Dock ruins at Barnet Marine Park

Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby has beaches, a walking path and an off-leash dog area. It’s about 10 kms from Vancouver, the Trans-Canada Highway and Port Moody.

It’s a beautiful waterfront park located at the bottom of Burnaby Mountain and across the inlet from Cates Park and Vancouver’s North Shore.

This article contains the following information about Barnet Marine Park:

Location | What to Expect | Video | Tips & Advice | Other Information

Barnet Marine Park in North Burnaby

Barnet Marine Park is a small but popular park. It’s both kid-friendly and dog-friendly with lots of beaches and outdoor picnic areas. Swimming and different outdoor gatherings are popular in the summer.

Although small, the park feels large as it is long and narrow. It stretches for about 1.5 kilometres along the waterfront.

Barnet Marine Park Off-Leash Beach — Off-Leash Dog Beach

Where is Barnet Marine Park

The park is located along Barnet Highway, right at the base of Burnaby Mountain at 8181 Barnet Road. It’s about a 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver and less than 10 minutes from Port Moody.

What To Expect

Along the shore there are both rocky and sandy beaches. There is a nice sandy beach at the far western end, but the most popular beach is the one at the far eastern end. It’s the most popular because it’s closer to the parking lots and has both grassy and sandy areas.

You can usually find small crabs under the stones on the rocky beaches, which makes for a fun activity for small children. People also set crab traps along the shore, although you have to look out for signage as sometimes it’s prohibited.

Drummond’s Walk is the pathway along the waterfront. It’s a flat trail that runs from one end of the park to the other. Along the path you can find a large and impressive off-leash dog zone that includes multiple waterfront beaches. The sandier beach areas of the off-leash dog area are at the far west end of the park.

In total, the trail is about a 1.5-kilometre walk (one-way) from the parking lot by Air Mountain Bike Park to the end of the trail along the water.

Barnet Park at Low Tide

Barnet Park Video

To give you an idea of what to expect at Barnet Marine Park, check out the following video.

As you can see, the park is next to the water the entire way and there is beautiful scenery as well as the remains of several old marine structures. Some of the beaches are sandy and others are rocky. Of particular note, the second half of the video showcases the off-leash dog area which is a considerable size.

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips to help you make the most of your visit to the park.

TIP #1: Barnet Marine Park is long and narrow. You have to walk a little ways to get there from most of the parking lots. People planning to have a BBQ or use lots of equipment for the beach often take a wagon or something else to carry their things in.

TIP #2: Since the trail is so flat along the waterfront it is a good option for strollers and wheelchairs. However, do be aware that there is a large off-leash dog area at the western end of the park so there may be lots of furry friends on the trail.

TIP #3: Barnet Park can get quite busy and the main parking lots can fill up fast, especially on sunny weekends in the summer. There is, though, overflow parking above the highway right next to the Air Mountain Bike Park. Check it out if the other parking lots are full.