North Cowichan dog leash rules and off-leash areas

Where can dogs be off leash in North Cowichan, and what are the leash rules?

North Cowichan, British ColumbiaChecked against official textSources read 2026-11-06

Short answer

In North Cowichan, a dog in any public place must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet (1.83 m). Dogs may be off leash only in the designated off-leash areas, under voice or hand-command control. A first off-leash offence is $100.

Key facts

Leash rule	In any public place (land owned or run by any level of government, including school districts) a dog must be on a leash held by a competent person. Dogs may be off leash only in the designated off-leash areas, and then only under effective voice or hand-command control. Dogs must also stay off private property that is not their owner's.Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, ss. 29, 31, 2; Animal Responsibility, Dog and cat requirements · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording The Owner of a Dog must not allow the Dog to be in a Public Place unless the Dog is on a Leash the Owner of a Dog may allow the Dog to be off-leash in the areas listed in means all land owned, held, operated or administered by any level of government, including a school district Dogs must be leashed and under control at all times when in public
Maximum leash length	The leash must not be longer than 6 feet (1.83 m) and strong enough to hold the dog.Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, s. 2 "Leash" · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording does not exceed 6 feet (1.83 metres) in length
Off-leash areas	Schedule B areas: Chemainus Lake Park; Herd Road Park Off Leash Area; Somenos Dog Park; Fuller Lake Park boat launch area where signed; Kin Beach Park foreshore and Maple Bay Beach foreshore (October 1 to June 15 only, not the rest of those parks); Wul'aam' (Echo) Park; the Municipal Forest Reserve; and the southern portion of 9740 Elm Street (Chemainus Ball Park) outside the baseball field, year-round.Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, Schedule B · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording Designated Off-Leash Dog Areas Chemainus Lake Park Herd Road Park Off Leash Area Kin Beach Park foreshore, excluding other areas of Kin Beach Park, from October 1
Places dogs are not allowed	None set. The bylaw lists no general places where all dogs are banned.Read: Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019
Cleaning up	Anyone in charge of a dog must remove and sanitarily dispose of its excrement. It may go into a public litter bin only if securely contained in an impermeable bag or container. The Municipality's web page also says not to throw bags into the bushes.Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, ss. 83-84; Animal Responsibility, Dog and cat requirements · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording Every Person must remove and sanitarily dispose of any excrement deposited by a Dog impermeable bag or other impermeable container Clean up after your dog and dispose of feces in a sanitary manner
Fine, dog at large or off leash	Dog off leash in public (s. 29), per calendar year. Bylaw notice: 1st offence $100 ($50 if paid within 14 days, $120 after 28 days); 2nd $200 ($100 early, $220 late); 3rd and later $300 ($150 early, $320 late). Municipal ticket: $100, $200 and $300.Bylaw Offence Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 3677, 2021, Schedule A, s. 29; Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw, Schedule 2, Section 1, item 21 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording Allow Dog to be off-leash in public - 1st offence (first offence $100.00 $50.00 $120.00 YES 2nd offence (second $200.00 $100.00 $220.00 Allow Dog to be off-leash in public
Bylaw	Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, ss. 29-32 and Schedule B.Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019, s. 1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06 Official wording This Bylaw may be cited as “Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019”

How it works

Under the Animal Responsibility Bylaw, a dog in any public place (land owned or run by any level of government, including school districts) must be on a leash held by a competent person. The leash must not be longer than 6 feet (1.83 m) and must be strong enough to hold the dog. Dogs must also stay off private property that is not their owner's.

Dogs may be off leash only in the designated off-leash areas, and only under effective voice or hand-command control.

Steps

Keep your dog on a short leash everywhere except the off-leash areas.
In the off-leash areas, keep your dog under voice or hand control.
Pick up after your dog and dispose of it properly. Waste may go in a public litter bin only if securely contained in an impermeable bag or container. Do not throw bags into the bushes.

Off-leash areas

Chemainus Lake Park
Herd Road Park Off Leash Area
Somenos Dog Park
Fuller Lake Park boat launch area, where signed
Kin Beach Park foreshore and Maple Bay Beach foreshore, October 1 to June 15 only (not the rest of those parks)
Wul'aam' (Echo) Park
The Municipal Forest Reserve
The southern portion of 9740 Elm Street (Chemainus Ball Park), outside the baseball field, year-round

Good to know

Fines for a dog off leash in public rise each calendar year. A bylaw notice is $100 for a first offence ($50 if paid within 14 days, $120 after 28 days), $200 for a second and $300 for a third and later. A municipal ticket is $100, $200 and $300.
Not removing dog waste is $200 by bylaw notice ($100 if paid early, $220 late) or $100 by municipal ticket.
Aggressive dogs are barred from school grounds, from within 30 m of playground apparatus and from the off-leash areas.
The bylaw lists no general places where all dogs are banned. Ask Bylaw Services about a specific park or beach.

Official forms and pages

Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019 (PDF)

The same question in other places

Duncan · Ladysmith · North Saanich · Sidney · Lake Cowichan · Central Saanich

Dog leash rules in British Columbia, by municipality →

Sources

Animal Responsibility, Municipality of North Cowichan (read 2026-11-06)
Animal Responsibility Bylaw No. 3740, 2019 (PDF) (read 2026-11-06)
Bylaw Offence Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 3677, 2021 (PDF) (read 2026-11-06)
Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw (PDF) (read 2026-11-06)

Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 7 facts was matched to the official text; 1 is recorded as not set. How answers are checked.