Cox Bay Beach is a very popular surfing beach in the District of Tofino, BC. It is popular both with locals and visitors, looking to relax on the beach or catch the perfect wave. Dogs are welcome at Cox Bay but must be kept on-leash. The District of Tofino website indicates that failure to do so may result in fines for the dog owner.
Unfortunately there are NO designated off-leash areas within the District of Tofino. The tourism Tofino website publishes a “dog-friendly Tofino page” which indicates that “There are no off-leash parks, beaches, or areas in Tofino. Dogs on leash create a culture of conservation. The beaches and trails here are important habitats for wildlife, including wolves, shorebirds, and some forage fish whose very survival is impacted by dogs off-leash.”
The Dog Network supports maintaining on-leash areas for the purposes of conservation and one of our goals is to guide dog-owners to official off-leash spaces that they can enjoy with their dogs so that on-leash areas remain on-leash. That said, because Tofino does not HAVE any off-leash areas to guide people to, our observation has been that everyone has their dogs off-leash on all of the beaches. Cox Bay was no exception. We saw a number of off-leash dogs enjoying the water while we were there.
When it comes to popular beaches, it is hard to imagine that the dogs playing with their humans in the surf are doing any more damage to sensitive wildlife areas than the many humans/surfers were doing.
Off-Leash Dogs in Tofino
The District of Tofino website indicates that they have received numerous letters from both visitors and members of the community advocating for spaces that dogs can be off-leash. Dogs need space to run and play, and by designating official areas for them to do so, the District can avoid people allowing their dogs to be off-leash in areas that may be more environmentally sensitive. Unfortunately the last update I could find on the District website dated back to 2023 and there does not appear to have been any movement on the project. I have reached out to the District of Tofino to enquire if the creation of off-leash beaches and other areas for dogs is still on their radar and will update this listing when I hear back.
For now, if you want to take your dog to a sanctioned off-leash dog-park you will need to head over to neighboring Ucluelet where they have established one off-leash dog park.
