Puppers. As far as the eye could see.
Our day at Kirk Park Off-Leash Dog Beach was about as close to pawfection as my life can get.
Sun? Check. Sand? Check. Clear, warmish water? Check. Our little family? Check. Dogs of all shapes and sizes having fun and being so well-behaved? Check and double check.
It only costs $7 (per car) for an out-of-county visitor to spend the day at Kirk Park Dog Beach. If you don’t have a dog, there’s another swimming beach available. Or you can be like our neighbors at the beach who didn’t have a dog but like to come and hang out at the dog end of the beach to get their fur-time in.
There’s a fair walk from the parking lot to the dog beach, but it’s well marked. There are lots of sniffs for your dog to enjoy on the way and get all their bodily functions out of the way before the beach. At the end of the trail you come down wooden stairs and are greeted by this:
Big dogs and little dogs played in the waves with their peoples. Some were on leash but most were not. There were tennis balls and frisbees flying. Dogs running in and out of the people along the shore and soggy pup shakes all along the shoreline.
Truffles doesn’t care for water. She enjoys the sand at the beach and being with her people, but the waves crashing are very scary for such a small dog. We gently took her to the edge to have a sniff and cool off and then she spent most of the day in the shelter of our sun shade. She watched all the dogs play and protected her turf from other fur-friends who came to do an explore and a sniff of her.
We were at the beach for about 3 hours and during that time one majestic water beast caught my eye. The mythical beach corgi. She was so cute and well-behaved. She’d sit and watch her people in the water with her fur-sibling.
I got chatting with her dad and he said she prefers calmer water for a splish splash. She gave me life. She just needed a mermaid tail and she would have been the best, most magical creature on the beach.
There are staff that walk the beach occasionally. They were vigilant for dogs that were being obnoxious or aggressive. There really weren’t that many who needed policing, just a very exuberant Great Dane.
There are signs at each end of the beach to make it clear where you can and can’t go with your dog which is helpful. Even though it was busy there was plenty of sand fur us all.
This sign was so great. It shares where you can take your dog in Ottawa County. I loved how clear the information was and that it gave even more ideas. When we come back to the Grand Rapids area in the future we’ll definitely take this information into account.
The day at the beach was all we could have hoped for. Truffles, Stephen and I left tired, relaxed and happy after such a great day at the off-leash Kirk Park Dog Beach.
Address
Kirk Park Dog Beach, 9791 N Lakeshore Dr, West Olive, MI 49460
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