Oak Bay dog leash rules and off-leash areas

Where can dogs be off leash in Oak Bay, and what are the leash rules?

Oak Bay, British ColumbiaChecked against official textSources read 2026-11-06

How it works

Under the Animal Control Bylaw, a dog must be under full control of a competent person on a leash or chain on any street and on public school grounds. The leash limit is 2.4 metres. The same applies in the parks listed in Schedule D (including Windsor, Carnarvon, Henderson and Willows Park) and, from April to June, in the Uplands Park area shown in Schedule C. A dog must not be at large, meaning off the owner's premises and not accompanied by a competent person in control of it.

Windsor Park is the only park with set off-leash hours: sunrise to 9 a.m. from July 1 to August 31, and sunrise to 11 a.m. from September 1 to June 30. The dog must be under full control, and dogs are not allowed in the fenced Rose Garden.

Steps

1. Check the park against Schedule D of the bylaw.
2. Leash your dog (2.4 metres or shorter) unless you are in Windsor Park during the off-leash hours.
3. Pick up waste right away and bag it. The owner must remove dog waste from streets, beaches, parks, school grounds and other public places, and from private property that is not their own. Put it in a municipal litter receptacle labelled for dog waste.

Good to know

• Dogs are banned in the Windsor Park fenced Rose Garden, Native Plant Park, the Henderson Park golf course and chip trail, Turkey Head Walkway, the fenced Water Park in Carnarvon Park, Kitty Islet, Willows Beach from May 1 to September 30, and South Willows Beach all year.
• McNeill Bay Beach: dogs are allowed October 1 to April 30, and from May to September only between sunrise and sunset.
• The clean-up rule does not apply to a blind person accompanied by a guide dog.
• The ticket is $150 ($100 if paid within 30 days) for a dog at large, an unleashed dog, a dog in a banned area, or failing to remove waste, under Bylaw No. 4846.