Royal Heights Park, North Delta

Royal Heights ParkRoyal Heights Park is a nice park, on a very secluded street. It was a little tricky to find it, as it doesn’t really have a proper entrance. Most entrances to the park are at the end of cul de sacs, so that there is very little parking.

Royal Heights ParkIt is listed as an off leash park, but it is not completely fenced, so if you can’t control your dog, it’s not a good park to come to. We found the “main entrance” and as we entered, we discovered we were alone there with only one other dog – a chow!

She was a young pup and really frisky and got Max running around in circles! It was cute to see him trying to keep up, kind of whining at her, as if to say, “Slow Down!”

Royal Heights ParkThe park consists of a very large open field, with public restrooms, and a nice kiddie play park. There are great views out over the river as well. At one end of the park we found a nice set of walking trails, through seem very majestic trees. The trails were too short really, but you can get some nice exercise since they went up and down the steep hills.

Royal Heights ParkAll in all, it’s a nice enough park, but not worth the drive for us. If you live in the neighbourhood, it’s a terrific spot, and I’m sure we’d use it a lot if we did live within walking distance to it. I rather like the idea that is a hidden gem, not marred by some huge parking lot.

Clayton Off Leash Park, Surrey

Max in ClaytonToday Max and I headed on over to Clayton Off Leash Park. We’ve been there before, and it’s quite nice. It’s very new, in an area that is being developed quite extensively. There are a lot of new homes in the area, there is a big new mall that has gone in, and the roads are all finally finished.

The park itself has a couple of different areas, one for small dogs, and one for normal dogs. There is a lovely treed area to the end of the enclosures, but unfortunately it’s been closed for some reason. The area we could actually walk around was quite small, but Max met a couple nice dogs and got a good romp in with them.

It’s a nice park, but not worth the drive without the rear wooded section open. We’ll get back there later on in the spring when it re-opens.

Tannery Road Off Leash Park, North Surrey

Fraser RiverToday was a lovely spring day, bright and sunny but a tad brisk. So we loaded up old Maxie and hit the trail. Tannery Road terminates at the waterfront, directly across the river from New Westminster Quay.

The DunesThe location is in a rather industrial area, and we had to dodge lots of big double pup dump trucks. The park itself has a couple of open fields, and some trails leading to the water.

The trails lead off to the river’s edge to one side, with large sand dunes on the other side. The dunes are extremely high, and there are several paths leading up to the peaks. Max and I took a charge up and were quite surprised to see there is a HUGE hole on the other side. Trucks were moving in and out, so clearly the sand is being mined for local construction projects.

Tannery ParkComing down, Max just beat it down the hill! Pretty funny! The water’s edge is affected by the tides, so it’s quite muddy, so Max wasn’t too interested in going in, thankfully!

There were not many dogs there, I think because it was too early in the day. It’s a nice enough park, but I think it’s really only for locals. It’s not worth the drive really. I mean I liked it, it’s just that there wasn’t enough to interest me. The view was nice over the river though, so it was worthwhile to come have a look.

River View

Crescent Park, South Surrey

Crescent Park, SurreyToday Max and I went for a run through Crescent Park. It’s a lovely big park, with lots of play areas, cricket fields, baseball parks, and large open areas with lots of park benches for resting and relaxing. It is in the middle of an old growth forest, with huge redwoods and other firs.

Crescent Park, PlateauIt has a lot of elevation changes, so the running can be challenging if you want it to be. We started at the second parking lot, at the lowest level. There are some nice covered picnic areas, which were busy with loads of Little Leaguers bbqing their lunch. We chose the right path and quickly got into a steep uphill climb.

TurtlesWe came to a pond by the upper plateau and there were lots of ducks there. When we stopped to take a picture, I noticed there were lots of turtles hanging out there too! Very cool! People were having wedding pictures done, kids were fascinated by the turtles, and several dogs were enjoying the scenery.

It is very cool to jog through those big old redwoods. Some are so huge, it takes ten minutes to get around them! haha For the most part, Vancouver parks don’t have these wonderful trails to run through. Most are simply “green spaces” where you can count how many trees are there! Not so with Crescent Park.

Crescent Park PondWe took a long trail back through the forest, and just enjoyed the experience, communing with the trees. So very peaceful. The trails are well maintained, with lots of smaller paths leading off deeper into the forest. You could come here several days in row and not have the same trail experience.

I really enjoyed this park. There were a lot of people in it, but for long stretches, I felt quite alone. Max and I were quite beat by the time we got back to the car. Lots of fun!

Dogwood Park, South Surrey

Dogwood ParkToday was a gorgeous day, so Pam and I took a drive down south near the Nico Wynd golf course and took Max to Dogwood Park. It’s a large off leash park, with lots of nice trails though some old growth trees. It’s easily the largest off leash park we’ve been to. The trails are really quite extensive, some even running alongside small bodies of water.

Dogwood ParkThere is a man made lake, with a bridge that dogs can jump off into the water! Not that Max would ever do that! There were no ducks on the lake, so Max didn’t find anyone to chase, today.

There are large fields that lots of dogs were chasing balls and playing frisbee on. The park is a really nice mix of open spaces and wooded areas. We walked around for quite a while, crisscrossing the park, walking through some spectacularly sized redwoods, and other large fir trees.

Max loved it! He chased a few birds, but basically he stays with us while we walk. There were a few gravel paths and he doesn’t really like walking on gravel. I think the stones get caught in his webbed feet and he kinda “spins his tires” to get them out!