the Salish Trail (which is leash optional). The Salish Trail wasn't very busy, so it was a pleasant walk for us and our friends who also have reactive dogs. From where Salish Trail meets up with the Imperial Trail, we bridged over to the Hemlock and Sasamat Trails before heading back down to the school where our cars were parked. This path was fine, but it did feel as though the trails weren't as wide and as well-maintained as the trails that started from Binning Ave. This is important to note if your dog isn't comfortable with other dogs passing by and needs wider paths.

Trailhead on 29th Ave.

On one particular hike, we wanted to maximize walking through the leash required trails only and we wound up doing a really long hike. We parked our car by 29th Ave., where it's all street parking (and if you're coming on a Saturday, there's plenty of street parking by the school there). We took the trailhead on St. Georges Trail and then headed up on the Sasamat and Hemlock Trail towards the Imperial Trail. We then continued on the Hemlock Trail and headed up Nature Trail until we hit 16th Ave. From there, we bridged over to Top Trail and headed down to Imperial Rd., which meets up with 29th Ave.

We lost track of time, but this trail ended up taking at least an hour and a half, if not longer. The beginning areas are definitely quieter and we also came across groups of dogs and owners who were congregating by the main roads or trailheads (some of them off-leash). As a whole, this walk was fine, even through it's primarily leash required, you'll still have to cross through paths (though minimal) where it's leash optional.

What we liked

There are so many trails and combinations that you can take.
There are a lot of different trailheads and some are less busy than others.
Nature within this park is beautiful.
There are a lot of areas to explore for a dog.

What we didn’t like

There isn't one straight leash required loop you can do without having to go through leash optional trails.
There are a lot of off-leash dogs even on leash required trails, so it's not the easiest for reactive dogs.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

The Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South) is a very large park with a lot of trails within. If you're concerned about how busy it gets and the fact that there's a high chance you'll come across unleashed dogs, I would suggest not going through the trailheads by Binning Ave. or that side of the park in general. It tends to get really busy there.

For us, the quietest trail that we took was the one by the corner of SW Marine Dr. and Camosun St. With our friends whose dogs are also reactive, we had a better time here than the rest of the park. With all of this said, I do also believe that the time and day also makes a huge difference, so our experience might not be the same as yours. We hope that our experience can be used as pointers or a starting point for you to explore the Pacific Spirit Regional Park (South), but the adventure is ultimately yours to make!

If you're for something with a little bit more incline, you can also check out the post that we did on the Pacific Spirit Regional Park (North).

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.