The Best Dog Beaches in the World (Yes, We Put Ourselves on the List)
We run a website about a dog beach in Ocean Beach, San Diego. So we are obviously biased. But we also spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking about what makes a dog beach actually good versus just technically allowing dogs.
A great dog beach isn’t just sand that tolerates paws. It’s a place where the whole experience is built around dogs and the people who love them. Off-leash freedom, clean water, enough space that your dog isn’t nose to nose with a stranger’s reactive pit bull, and that intangible vibe where everyone just gets it.
We went looking for the best of the best around the world. Some are famous. Some you’ve probably never heard of. All of them are worth the trip if you and your dog are the kind of travelers who plan vacations around beaches.
OB Dog Beach, San Diego, California
We’re putting ourselves first because this is our website and we’re not going to pretend otherwise.
OB Dog Beach is one of the first official off-leash dog beaches in the United States, adopted by the Ocean Beach Town Council’s Dog Beach Committee back in 1972. It’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no permits, no tags, no fees. Just show up with your dog and go.
The beach sits at the mouth of the San Diego River on the north end of Ocean Beach. On any given afternoon you’ll find dozens of dogs sprinting through the surf, surfers catching waves at the Dog Beach break, and people stretched out in chairs watching the whole beautiful mess unfold. All sizes, all breeds, all welcome.
The San Diego River outlet at the north end can get sketchy with currents during tidal changes, and water quality advisories pop up after rain events, so always check sdbeachinfo.com before you go. But on a clean day with a light offshore breeze, there’s no better place on the planet to be a dog.
The details: Off-leash 24/7. Free. Parking available at 5156 W Point Loma Blvd. Waste bags and trash cans on site. No restroom directly at Dog Beach, but there’s one at the south end of the parking lot.
Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel is the town that famously elected Clint Eastwood as mayor and treats dogs like first-class citizens. The beach is a stunning mile-long stretch of white sand backed by Monterey cypress trees, and dogs are allowed off-leash on the sand at all times.
What makes Carmel special beyond the scenery is the entire town’s commitment to dogs. There are over 25 pet-friendly hotels in this tiny village, many of which offer things like dog room service, post-beach wash stations, and “yappy hour” events. Restaurants welcome dogs on their patios as a matter of course. Mutt Mitt dispensers are stationed at every beach access point. It’s less a dog-friendly town and more a town that was designed by people who happen to own dogs.
The water here is colder than San Diego (this is central coast California, so think 55 degrees on a warm day), and the surf can be big. Keep that in mind if your dog is small or not a confident swimmer.
The details: Off-leash on the beach at all times. Dogs must be leashed on Scenic Road above the beach. Free parking along Scenic Road and in town. Water temperature is chilly year round.
Cannon Beach, Oregon
If your dog has never experienced a Pacific Northwest beach, Cannon Beach is the one to start with. The coastline here looks like something out of a fantasy novel. Haystack Rock, the 235-foot sea stack, anchors the view, and the beach stretches for miles in both directions. On a foggy morning it feels like you and your dog are the last two creatures on earth.
Dogs are welcome on the beach as long as they’re within your sight and respond to voice commands. That’s the official rule: voice control, not leash required. The beach is massive and wide, which means even on busy summer weekends there’s room to spread out.
The vibe here is mellow, earthy, and very Oregon. After the beach, the town itself is walkable and dog-friendly, with pet-welcoming hotels like the Hallmark Resort and Surfsand Resort right on the water.
The details: Off-leash with voice control. Free beach access. Watch for sneaker waves (these are real and dangerous on the Oregon coast). Water is cold. Very cold.
Montrose Dog Beach, Chicago, Illinois
Not every great dog beach has to be on an ocean. Montrose Dog Beach sits on the shore of Lake Michigan on Chicago’s north side, and it’s one of the most beloved off-leash areas in the Midwest.
The beach is fenced on three sides with Lake Michigan as the fourth wall. It’s nearly four acres, which gives dogs real room to run without that cramped dog-park-with-sand feeling. There’s a self-serve dog wash station at the entrance, waste bags are stocked by the volunteer-run Montrose Dog Owners Group (MonDog), and on a clear day you get a full panoramic view of the Chicago skyline. It’s hard to beat fetching a tennis ball out of freshwater with that backdrop.
Dogs need a DFA (Dog Friendly Area) tag, which costs $5 and can be obtained through a participating vet. Non-Chicago residents are welcome but need to follow the same rules. The beach is open during standard Chicago Park District hours (6 a.m. to 11 p.m.), with mornings being the most popular time.
One thing to know: like any city beach on a major lake, water quality can fluctuate. Red flags mean a swim ban is in effect. The Park District monitors bacteria levels for humans, so dog owners should be even more cautious on advisory days.
The details: Off-leash within the fenced DFA. $5 DFA tag required. Free entry. Paid parking in the small lot and on nearby streets. Dog wash on site.
Rosie’s Dog Beach, Long Beach, California
Named after a bulldog named Rosie who inspired its creation, this 4-acre off-leash zone opened in 2003 along Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore neighborhood. It’s not a fenced or dedicated dog beach in the traditional sense. It’s a designated section of the regular beach where dogs are allowed to run free, which gives it a more open, integrated feel.
The beach runs between Granada and Roycroft Avenues and is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Dogs must be leashed on the walk to and from the off-leash area, and each adult is limited to one dog. The rules here are a bit more structured than OB Dog Beach, but the enforcement is reasonable and the result is a clean, well-managed space.
Long Beach as a city is genuinely dog-friendly, with a whole calendar of dog events tied to Rosie’s legacy, including a Howl’oween Parade and a Bulldog Beauty Contest.
The details: Off-leash within the designated zone, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Leash required outside the zone. Metered parking in the Granada lot. Bags provided but bring your own as backup. One dog per adult.
Noordwijk Dog Beach, Noordwijk, Netherlands
If you’re planning a trip to Europe with your dog, the Netherlands should be near the top of your list. The Dutch are wildly dog-friendly as a culture, and their beaches reflect it.
Noordwijk’s dedicated dog beach, located at the south end of town near beach exit 1, allows dogs off-leash all year round. No seasonal restrictions, no time limits. The beach itself is part of a 12-kilometer stretch of wide, clean North Sea coastline backed by dunes and nature reserves. During the off-season (September through May), dogs can actually roam off-leash across the entire Noordwijk beach, not just the designated section.
What sets the Dutch beach experience apart is the infrastructure. Beach pavilions (essentially restaurants built right on the sand) stay open through autumn and winter, many of them explicitly welcoming dogs inside. You can have a coffee and a kroket while your dog digs a crater in the sand outside the window. There’s even a 10-kilometer dog walking route that loops through the dunes and forest behind the beach.
The details: Off-leash year-round on the designated dog beach (south end, exit 1). Off-leash on the entire beach September through May. During summer (June through August), dogs must be leashed outside the designated area. Free access. Nearby dune reserves also have off-leash zones.
Plage de la Salie, La Teste-de-Buch, France
This beach on the Bay of Biscay in France’s Gironde region was ranked the most dog-friendly beach in Europe in 2025 by CV Villas, and it earned that title through sheer scale and beauty rather than fancy amenities.
Plage de la Salie is enormous. Flat, wide, and surrounded by pine forest, it offers the kind of open space where a high-energy dog can sprint for a solid minute without hitting anything. The sand is firm near the waterline, which makes it great for long walks, and the waves are consistent enough to attract surfers but not so aggressive that they’ll tumble a mid-sized dog.
Dogs are welcome here, and the expansive size means you’re never fighting for space. The beach is a bit more remote than the resort beaches nearby, which keeps the crowds thin and the vibe relaxed.
The details: Dogs welcome. The beach is large and uncrowded, especially outside peak summer. Parking available at the beach entrance. Water temperature in the Bay of Biscay varies wildly by season (cold in spring, tolerable by August). Check local seasonal regulations, as some French beaches restrict dogs during July and August.
Baubeach, Maccarese (Rome), Italy
Baubeach is a completely different animal (pun intended). Located about 30 minutes west of Rome near Fiumicino airport, this was the first official dog beach in Italy when it opened in 1998, and it has spent nearly three decades refining the concept into something that borders on a canine resort.
The 7,000-square-meter stretch of sand is exclusively for dogs and their owners. There’s no sharing the space with beachgoers who aren’t into it. Dogs run free. There are fresh water stations, dog showers, shaded areas with umbrellas specifically for dogs, and even a veterinarian on site. The beach offers yoga and meditation classes that you can do with your dog, educational workshops on canine welfare, and a vegan bistro for humans.
There are a few rules: dogs must have a microchip and up-to-date vaccinations. Puppies under three months and dogs in heat aren’t allowed. Only non-aggressive dogs are permitted, and owners are expected to stay engaged (no dropping your dog and disappearing into your phone). There’s a small membership fee (around 12 euros) and a daily entry fee for dogs (4 to 5 euros).
It’s not the wildest or most scenic beach on this list, but it might be the most thoughtfully designed dog beach experience anywhere.
The details: Dogs-only beach, off-leash. Open May through November, 9 a.m. to dusk. Membership fee required (around 12 euros). Dog entry 4 to 5 euros. Vegan food service on site. Vet available. Located on Via Praia a Mare, Fiumicino.
Hundestrand St. Peter-Ording, Nordfriesland, Germany
Germany’s North Sea coast is not the first place most people think of when they picture a dog beach, but St. Peter-Ording is genuinely spectacular. The beach is absurdly wide (at low tide it can stretch over a kilometer from the dunes to the waterline) and the designated dog beach sections allow off-leash romping on a scale that’s hard to find anywhere else in Europe.
The town is built around a series of iconic wooden stilt buildings (Pfahlbauten) that sit elevated on the beach and house restaurants and changing facilities. The landscape is flat, windswept, and dramatic in a way that photographs don’t quite capture. Your dog will come home smelling like salt air and looking like they had the time of their life.
St. Peter-Ording consistently ranks among the top dog-friendly destinations in Germany, and the town leans into it with dog-welcome hotels, restaurants, and even a dog-friendly spa culture (this is Germany, after all).
The details: Designated off-leash dog beach sections. The beach is enormous at low tide. Water temperature is brisk (North Sea). Check local signage for current dog zone locations, as these can shift seasonally. Paid parking.
Fiesta Island, San Diego, California
We’re sneaking in a second San Diego entry because Fiesta Island deserves its own mention, and it offers something completely different from OB Dog Beach.
Fiesta Island is a large, mostly undeveloped island in Mission Bay. The entire shoreline is open to dogs (with a couple of seasonal exceptions for bird nesting sites), and leashes are optional from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. The water here is calm, shallow bay water rather than open ocean, which makes it ideal for dogs that are nervous about waves, older dogs with mobility issues, or puppies experiencing water for the first time.
There’s something surreal about Fiesta Island. It’s in the middle of one of America’s most popular beach cities, but it feels like a forgotten outpost. The interior is sandy and open, the shore wraps all the way around, and on a weekday morning you might have a quarter-mile stretch of beach entirely to yourself and your dog. It’s less photogenic than OB Dog Beach but arguably more practical for a low-key, low-stress outing.
The details: Off-leash (optional), 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Calm bay water, no surf. Bird nesting closures at the very north and south tips from April 15 to September 15. Free access. Street or lot parking.
A Few More Worth Knowing About
Del Mar Dog Beach, Del Mar, California. Off-leash from Labor Day through mid-June at the north end of the beach near the San Dieguito River mouth. Gorgeous spot, but the seasonal restrictions mean you’re locked out during the best weather months. Also a known stingray hotspot in summer.
Cisco Beach, Nantucket, Massachusetts. A sandy south-shore beach on one of the most charming islands on the East Coast. Dogs are welcome, and the Hy-Line ferry allows them on board for free. If you’re traveling the Northeast with your dog, Nantucket is about as good as it gets.
Holkham Beach, Norfolk, England. Part of Holkham National Nature Reserve, this beach is stunning, vast, and dog-friendly year-round (leash required April through August near nesting areas). It’s consistently rated one of the best beaches in the UK, period, and the fact that dogs are welcome makes it exceptional.
Keem Bay, Achill Island, Ireland. Remote, wild, and breathtaking. This crescent beach on the western tip of Achill Island feels like the edge of the world. Dogs are welcome, and the isolation means you’ll likely have the place mostly to yourself outside of peak summer.
What We Looked For
We picked these beaches based on a few things: how much freedom dogs actually get (off-leash beats leashed every time), the quality and safety of the water, the overall experience for both dogs and humans, and whether the surrounding area supports the trip (parking, food, accommodation, general dog-friendliness).
We skipped beaches that technically allow dogs but clearly don’t want them there. A beach with a tiny roped-off zone, a two-hour time window, and a list of 15 rules posted at the entrance is not a dog beach. It’s a beach that’s tolerating your dog. There’s a difference.
If we missed your favorite, let us know. We’re always looking for new beaches to add to the list.
Rules, fees, and seasonal restrictions can change. Always verify current policies directly with local authorities or official beach websites before planning a trip. Some international destinations may require specific pet documentation for entry. We are not a travel agency and this post is for informational purposes only.
Got a dog beach we should know about? Hit us up at obdogbeach.com.