Bruce Pit

It’s a great place for you to take your K9 friend into a leashless fun-​fest where your K9 friend can play, socialize, slobber, sniff and mark all the territory a bladder can take. There’s a mssive trail around the grounds, and a communal social zone with chairs to sit an watch your dog interact.
The strong community of dog lovers have brought in water, chairs and have done a great job bringing care and love to these grounds. There’s plenty of parking, and everyone is so nice and social — can’t go wrong.
Only things to watch out for are those particular few dog owners that have aggressive dogs and or those that don’t care about maintaining the spaces. I just go in off hours to avoid any issues.
If you’re into pits — be disappointed — no actual pit.

I have to start with the fact that I love Bruce Pit. It is a great off leash area for people to take their dogs with a lot of different trails and mostly great people. I can’t give it a 5 star as good as it gets rating because a place for dogs to swim would make this place perfect. It can get pretty hot in the summer and muddy in the spring/​fall and sometimes quite slippery during the winter but as far as dog parks in Ottawa go this is one of my favourites, I just rarely visit because it is super far away from where I live in the east end of Ottawa. Definitely worth the trip out but make sure you bring water for both you and your pet.
One major bonus is that there is a huge parking lot just make sure to keep an eye out for dogs on the run as sometimes dogs run into the parking lot as there is no barrier to keep them in.

Giant off leash doggy park! There are trails for dogs in the summer, and ski trails in the winter. Wooded trails and sandy areas too and the perimeter is all fenced in with the exception of no gate at the parking entrance. Park regulars have created a little lost and found at the entrance. The entrance holds lots of parking and water bowls for the dogs.
It is possible to loose your dog in this park so work on recall before attending. Make sure you pick up after your pooch so that we can keep the park clean.

Bruce Pit is the Gold Standard of dog parks the world over.
I am visiting Ottawa and went here today with my cousins and their dogs. It is dog heaven.
The place is vast – acres and acres and acres. It is also fenced in, though it’s a wire fence about four feet high that I could imagine dogs jumping over if they wanted to.
All about are dogs having the time of their lives, running through sand, through tall grass, through woods, through open fields – Bruce Pit has a variety of paths all inviting dogs to have a blast.
It is inspiring and life-​affirming to see dogs of all shapes and sizes enjoying themselves, playing, sniffing, wrestling, and chasing each other. Even if you don’t have a dog this is a great place to visit!

Great dog park. Only drawback is people don’t pick up their dogs’ turds and it gets a little nasty once in a while.
There’s tons of varied trails to walk with your dog off-​leash. Bushy, forested areas or wide-​open fields — there’s something for everyone.

Great space to take your dog. 90% of people know dogs but 10% won’t let their dog play or think that a loud dog is dangerous. Some dogs bark and growl when they play. Watch out for ice in the winter.

Best dog park around. Nature, trails, fenced. Have met many wonderful people and pups here. Yes once or twice some of the dogs can be rambunctious and obnoxious, but if you walk around you can avoid that. Only complaint is that there is nowhere to get fresh water. In the summer you MUST bring your own. Otherwise it’s freakin gorgeous!

Bruce Pit remained an illusive place for me up until a year and a half ago when I got my little corgi Finn. This place is a little slice of heaven in Ottawa.
Although it’s called a «pit» this place is basically a large park with lots of sand trails weaving in and out of the greenbelt. As Kelly mentioned, the entrance is a bit stinky — as my non-​dog-​loving sister said, «holy crap it smells like… crap. And pee.»
Once you get past the entrance you can head straight into the park or keep walking to a communal field where you’ll find dozens of dogs frolicking about no matter the weather. There’s almost always some communal water jugs and bowls kicking around as well, and some benches for us fur parents to take it all in.
I have heard some people complain about aggressive dogs, but I’ve never experienced anything like this during my visits. Owners are respectful and keep a close eye on their dogs.
My only warning about Bruce Pit is that it’s a bit of a nightmare in the early spring — total mud bath for you and your dog. It took us 2 baths to get Finn clean (though that might be due to his proximity to the ground…).
Aside from all this dog talk, it’s a wonderful place for a hike even without a canine friend. I have several friends that love to picnic there, and others that don’t have dogs, but love to visit to get their puppy fix.
Owners are generally super friendly and I’ve made some great friends there. It may seem like a hike if you’re downtown or anywhere east of Nepean, but it’s totally worth the drive.

Bruce Pit is one of the best things Ottawa has to offer for our canine companions.
The pit offers acres of fenced in, off leash party time for your pooch. There are many wooded trails, sand patches, and open fields which makes your dog feel like they are back in the wild!
Even on a nice weekend and there are over 40 cars in the lot, you never feel as though its «crowded», and you can walk for long periods of time where you never even see another dog. The owners here all seem very responsible, and we’ve never had a bad experience with another dog.
The Pit kinda stinks near the entrance… but it quickly passes as you proceed into the park. I make a point of coming here every time I’m in the area!