# Dog Friendly Vacation Ideas?



## eb014 (Apr 18, 2011)

I live on the east coast, and i'm trying to find some fun vacation ideas to do with my dog! any ideas from anyone?? travelings not a problem


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## dbulick (May 10, 2010)

My wife and I went to Colorado and took our dogs, we had a blast hiking and biking with them.


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## workerant (Feb 28, 2011)

I've repeatedly been told that Cape San Blas, FL is the best dog-friendly beach in the East (and maybe in the US.) I took Kenda to Folly Beach, SC this spring. She enjoyed the ocean but not enough to justify another beach trip when I live 30 minutes from four huge lakes. According to the locals I asked, Folly Beach was the pet-friendliest beach in the Charleston area, but we were breaking the law by being off-leash.

Also, the current issue of The Bark has a feature on dog adventure camps and the like. I don't have it in front of me but it's probably still on the newsstand.


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Workerant,you live in my dream location,anywhere near Gatlinburg or Cherokee,NC. We spend so much time up there I am trying to talk DH into buying a small place. Because most places aren't dog friendly that I've found especially Gatlinburg.


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## workerant (Feb 28, 2011)

Sorry for the derail...

I love where I live; the mountains and lakes are heaven on earth to me. You're right - the big tourist areas of Gatlinburg and Cherokee aren't especially accommodating, but the smaller towns are usually more easygoing and Knoxville is downright dog-friendly. If you are interested in outdoor activities in the Smokies with your dog, remember that dogs are not allowed *at all* in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They are allowed on-leash in the National Forest areas and off-leash in Wilderness (Joyce Kilmer, Slickrock and Citico Wildernesses are closest to me) and on TVA land (which includes several lake access areas).

In towns, Tennessee has unbanned dogs on restaurant patios, with some caveats and many bad jokes. Call and ask if your dog is welcome. If you're in Knoxville for anything, there are several good dog parks and Knoxville is home to Petsafe, who have taken the lead in building and maintaining several exemplary parks. There are also many miles of paved greenway trail in Knoxville, Alcoa-Maryville and Townsend that make for wonderful on-leash walks.

So I'm suggesting a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains with your dog. I guess I didn't think of it because I already live here!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I got Dog Fancy today and there is a one page article on the dog friendly Provincetown, MA. www.ptownchamber.com The weekend of Septembr 23-25 is their annual Pet Appreciation Weekend. I'd like to go next year....we have an elderly dog who's not doing so great these days and I can't travel with her and can't leave her alone. If you're up for a trip to MA, check out Dog Fancy or that website


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## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

Awesome, I didn't know that Provincetown had a pet appreciation weekend! I'll definately be attending.

The whole cape is VERY dog friendly. I try and go every weekend to walk Lola down the cape cod Canal, every dog we've ever encountered there has been extremely friendly and the owners respectful.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I camp with my dogs quite a bit -- either tent camping or renting dog-friendly cabins. I know that a few people on here have RV/camper camped with their dogs as well.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

LoMD13 said:


> Awesome, I didn't know that Provincetown had a pet appreciation weekend! I'll definately be attending.
> 
> The whole cape is VERY dog friendly. I try and go every weekend to walk Lola down the cape cod Canal, every dog we've ever encountered there has been extremely friendly and the owners respectful.


I've never been to Provincetown but we're going to plan to go that particular weekend, next year. We don't travel, because we have dogs; this would be something fun to do with them!


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## deeppowder (Oct 17, 2006)

Not to Spam , but Telluride, CO is great for a dog friendly vacation. The town itself is very dog friendly. with plenty of restaurants with outside seating that allow dogs. Both Hotels that I work for the Camels Garden and Ice house are dog friendly. There's a trail right on the San Miguel river behind the hotels. Certainly there are endless hiking, fishing , biking options from town. Telluride and the San Juan Mountains are as picturesque as it gets. Besides Colorado ave(main st) the whole town has a voice command leash law, poop bags are provided on almost every block too.


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

I found a link to a site that list several different dog friendly places here in SC. Several of which I didn't even know was there. The ones at Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet seem very nice. 

http://www.ecoanimal.com/dogfun/southcarolina.html


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## Elliebell (Mar 13, 2011)

The last vacation I did with the dogs was back country camping. We drove to a provincial park, loaded everything (+2 dogs) into a canoe and paddled to an island campsite. The dogs were free to run around as much as they wanted because we were on a fairly small island, so they weren't going anywhere. Every day we'd load into the canoe and do a day trip and some hiking. It was a blast! The dogs loved it, too. They didn't wear a leash for a full week. This year we're renting a cabin right beside a national park that has really good hiking trails. We'll be doing day-hikes and seeing some local sights. 

I always found camping to be really dog-friendly


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Elliebell said:


> I always found camping to be really dog-friendly


And usually relatively inexpensive. Win-win!


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

workerant said:


> I've repeatedly been told that Cape San Blas, FL is the best dog-friendly beach in the East (and maybe in the US.)


It's true. We've been there several times and were just looking for a place to stay for an upcoming trip. Beaches are empty and pristine - just gorgeous. No crowds, no dog hassles. We love it.


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## LoMD13 (Aug 4, 2010)

InkedMarie said:


> I've never been to Provincetown but we're going to plan to go that particular weekend, next year. We don't travel, because we have dogs; this would be something fun to do with them!


Oh I think you'll love it. If your renting a hotel, you might be better off further up the cape and driving- It's usually less expensive and probably less crowded. P-town can get a little overwhelming on nice weekends. If you've got dogs that like to walk, you should find some time to walk along the Canal too.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

LoMD13 said:


> Oh I think you'll love it. If your renting a hotel, you might be better off further up the cape and driving- It's usually less expensive and probably less crowded. P-town can get a little overwhelming on nice weekends. If you've got dogs that like to walk, you should find some time to walk along the Canal too.


thank you! We'd be renting something, we don't own a motor home and this body cannot camp, LOL. My dogs love to walk, they do fine with other dogs which is one reason the pet appreciation weekend sounds like fun (not to mention I love to meet other dogs!)


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## MuttJob (Jul 16, 2011)

I'm from Maine (where I got my dog.) There are awesome places on the coast to hang out with the pooch. My favorite is Popham Beach. There's a section that's only for bathers and a section farther up where you can bring your dog. Its really pretty and not crowded.The technical rules are "onleash only" but the park rangers will pet and play with your off leash dogs. People always have the dogs off leash and under voice control there. There"s also a little nature preserve north of Portland (a small island.) My friend had a fantastic dog (Esther) who was kinda always off leash as a hippie commune in the woods dwelling dog. The ranger asked us if we had a leash and we said no. He said go ahead but please remember to bring one next time. 
Very friendly dog culture up there. Most of the dog poplulation I knew lived off leash. We hung out on a small beach while the pups splashed and played for like 4 hours. Didn't see another living soul. 

Its pretty busy up there until labor day. So go mid Spetember, early October. It will still be really nice.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

MuttJob said:


> I'm from Maine (where I got my dog.) There are awesome places on the coast to hang out with the pooch. My favorite is Popham Beach. There's a section that's only for bathers and a section farther up where you can bring your dog. Its really pretty and not crowded.The technical rules are "onleash only" but the park rangers will pet and play with your off leash dogs. People always have the dogs off leash and under voice control there. There"s also a little nature preserve north of Portland (a small island.) My friend had a fantastic dog (Esther) who was kinda always off leash as a hippie commune in the woods dwelling dog. The ranger asked us if we had a leash and we said no. He said go ahead but please remember to bring one next time.
> Very friendly dog culture up there. Most of the dog poplulation I knew lived off leash. We hung out on a small beach while the pups splashed and played for like 4 hours. Didn't see another living soul.
> 
> Its pretty busy up there until labor day. So go mid Spetember, early October. It will still be really nice.


thanks for responding! Where in Maine? My husband is from West Peru (outside Rumford), we lived in Elliott for a year & half


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## jenz (Aug 20, 2010)

If you're up for travel, the Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY are wonderful for camping. Old Forge especially has many dog-friendly stores! 

Jen


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## BrittanieJo (Sep 23, 2010)

We took Aggie to Gatlinburg and found it quite pet friendly. Many of the shops downtown let her in and she was free to walk with us (though we didn't do much of that since she gets so excited) there are only two pet friendly trails in the Smokies but we found both of them to be very nice. Once the beaches are dog friendly (in late summer/fall) we take our dogs to Myrtle to play in the water.


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

Yes. Camping. We live on the West coast, but look up anything that is BLM(Bureau of Land Management) not just National or State Park and you can do the trails, camp with your dog off leash-- we do 40 mile loops in the Sierras with our dogs and they love it. Its so nice to be out in nature and see them be Dogs (thank God we do not have hunting dogs they focus more on herding us, and keeping watch over their Pack so we dont have to worry about them straying)...


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## dbulick (May 10, 2010)

My wife and I are planning to relocate probably in the next 5 years, and this thread has inspired me to look in to the smoky mountain area. Like NC, TN, Kentucky. Looks to be beautiful and fairly affordable for some nice acreage.


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

We're planning a camping mini hiking trip more towards the fall. Gonna get on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Blowing Rock/Boone NC area and drive it down to Cherokee,NC with the dogs. We can stop and see the sights and still take the dogs on the trails.And end up in a place I love. The Blue Ridge is very dog friendly which is a plus and I want to do fall because I love that time of year there.


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## eb014 (Apr 18, 2011)

momof3 said:


> We're planning a camping mini hiking trip more towards the fall. Gonna get on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Blowing Rock/Boone NC area and drive it down to Cherokee,NC with the dogs. We can stop and see the sights and still take the dogs on the trails.And end up in a place I love. The Blue Ridge is very dog friendly which is a plus and I want to do fall because I love that time of year there.


that sounds great, especially since my dog is a siberian husky and loves going for walks during the fall!


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## MuttJob (Jul 16, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> thanks for responding! Where in Maine? My husband is from West Peru (outside Rumford), we lived in Elliott for a year & half


Hey! I just saw this, sorry it took me so long to respond. I'm from up north of Rumford a bit, but west as well. If you know where Skowhegan is, I grew up north of there in a town called Bingham. I was living in Portland though when my friend Maggi (with Esther) called and said she had rescued some puppies from her neighbors unwanted litter. She didn't get them all before they were destroyed though, one male and one female. I agreed to take the female when she was 6 weeks old. And 11 years later I still have my beautiful best friend at my side at all times.

We just scheduled a camping trip yesterday here: http://www.recompencecampground.com/

Its right outside Wolfe Neck State Park in Freeport. We used to bring the doggies to this park all the time when we lived in Portland. Its so gorgeous there. Its also a quick drive to Popham and Reid state park. There's a couple of the brew pubs that'll let you sit on the deck with the dog. I know the Gritty McDuffs pubs in Freeport in Portland are dog friendly. There's a couple of places on Freeport's main drag there where LL Bean is that has outdoor cafes where the doggie can come. 

Another great place is Bar Harbor/Acadia/MDI area. They are SUPER dog friendly up there. 

My family lives in Biddeford now, so if we need a dog sitter for a day I know we can leave her with Grandpa and Grandma - who can't help but make her hamburgers and dote on her like crazy! But we'll take her most everywhere we go while we're up there. We have a canoe trip planned - she loves the canoe. She also loves fishing. Cannot wait to go camping with Sofie right on Casco Bay!


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