Dog Friendly Whistler

Whistler is arguably Canada's best mountain resort for dogs. The municipality runs a network of named off-leash areas including Barking Bay and Canine Cove, the Valley Trail links lakes and parks for leashed walks, and dog friendly hikes surround the village. Many hotels and rental homes take dogs too. The limits are indoor dining, which Canadian health law keeps dog free, and public beaches, which are people only.

Not easily. Whistler's buses are run by BC Transit, which only permits small pets in secure hand-held carriers that fit on your lap, so anything bigger than a toy breed is out. Guide and service dogs are welcome on leash or harness under BC law. Happily, Whistler is compact and the Valley Trail connects the village to most lakes and parks on foot, so many visitors never miss the bus.

Whistler designates several off-leash areas. Barking Bay sits at the south end of Rainbow Park with its own swimming dock, Canine Cove is 400 metres north of Lost Lake beach, and Alpha Lake Park has the gravel Arfa Park plus a dog dock. Bayly Park, and Spruce Grove and Meadow Park fields when not in use, round out the list, with some Valley Trail sections off-leash in winter. Leash up on the way in and out, and everywhere else in town.

For swimmers, Barking Bay at Rainbow Park is the favourite, a grassy off-leash pocket with a dock on Alta Lake and mountain views across the water. Canine Cove at Lost Lake offers a quieter forest-fringed swim spot, and Arfa Park at Alpha Lake combines a fenced gravel run with its own dog dock. Bayly Park in Cheakamus gives you space to throw a ball. Between the four, every dog in Whistler gets wet by August.

Not indoors, since Canadian health law keeps dogs out of indoor dining rooms and bars across the country. In BC the default regulation also covers patios, but the province now lets operators welcome pet dogs on outdoor patios if they work with their health authority to meet the requirements, and a growing number of Whistler patios do exactly that in summer. Ask before you sit down. Let Dogs In, our campaign at letdogsin.com, is working to change the law nationwide.

Walk or run the Valley Trail, a paved network linking the village to five lakes and most parks, with your dog leashed. Swim at Barking Bay, Canine Cove or the Alpha Lake dog dock, hike the Train Wreck trail to the painted boxcars above the Cheakamus River, and finish on a dog friendly patio in the village. In winter, designated Valley Trail sections even go off leash, so the fun does not stop with the snow.

Plenty. The Train Wreck trail near Function Junction is a short, fun leashed hike to graffiti-covered boxcars, and the trails around Lost Lake and the lakes chain fill easy days. Head 30 minutes north to Pemberton for Nairn Falls Provincial Park, an easy year-round riverside walk with a spectacular finish, plus One Mile Lake and the flat Friendship Trail. Dogs stay on leash in BC provincial parks, so pack the long lead and plenty of water.

Whistler requires every dog to wear a valid municipal licence, renewed each January, at 25 dollars for a spayed or neutered dog and 50 dollars otherwise. Dogs must be leashed everywhere except the designated off-leash parks and seasonal areas, and they are banned from public beaches, playgrounds and water parks. Failing to pick up after your dog is a 100 dollar fine, and dogs roaming at large can be impounded, so keep the leash handy and the bags stocked.