Grafton Bay Beach is a small, off-leash dog beach with beautiful west-facing views – this would be a great place to enjoy a sunset. Access the beach from the Grafton Bay Dock (also known as Mount Gardner Municipal Dock) down a rough set of stairs made from boulders and rocks.
Parking is limited – street parking is available for about a half dozen vehicles. Beware that some nose-in parking spots which appear to be public are, in fact, signed as private.
Think twice if you’re hoping to go fishing or crabbing here – signage indicates that the bay is an environmentally sensitive area due to coral reefs. Therefore, any contact with the ocean floor is not allowed:
- No Crab traps
- No downriggers
- No boat anchors
Are dogs allowed on Bowen Island Beaches?
Bowen Island’s municipal website says that, “dogs are currently allowed off-leash in all municipal parks but must be kept under control by owners.” It also says that “dogs are not allowed on Tunstall, Sandy or Bowen Bay Beaches in July and August,” however, “at all other coastal access points, leashes are optional, so long as your dog is under control and kept within 3 metres of you.”
“Public beach,” as defined in Bowen Island’s Animal Control Bylaws, “means those public lands located between the low water mark and fifteen (15) metres upland of the high water mark of any body of salt water”
