Dog-Friendly Beaches in Cornwallthe council’s actual list
Almost every guide to this says the same thing: “seasonal restrictions apply.” That is not information. Cornwall Council restricts dogs at exactly 49 beaches, on two date bands, between 10am and 6pm — and this page prints the whole list.
Yes — on most Cornish beaches, most of the time. 49 are restricted in season, and everything else is open all year.
Cornwall Council’s Public Spaces Protection Order bans dogs outright from 49 named beaches. Thirty-five of those run 1 July to 31 August, eleven run 15 May to 30 September, and three are all-year wildlife closures at Hayle. Every seasonal restriction applies between 10am and 6pm, so an early walk is legal on a restricted beach. Any beach not on the list is not restricted by the council.
What the restriction actually is
Two things are worth being precise about, because most guides are not.
It is a ban, not a lead requirement. Cornwall Council’s order is headed Dogs Prohibited. On a restricted beach, in season, in those hours, your dog cannot be there at all — on a lead or otherwise. Exactly one beach in the county, Summerleaze at Bude, is a lead requirement instead.
It applies between 10am and 6pm. Not all day. On all but three of the 49, walking your dog at eight in the morning or seven in the evening is entirely legal, in August, on the most restricted beach in Cornwall. This is the single most useful thing to know about visiting Cornwall with a dog in summer, and it is buried in a council table.
The standard band. Two months, 10am to 6pm.
Blue Flag and Seaside Award beaches. The award requires the longer restriction — that is the whole reason.
Carnsew Pool, Copperhouse Pool and the Hayle Estuary. Protected wildlife areas, 24 hours.
Every beach on the council’s list
Reproduced in full from Cornwall Council’s Dogs on Beaches order, checked on 31 July 2026. Where the council names a stretch of coast rather than a beach, the wording here is theirs.
All year, 24 hours — 3 sites
Protected wildlife areas around the Hayle estuary. No seasonal window at all.
| Beach | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Carnsew Pool | All year ban | 24 hour prohibition |
| Copperhouse Pool | All year ban | 24 hour prohibition |
| Hayle Estuary | All year ban | 24 hour prohibition |
15 May – 30 September, 10am – 6pm — 11 beaches
The Blue Flag and Seaside Award beaches. Four and a half months, and the ones most likely to catch out a summer visitor.
| Beach | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Carbis Bay Beach, Carbis Bay | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Crackington Haven, Bude | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Crooklets Beach, Bude | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Polzeath Beach, Polzeath | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthmeor Beach, St Ives | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthminster Beach, St Ives | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthtowan Beach, Porthtowan | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Sennen Beach, Sennen | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Trevone Beach, Padstow | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
| Widemouth Beach, Bude | 15 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
1 July – 31 August, 10am – 6pm — 35 beaches
| Beach | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Cadgwith Cove, Cadgwith | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Castle Beach, Falmouth | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Cawsand Beach, Cawsand | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Chapel Porth Beach, St Agnes | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Church Cove, Gunwalloe | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Harveys Towans – Godrevy Point, Hayle | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Hoodny Beach, Portwrinkle | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Housel Bay, The Lizard | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Kennack Sands Beach, The Lizard | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Kynance Cove, The Lizard | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Maenporth Beach, Falmouth | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Mousehole Beach to Skilly Beach | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Wherry Town to Battery Rocks | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Longrock level crossing to Marazion | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Perranuthnoe | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Poldhu Beach, Mullion | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Polruan Beach, and any slope or staircase leading to the beaches, and the promenade | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Polurrian Cove Beach, Mullion | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porth Beach, Porth | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthcurno Beach, Porthcurno | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthgwarra Beach, St Levan | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthgwidden Beach, St Ives | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthleven West, Porthleven | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Porthpean Beach, St Austell | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Portmellon Cove, Mevagissey | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Portreath Beach including Harbour, Portreath | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Portwrinkle Harbour | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Praa Sands Beach, Praa Sands | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Readymoney Cove, Fowey | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| St George’s Well, Padstow | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| St Ives Harbour Beach, St Ives | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Summer’s Beach, St Mawes | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Swanpool Beach, Falmouth | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Tattam’s Beach, Portscatho | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
| Tunnel Beach, Falmouth | 1 July – 31 August | 10am – 6pm |
Dogs on leads rather than banned — 1 beach
The only lead requirement in the county-wide order.
| Beach | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Summerleaze, Bude | 21 May – 30 September | 10am – 6pm |
Cornish beaches, one at a time
All fifty-five now have their own page, grouped here by stretch of coast: the exact restriction transcribed from the council order, where the off-lead sections are, what the parking costs, and where you can take the dog afterwards.
Bude and the far north
All five have their own page below, and there is a Bude town guide covering the lot — which beach in which month, town parking, and where to eat with a dog.
Summerleaze
Bude’s main beach never closes to dogs; a lead is required 21 May to 30 September, 10am to 6pm.
Crooklets
Full seasonal ban 15 May to 30 September, while Summerleaze four hundred yards away stays open all year.
Widemouth Bay
Seasonal ban on the main sand, but the southern Black Rock end is treated as open all year.
Sandymouth
Open every day of the year, with a water bowl and free poo bags at the car park hut.
Crackington Haven
Shingle cove under some of Cornwall’s tallest cliffs, closed to dogs 10am to 6pm, 15 May to 30 September.
Padstow and the Camel
Polzeath
You drive straight onto the sand here, and the council lists those 260 spaces as tide dependent.
Daymer Bay
Estuary beach inside the Camel with no council restriction; what it asks for is a tide check.
Rock
A mile of estuary sand that doubles as a ferry terminal, with no restriction at any time of year.
Harlyn Bay
Faces away from the southwesterly, so it works when the west-facing beaches do not, and carries no restriction.
Trevone
Restricted 10am to 6pm, 15 May to 30 September; on the headland above sits an unfenced 24-metre hole.
Newquay
Watergate Bay
Two miles of firm sand under a cliff wall, with no seasonal restriction of any kind.
Mawgan Porth
Not named in the council order, and one of the few here with level access from road to sand.
Porth
Restricted only July and August; the question here is whether the car park is open, not the dates.
Lusty Glaze
Privately owned, so the council order tells you nothing: dogs all year, down 133 steps.
Great Western
Listed as seasonal in guides and is not; the operator says dogs are welcome 365 days a year.
Fistral
No closed season on Newquay’s surf beach, plus three dog-friendly places to eat within sight of the sand.
Crantock
Open all year; the hazards are the Gannel’s tide and adders in the dunes, not a council order.
Holywell Bay
The beach is open all year; the March to September lead rule applies to the common behind it.
Perranporth and St Agnes
Penhale Sands
The northern two thirds of Perranporth beach, off the lead all year, with no restriction at all.
Perranporth
Open every day of the year; leads 10am to 5pm in July and August, main section only.
Trevaunance Cove
Not on Cornwall Council’s order at any point in the year, and no lead rule we could verify.
Chapel Porth
Restricted July and August, and the National Trust says the beach disappears completely at high water.
Porthtowan
The ban starts in May rather than July; the way around it is a fifteen minute walk along the sand.
Portreath
Restricted 10am to 6pm in July and August, and the order covers the harbour as well as the sand.
Hayle and St Ives
Godrevy
The beach closes to dogs for July and August; the headland, with its seal colony, stays open all year.
Gwithian
Open all year south of the lifeguard hut; north of it, assume the July and August restriction applies.
Carbis Bay
Blue Flag, which is why the ban starts 15 May rather than 1 July, and the walk down is steep.
Porthminster
Beside the station, with the long band, 15 May to 30 September, and Godrevy lighthouse across the bay.
Porthgwidden
The useful one in St Ives: two months restricted where its neighbours have four and a half.
Porthmeor
The longest ban of the four St Ives beaches, 10am to 6pm from 15 May to 30 September.
Penwith and Mount’s Bay
Sennen
A mile of sand a mile from Land’s End, restricted 10am to 6pm, 15 May to 30 September.
Porthcurno
Below the Minack, with the shorter two-month band, and a walk down that matters more than the rule.
Mousehole
The Harbour Authority keeps dogs off the harbour beaches all year, which is stricter than the council order.
Eastern Green
The Penzance end of Mount’s Bay, with no restriction of any kind and the Mount in the middle distance.
Long Rock
Open all year west of the Longrock level crossing; the restriction applies to the far half of the beach.
Marazion
The order names a stretch, not the beach, and the sand east of the causeway is open all year.
Perranuthnoe
A mile east of Marazion, facing St Michael’s Mount, restricted July and August and governed by the tide.
The Lizard and Porthleven
Praa Sands
A mile of south-facing sand with the shorter band, two months rather than four and a half.
Porthleven
Only the town end is restricted; the sand east of Blue Buoy Steps is open all year, so keep walking.
Poldhu
Roughly 300 yards of fairly even ground from car park to sand, no steps, and a cafe open 363 days.
Gunwalloe Church Cove
A thirteenth-century church stands in the dunes at the edge of the sand; level access, restricted July and August.
Kynance Cove
No road down: everything arrives on foot, and at high water there is barely a beach to arrive at.
Kennack Sands
Two beaches under one name, and whether the July and August ban covers the east half is disputed.
Falmouth and the Roseland
Maenporth
Level from the car park onto the sand, and restricted only July and August, unlike the two town beaches.
Swanpool
Sand and shingle with a brackish lagoon behind it that is both a Local Nature Reserve and an SSSI.
Gyllyngvase
Falmouth’s town beach, ten minutes from the shops, and the first of the three to close each year.
St Mawes
Three patches of sand in one village: the harbour beach is open all year, Summers and Tavern are not.
Portscatho
Tattam’s Beach is restricted July and August; Porthcurnick, five minutes up the coast path, is not in the order.
St Austell Bay and Fowey
Porthpean
A cove under wooded cliffs with a sailing club on the sand; getting the car park right matters most.
Pentewan
Private land the council order does not reach, and the owner allows no dogs at any time of year.
Par
Open all year with a level walk from the car park, and a working china clay site in the view.
Polkerris
Dogs only from 1 October to Good Friday: the operator’s closed season is longer than any council one.
Readymoney Cove
Restricted 10am to 6pm in July and August, with a free English Heritage castle on the headland above.
Looe and Whitsand Bay
Every Cornish beach on the map
All 1,493 UK beaches in our dataset, filtered by what you need. Click a Cornish marker for its dog status, and the full page where we have written one.
Local tips for Cornwall
Signs go up without notice and orders get revised between seasons. If you walk these beaches, tell us what you saw — which beach has new signage, which car park fills first, which stretch stays quiet in August.
No tips yet.
Be the first — anything you’d tell a friend before they drove down.
Questions people ask
Which beaches in Cornwall are dog friendly?
Most of them, for most of the year. Cornwall Council restricts dogs at 49 beaches under a Public Spaces Protection Order, and at all but three of those the restriction is seasonal and runs between 10am and 6pm. Outside those beaches, dates and hours, dogs are allowed. The full council list is reproduced on this page.
Are dogs banned from Cornwall beaches in summer?
On 49 named beaches, yes — dogs are prohibited outright, not merely required to be on a lead. Thirty-five of those run from 1 July to 31 August; eleven of the busiest run from 15 May to 30 September. In every case the ban applies between 10am and 6pm, so early mornings and evenings are open even on a restricted beach.
Which Cornwall beaches allow dogs all year round?
Any beach that is not on the council’s Public Spaces Protection Order list. Perranporth is the best-known example — it has no closed season at all, only a local lead requirement on one section in July and August. Because privately and parish-owned beaches can set their own rules, check the signs at the entrance as well as the council list.
Why do some Cornish beaches have a longer dog ban than others?
Blue Flag and Seaside Award beaches carry longer restrictions because the award requires them. That is why Porthmeor, Porthminster, Carbis Bay, Polzeath, Gyllyngvase and Sennen run from 15 May rather than 1 July.
Can I walk my dog on a restricted Cornish beach before 10am?
Yes. With three exceptions, every restriction on the council list applies between 10am and 6pm. Before 10am and after 6pm the beach is open to dogs even in peak season. The exceptions are Carnsew Pool, Copperhouse Pool and the Hayle Estuary, which are protected wildlife areas with 24-hour bans all year.
Is the beach I want to visit on the council list?
The complete list is on this page, reproduced from Cornwall Council. If a beach is not on it, the council is not restricting it — but privately owned and parish-run beaches can impose their own rules, and those do not appear in any council order.
What happens if you take a dog on a restricted beach?
Breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order is a criminal offence and carries a fixed penalty notice. In practice enforcement varies, but the beaches with the longest restrictions tend to be the ones that are actively patrolled in season.
Are assistance dogs allowed on restricted beaches?
The orders contain exemptions. Cornwall Council publishes the orders themselves, linked from its Dogs on Beaches page, and those are the authority on who is exempt.
Report a correction
Restriction dates get revised, car parks change hands, signs go up without notice. Tell us what you saw and we’ll check it against the council and update this page.
Dog-friendly places to stay in Cornwall
If the beaches are why you are coming, stay somewhere your dog is genuinely welcome rather than merely permitted — enclosed outside space, somewhere to rinse sandy paws, and no surcharge surprises on arrival.
Dog-friendly cottages in Cornwall →Checked 31 July 2026. Every beach, date and time on this page is transcribed directly from Cornwall Council’s Dogs on Beaches Public Spaces Protection Order — 49 prohibited beaches and one lead requirement, reproduced in full rather than summarised. We have not asserted a restriction on any beach that does not appear in that order. Restrictions are reviewed between seasons; this page records the position for the 2026 season. Reviewed by Dr Elizabeth Adey · Last checked August 2026 · Report a correction