Anne-Charlotte PasseraI thought that to take your dog out in Montreal would be like a walk in the park. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In order to succeed, you just need to know how to use Google a little and be resourceful.
Thanks to this Pandemic, I discovered so many places in and around Montreal to walk my dog. In fact, we have two of them now.
If we humans are fed up with seeing the same 4 walls every day, imagine your dog. He must be sick and tired of seeing the same four corners of the neighborhood every single day.
As much as our kids need to go outside everyday and to the park, for our dog on the other hand, the park is nice, but he’ll quickly grow tired from it. You need to spice it up!
The Dog Parks of Montreal
Montreal has plenty of dog parks and parks. In a future article, I will tell you more about our favorite dog parks inside the city.
However, given that we have two large dogs, a 20-minute walk around the neighborhood or a park simply won’t do the trick. We also don’t want to go around in circles for 1 hour like Chevy Chase in National Lampoons European Vacation.
Still, you don’t necessarily need to go outside of Montreal to walk your dog and have fun.
Instructions for walking your dog in Montreal
Your dog must be kept on a leash at all times in Montreal, except in dog parks.
Before bringing, adopting or buying a dog in Montreal, here are a few things you should know.
The Medal
Any dog living in Montreal must have a city medal. You can apply for it online HERE.
However, you will need to have on-hand proof that he is microchipped and sterilized unless it is a breeding dog. Just take a picture of the documents and upload them to your request. The cost of the tag is 28$ per dog, per year.
The Poop
In Montreal, we pick up poop. And yes, you don’t have a choice.
I don’t know what’s worse though. Getting fined or getting yelled at in the street by a passerby who saw that you didn’t pick up your dog’s poop. The people here won’t mind pointing that out to you.
If you have or have had children, you will see, picking up dog poop is not that bad. In winter, it even keeps your hands warm!
Water
In both Spring and Summer, most parks have working water fountains, but this is not always the case. During the fall and winter, the fountains are usually closed.
So, don’t forget to bring a water bottle for your dog when you go for a walk. Also, a few treats won’t hurt. You never know. It’s like with children, anything is possible.
Walking the streets of Montreal with your dog (1h +)
Personally, I love walking through the alleys of Montreal. It’s quieter, it’s less crowded and it can be very colorful. Moreover, in winter, the alleys are much less salty than the sidewalks. It hurts less to walk for the little paws of our big dogs.
Indeed, Montreal is full of murals or what some call Street Art. Why not kill two birds with one stone and walk with your dog to discover them together. There’s enough to make for some interesting walks.
According to Wikipedia, Montreal has about 450km of alleyways.
In addition, since 1997, the concept of green alleys has been developing throughout the city and in 2017, 15% of them were green.
Broadly speaking, this consists of greening the strips along the public streets. We are fortunate to live on a green alley. From May to September, a henhouse is even installed there. Moreover, my dogs love to go and say hello to the chickens. They are even happier when there is a warm egg that we can take home and put in their food.
There are a lot of green alleys and murals in the Rosemont district between the Beaubien and Rosemont metro stations.
However, if you want to have more options, head on over to the Plateau Mont-Royal, along Avenue Saint-Laurent. Pleasure guaranteed!
Maisonneuve Park (1h)
In all honesty, before the Pandemic, I think I set foot in Maisonneuve Park twice in 11 years.
This park is 80 hectares. It is one of the largest parks in Montreal. There is enough to make for a good hour’s walk with your dog.
During the summer, there are sheep grazing and you can even do yoga with them next to you.
I advise you not to follow the trails full of runners or cyclists. Instead, cut through the park. You’ll see, it’s much more peaceful. Plus, you will (almost) feel like you are walking in the forest.
Currently, parking is free on the lot on Sherbrooke Street. I don’t know if this is the case all year round, but the last few times we were there, it was.
Frédéric Back Park (2h)
Before last Fall, I had never set foot in Frédéric Back Park. It is located just behind La Tohu.
In order not to waste too much time parking, take Papineau Avenue and park at the Taz or the soccer stadium. It’s free!
This park, or should I say path, goes around a quarry that is used to bury garbage. Well I admit, it doesn’t sound good like that, but nevertheless, the place is very interesting to take a walk.
You’ll feel like you’ve landed on the moon!
On the wider part of the park, bubbles or spheres have been installed there, not to relax in but for a completely different use. These bubbles protect the biogas collection wells which then supply electricity to the entire neighborhood.
My dog Nouki likes to waddle around there. It must be said that his hips were made for swagging. Since he is a Newfie, I can say that he stands out from the crowd.
On the other hand, in the Winter, you have to be careful of the cross-country ski trail. In fact, you can rent some for free on-site. I tell you more about it HERE. However, I have a little trouble imagining myself doing it while holding my 130lbs dog.
Lachine Canal (time, no idea)
Well, I admit, I’ve never been there with my dogs. However, dogs are allowed there on a leash. The trail runs along the canal for about 14km from the Bonaventure Expressway to the West of the Old Port.
It’s on my list of places to go exploring with my dogs, but we just haven’t had time to go yet.
Mont-Royal Park (2h+)
Mount Royal Park, had to be on that list.
Unfortunately, everyone knows about it. What’s annoying is that not only there are a lot of people, but you have to pay to park up at Beaver Lake.
However, if you have energy and so does your dog, park on Saint-Urbain, south of Mont-Royal Avenue; it’s free. The only problem is that you will have to walk all the way to the top of Mount Royal.
However, there are plenty of small trails in the undergrowth that you can take. This will save you from meeting families and Sunday walkers on the main trail, which is deforested. Beware of raccoons! They are everywhere.
Summit Woods (2×30 minutes)
I’ve saved the best for last.
We have just discovered Summit Woods located in Westmount, not far from Mount Royal.
It’s not huge and you quickly go around it. However, nothing prevents you from going around a second time and explore new trails.
There is a small parking lot at the entrance of the park. It was a miracle that we managed (without waiting) to park there. It’s free. Otherwise, you can park around the park. However, I don’t know if it takes a permit to park or not.
Update: After writing the article, we went back a few times. No permit is required to park on the side streets and it’s easy to find a spot.
You can walk on this “mountain” with your dog all year round. However, from November to April, you can do so off-leash. Yes, dogs are allowed to stretch their legs without having to drag you behind them. Isn’t that great?
It’s pretty cool to see dogs on the loose other than in a dog park.
The time we went there, it was super crowded with dogs! It was a sight for sore eyes. Plus, my dogs didn’t even fight with the other dogs for once. AWESOME!
It’s a pretty special moment to walk with a dog off-leash without having to leave Montreal.
If you are looking for other places to walk your dog, but outside of Montreal, I talk about them HERE.
Have a nice walk!
Do you know of other places to walk your dog in Montreal? Leave me a comment below 👇.
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