Best Dog Friendly Ontario Parks – One of Canada’s largest provincial park systems, Ontario Parks is full of fun recreational opportunities and adventures for you and your four-legged friends.
Parks, because of their significant natural and cultural features, are regulated under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act. However, because they are an important resource for human recreation, parks are restricted to pets. As a general rule, even in areas where pets are allowed, pets should not be on a leash longer than 2 meters (about 6.5 feet), and they are not allowed in most swimming pools or beaches.
Best Dog Friendly Ontario Parks
Pets are allowed in all provincial parks in Ontario with the following exceptions: That said, some places are more conducive to outdoor bathing fun than others. To help you choose the perfect destination as a dog owner, here’s a rundown of nearly two dozen parks in Ontario that include dog-friendly exercise and beach areas:
Book Your Vacation At These Dog Friendly Resorts In Ontario
If you’re looking for rich summer interpretive programs, backcountry skiing or canoeing on Georgian Bay, you’ll find it at Awenda Provincial Park. The destination also includes an area on the coast of Georgian Bay designated as a pet beach where dogs are allowed to play while kept on a leash.
Located about 1 ½ hours north of Napanee, this provincial park is famous for the 100-foot-tall Mazinaw Rock, which juts out of Mazinaw Lake and displays more than 260 native paintings. Tourists can take interpretive boat trips across the lake and across the rocks. The park also includes a 1.4 km dog exercise trail and a pet-friendly beach on Lower Macinaw Lake.
Lake Charleston not only offers hiking trails that include a vantage point from the state’s highest peak, but is a popular destination for wildlife viewing, boating, fishing and swimming. The park is located on a rocky lake and has a forested landscape that extends south to the Canadian Shield. The park includes a designated pet beach near Shady Ridge Beach.
Clarke Beach Park is located at the foot of Cherry Street on the North Shore of Toronto’s Cherry Beach Outer Harbor. There are seven cycle paths in the park, two picnic areas and a dog area on the western edge of the beach.
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Located on Lake Ontario, Fifty Points is an 80-acre park perfect for swimming, birding, boating, picnicking and fishing. Visitors can enjoy beach views from the promenade or shaded areas. Fifty Point has a dog friendly beach where pets can swim. But if they are out of the water, they must be in the canvas.
A provincial park between Timmins and Chapleau, the site features hiking trails through ancient glacial landscapes, as well as a soft sandy beach. The shallow water and nearby playground are particularly attractive for families with small children. The park also has a pet beach for swimming and exercise near the fish cleaning hut.
Kettle Lakes Provincial Park has several attractions: late summer blueberry picking in the Jack Pine Boreal Forest; 22 Lough Kettle which is fed by a spring; family-friendly interpretive programs; and 14 km of attractive cycling routes. Four-legged guests can enjoy a designated pet exercise area at Green Lake, including a place where dogs can swim in the lake.
If you’re looking for an Ontario park outside of Dog Beach, this is one of the places to go. There is a dog beach in Killarney Park next to the group camping area where your pet can roam and play freely. The destination is also popular for its 6 kilometers of recreational walking and cycling trails, prime sailing and windsurfing conditions, and rocky and sandy beaches.
Ontario Parks Near Ottawa You Need To Visit
Located on the northwest shore of Lake Erie, Long Point is the fourth oldest provincial park in Ontario and one of the most extensive bird and waterfowl migration and staging areas in North America. The park includes an outdoor dog beach and exercise area in the new section of the park. However, if your dog is in other areas of the park, it must remain on a leash.
Located on Eagle Lake, this park is a great gathering place for friends and families, including four-legged friends. Mikisew has three smooth sandy beaches where you can play volleyball, basketball, disc golf and horse riding. Adjacent to the day use area, you will find a pet exercise area that includes an exercise course and swimming area.
Situated on the Boyne River, the park is close to both Parry Sound and Georgian Bay and offers stunning views of Oastler Lake from the waterside campsites. You can go canoeing and enjoy fishing for pike, bass and trout. The park also includes a grassy pet exercise area with a sandy beach where dogs can swim.
With sunsets rated “among the 10 best in the world” by National Geographic, this beautiful destination offers 10 miles of sandy beaches along the shores of Lake Huron, 10 hiking trails, bike trails and scenic ski trails. There is a dog beach at Pisnick Area 1 in front of the day use trail, but dogs must stay on the beach as well.
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Port Burwell is located on the north shore of Lake Erie and is considered a birder’s paradise. It is family friendly with large, flat sites and a children’s playground. There is a dog beach and animal exercise area in the park east of day parking lot #1, but pets must be on a leash while playing.
Located in Canada’s canoeing capital, Atikokan, Quetico Inanaria is known for its rugged wilderness, home to more than 2,000 lakes as well as sparkling waterfalls, majestic rock formations, and virgin pine and spruce forests. Quetico’s Dawson Trail Campground at Pickerall Point has a dog exercise area, dog beach, and off-leash trails.
There is plenty of mountain biking, hiking and skiing in Restoule, a park located between Stormy Lake and Restoule Lake. The pet exercise area is located at Bell’s Point Boat Launch and includes a small beach where dogs can swim in the refreshing waters of Lake Restoule.
Within the Ontario Provincial Park System, Rock Point is close to Niagara Falls and has three beaches. One beach has a limestone shelf with exposed fossils of an ancient coral reef. There is also a pet friendly beach. Although there is no designated exercise area for pets, dogs are allowed in the day area on the west side of the beach.
Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park A Place Of Wild Beauty
While in Rondo Park, you can enjoy rollerblading, biking, fishing, and hiking as well as the expansive Lake Erie coastal wetlands with its numerous sandy beaches and old-growth Carolinian forests. The park is also a world-renowned bird-watching destination. You may bring your dogs to the designated beach area in front of Beach Access 11, but dogs must be on a leash.
Sandbanks Provincial Park has excellent trails, an impressive array of flora and fauna, and not one but two pet-friendly areas on the beach. The first is located at Outlet Beach (where the Outlet River flows into Lake Ontario) and the second is located at Sandbanks Beach. Although these areas are open to dogs, you must keep them on a lead at all times.
At Sibbald Point, about an hour northeast of Toronto, you’ll find a large sandy beach, a forested hiking trail and a boat launch on Lake Simcoe. The park also has two beach areas where you are allowed to take your pet.
Easily accessible from Cambridge, Burlington, Hamilton and Guelph, the Valence Lake Conservation Area is home to a man-made reservoir and a great place for a day trip or week trip.
Selkirk Provincial Park Campground Review
Dogs are not allowed on the main beach – it is reserved for human guests – and they can swim near the petting beach, next to a play structure.
In this provincial park you will find the longest stretch of freshwater coastline in the world, along with nesting beaches and a large natural area that protects wildlife habitat. Wasaga Beach is the first provincial park in Canada to receive the “Blue Flag” designation for environmentally friendly bank management. In the eastern part of Strand 3, between 22
This provincial park in Sudbury is one of the best for visitors with dogs. With a beach of 1.5 km, the pet recreation area has a large private beach where your dog can swim and jump. There is also space for picnics and recreation while watching your pet.
While it’s good to know where you can have fun camping with your canine companion, it’s also good to know which spots aren’t so great for you and your travel buddy. Four Algonquin Park campgrounds – including Achray, Canisbay, Mew Lake and Pog Lake – have designated areas where pets are not allowed. Balsam Lake, Pinery, Awenda and Voyageur campgrounds also have restrictions.
Pinery Provincial Park Dog Beach & More. (grand Bend, Ontario
You can find many useful resources that provide more information on laws and regulations related to dogs in Ontario’s provincial parks. However, in the end, you can find many interesting and wonderful destinations that are perfect for you