Can I Take My Dog to the Sooke Potholes? Leash Rules, Parking and the Best Time to Go

Yes, dogs are allowed at the Sooke Potholes, but the CRD keeps the leash on everywhere in this regional park, and in summer your dog is shut out of the swimming-hole beaches entirely from June 1 to September 15. That phrasing makes fall sound like the catch. It is the opposite: the seasonal ban lifts September 15, pay parking ends September 30, and October is the best dog-owner season of the year at the Potholes, with free parking, thinner crowds and a river that finally belongs to quiet leashed walks instead of a thousand swimmers.

We drove out on a wet October morning last fall with Ziggy and decided the trip is now a seasonal ritual. The river moves, the moss glows, and there is zero pressure to find a swim spot for anyone. Here is exactly how the rules work so you do not get a ticket like the ones that make the rounds on local dog pages.

Are dogs allowed at the Sooke Potholes?

Yes, on a leash at all times. The Sooke Potholes Regional Park sits on the CRD's dogs-on-leash list, which is the default for basically every CRD regional park, and bylaw patrols do check. Off-leash dogs stand out here because there are so few, and the tickets are not small. Keep the leash on from the parking lot to the water and back, and the visit is stress free.

The one genuine off-leash spot in the area belongs to Saanich, not Sooke, so do not drive out expecting a run. The potholes are a walk-and-look park with your dog at your side: glossy granite bowls, clear green water, and a river trail that runs for kilometres upstream if you want the dog to earn their nap.

Can my dog swim in the potholes?

Not the way people do. From June 1 to September 15 dogs are not allowed in the designated beach and picnic areas around the main swimming holes, which are exactly the spots everyone calls the potholes, except to walk straight through on a leash. Outside that window the leash rule still applies to the entire park, so there is no point in the year your dog is free-swimming here.

Honestly, even in the open season I would keep a dog out of the water. The holes are cold, deep and have current in places, and from late October the Sooke River carries the coho and chum run, which means you are asking a wet, excited dog to resist the strongest smell in the river. That is the week ours stays on a short leash near the bank, exactly like Goldstream. We cover the river etiquette in our salmon run viewing guide.

What does parking cost and where do I go?

Pay parking runs May 1 to September 30 in Lots 1, 2 and 3: about $2 for two hours, $5 for the day, or a $40 seasonal pass. From October 1 to April 30 parking is free, and vehicles with a valid persons-with-disabilities permit park free year-round. The main entrance is off Sooke River Road, and the river trail drops down from the upper lots toward the pothole chain and the Galloping Goose Trail connection.

The park itself has no entry fee, so the only cost of a fall dog walk is gas and the ten-minute pre-trip check of the CRD page for trail closures after heavy rain. The Sooke River runs big and brown after a storm, so time your visit for a day or two of drying weather and the green-water potholes are back.

Is there anywhere else for the dog near the Potholes?

A few, all on the same road. Charters Creek has a short interpretive loop past restored salmon spawning channels close to the Potholes, a small, quiet add-on for a leashed dog. Ayum Creek Regional Park, a bit farther west, sees chum and coho in October and November and stays dog-friendly on leash. Farther along, the Sooke coastline at Whiffin Spit and the beaches west of town give a leashed dog the ocean, and our Sooke dog owner's guide walks through all of them.

One practical note from the drive: the West Shore dog-friendly patio scene is your natural finish line. We usually loop the Potholes in the morning and land at a Langford or Colwood patio for lunch, so the whole day becomes a dog outing instead of a walk.

What does a Sooke base give a dog owner?

This is where I flag the real estate angle, because it is real. The Potholes, the Sooke River trail network, Ayum Creek and the west coast beaches are all minutes from most Sooke homes, and buyers out here get trail access that downtown owners drive 40 minutes for. The trade-off is the commute and the distance from 24-hour vets, so the neighbourhood suits people who plan for both. We help dog buyers weigh exactly that, yard size versus trail access versus vet distance, every month.

If the idea of a river trail out your back door sounds right, read our Sooke guide, or book a time to talk about a move with your dog in mind.