www.outsideonline.com Open in urlscan Pro
76.76.21.98  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET https://www.outsideonline.com

<form class="c-search-form" id="search-form" action="https://www.outsideonline.com" method="get" accept-charset="UTF-8" role="search">
  <fieldset class="c-search-form__fieldset o-fieldset">
    <label class="o-form-item__label is-vishidden" for="s">Search</label>
    <input class="o-form-item__search" name="s" id="s" type="text" value="" placeholder="Search Outside">
    <button role="button" class="o-button o-form-item__button" aria-label="Search">
      <span class="o-icon o-icon--large" aria-label="">
        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20.41 20.41">
          <path d="M20.41,19l-5.76-5.76a8.24,8.24,0,1,0-1.41,1.41L19,20.41ZM2,8.2a6.2,6.2,0,1,1,6.2,6.2A6.21,6.21,0,0,1,2,8.2Z"></path>
        </svg> </span>
      <span>Search</span>
    </button>
  </fieldset>
</form>

Text Content

Cookie Policy

By clicking ACCEPT, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device that
track your website navigation for site analytics and share your preferences with
third parties to deliver you advertisements. We also use essential cookies that
remain activated by default as they are strictly necessary to ensure core
functionalities of the website.

Privacy Policy
AcceptDismiss Cookie Preferences



Skip to content
watchlearnpodcastsmapseventsshopBuySellOutside+
Join NowSign In

EXPLORE OUTSIDE WATCH

Get inspired with adventure films, event replays, series, and more.

START STREAMING

FOURTH OF JULY SALE

Our Best Deal: 60% Off Outside+, Ends July 9

SAVE NOW

Outside Online
 * Search
 * Gear
 * Adventure
 * Health
 * Travel
 * Culture
 * Food
 * Long Reads
 * Videos
 * Podcasts
 * Daily Rally

 * Gear
 * Adventure
 * Health
 * Travel
 * Culture
 * Food
 * Long Reads
 * Videos
 * Podcasts
 * Daily Rally

Outside Online
 * Gear
   * Gear News
   * Cars & Trucks
   * Apparel
   * Biking
   * Camping
   * Climbing
   * Hiking
   * Running
   * Snow Sports
   * Water Sports
   * Tools & Tech
   * Gear Picks
   * Business Journal
 * Adventure
   * Exploration & Survival
   * Environment
   * Everest
   * Biking
   * Climbing
   * Hiking
   * Snow Sports
   * Water Sports
 * Health
   * Nutrition
   * Training & Performance
   * Wellness
   * Running
 * Travel
   * Destinations
   * Travel Advice
   * Essays
   * News and Analysis
   * National Parks
 * Culture
   * Active Families
   * Books & Media
   * Essays
   * Love & Humor
   * Opinion
 * Food
   * Recipes
   * Drinks
   * Cooking Equipment
   * Food Culture
 * Long Reads
 * Videos
 * Podcasts
   * Daily Rally
 * Daily Rally

Join Now Sign In


 * Outside Feed
 * Home
 * Member Exclusives

Search Search
 * Destinations
 * Travel Advice
 * Essays
 * News and Analysis
 * National Parks

Have dog, will travel (Photo: Getty Images/David Bouchat)
Travel Travel Advice


EXPERT ADVICE ON HOW TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR DOG

Whether you’re road-tripping or flying with Fido, our columnist has found the
friendliest campgrounds, hotels, and airlines that welcome canines—as well as an
app that dog owners shouldn’t live without



Jen Murphy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jun 22, 2023

Twitter Icon

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on
iOS devices for members! Download the app.

Any number of concerns are on our radar as we plan our next trip, from serious
issues like how destinations are working to mitigate tourists’ environmental
impact to inconveniences like months-long passport wait times. In this column,
our travel expert addresses your questions about how to navigate the world. 

I don’t like to leave my dog behind when I travel—and in fact I often have a
better time when I do bring him— but people give me the stink eye when I show up
places with my dog. What are the most dog-friendly places in the U.S. to travel
to, specifically campgrounds, parks and recreation areas, beaches, and hotels?
—Doggie Devoted

It’s true that just because you like to get outdoors regularly with your dog,
not every setting is the right place for one. Years ago near Utah’s Bryce Canyon
National Park, a friend and I were returning to our nearby lodge from a hike
when we spotted Alfie—a Chihuahua mix whose yapping had been keeping us up at
night. He’d escaped from his room and was sprinting as fast as his little legs
could carry him across the sagebrush-dotted terrain.

We heard a frantic shriek—“Alfieeeee!”—and looked up to see a middle-aged woman,
leash in hand, racing after him. Behind her, an older, heavyset man struggled
along, gasping, “Sylvia!” (presumably the dog owner’s name). Minutes later a
golf cart manned by two lodge employees (one driving, the other wielding a
fishing net) zoomed past. We laughed, finding the entire scenario comical, until
I noticed the massive hawk flying directly above a clueless Alfie.

We watched in horror as the bird swooped down, grasped the tiny pet in its paws,
and disappeared behind large rock spires. The woman collapsed in a heap. We
stood speechless. Later that evening I naively remarked to an employee how I
imagined that kind of incident to be a rare occurrence.

He quickly corrected me, confiding, “We call those toy dogs bird food around
here.”

You may not like leaving your dog behind on any of your outdoor adventures. But
you should consider whether your destination is suitable for your pup, what
dangers could threaten him, and how to protect him from harm. I’ve found a great
app that offers feedback from thousands of dog owners, and I’ve talked to
several experts and regular adventurers who travel with their dogs, for a
roundup of some of the best places (and ways) for you to explore the great
outdoors with your furry best friend this summer.


DOG-FRIENDLY PARKS, CAMPGROUNDS, AND BEACHES

Finding a dog-friendly campground makes for a better camping experience. (Photo:
Getty Images/Twenty47studio)

A park may seem like a natural place to have Fido tag along this summer, but not
all parks welcome four-leg adventurers. The National Park Service in particular
has strict rules about where pets allowed to roam in the parks. For some owners,
these restrictions are too limiting. Outside correspondent Wes Siler has three
very large dogs and finds the national parks so restrictive that he skips
visiting them with his dogs altogether, preferring to take them camping on
Bureau of Land Management areas or at national-forest sites where they can run
off-leash.

But if national parks are where you’re headed, first refer to this Outside
story, which ranks all of them and provides details about which trails they can
use, where they can swim, and many other considerations.

Acadia National Park, in Maine, is arguably America’s most canine-friendly park.
Its website clearly denotes which trails have terrain unsuitable for dogs, and
it provides valuable reminders like carrying enough water and checking your pet
for ticks. This national park is also only one of three—including Zion in Utah
and Yosemite in California—to implement a BARK Rangers program: pick up an
activity checklist at a ranger station, and if your dog follows all of the BARK
rules (Bag your poop, Always wear a leash, Respect wildlife, and Know where to
go), it can be sworn in as a ranger. (Yes, proud owners can buy a “Bark Ranger”
collar tag for their animal.)

BringFido, a free pet-travel app and website, is another invaluable resource.
According to its more than 1.2 million users, Acadia, Shenandoah (in Virginia),
New River Gorge (West Virginia), and White Sands (New Mexico) are the highest
ranked national parks of its users. BringFido’s map feature allows you to easily
perform a search for dog-friendly parks across the country, and its content
includes rankings and pet-owner feedback; for example, commentary on Shenandoah
notes that non-rock-savvy pups may have trouble on the Rose River Falls hike,
while messages about White Sands remark on the lack of shady trails.

When it comes to state parks, dog-friendliness varies, too. Lauren Barker,
BringFido’s senior content editor, says that Colorado’s Chatfield and Cherry
Creek State Parks (both in the greater Denver area) earn high marks for
multi-acre fenced dog parks and ponds where animals can swim. Other popular
picks are Niquette Bay State Park in Colchester, Vermont, and Hueston Woods
State Park, northwest of Cincinnati, both have dog-friendly swimming holes
perfect for a post-hike dip.

Want to pitch a tent and stay at a park with your dog? Avoid state parks in New
Hampshire, says Jeremy Puglisi. The co-author of Where Should We Camp Next? and
cohost of the podcast Campground of the Week has found the Granite State’s
campgrounds to be notoriously unfriendly to dog owners. Instead, his top
recommendation is the North-South Lake Campground in New York’s Catskills Forest
Preserve; it allows dogs on its nearly 2,000 miles of trails, and the campground
has 219 pet-friendly tent and trailer sites, two lakes, and two beaches that
accommodate them.

BringFido’s top dog-friendly campground rankings include Emerald Glen Getaway,
in Morris, New York; Four Paws Kingdom Campground, in Rutherfordton, North
Carolina; and Lake George RV Park, in Lake George, New York. Each caters to
canine campers with amenities like dog parks, dog-wash stations, and even
agility equipment. “Of course, KOAs are always a fan favorite, with their KampK9
dog parks,” shares Barker (who, like Siler, prefers camping on BLM land with her
dogs).

If you’re looking to hit the sand and surf this summer, some of the best
dog-friendly beaches in the U.S., according to BringFido, are Florida’s Fort
DeSoto Dog Beach Park, on the Gulf in St. Petersburg, and Jupiter Beach, in the
Atlantic Coast town of Jupiter; Southern California’s Huntington Dog Beach,
Coronado Beach, and Rosie’s Dog Beach; and New Jersey’s Wildwood Dog Park and
Beach. And if you haven’t already, check out this recent Outside list of 11
other dog-friendly beaches from coast to coast.


TIPS FOR FINDING THE BEST HOUND-FRIENDLY HOTELS

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9u8u0bFtV4/

Many hotels nowadays tout their dog-friendliness, but this is another case where
BringFido has its advantages. Its filters can help you find just what you’re
looking for, everything from properties that welcome multiple pets, to those
that permit dogs above 50 pounds, to lodges that don’t tack on a pet fee. The
app also shares details like whether certain hotels allow dogs to be left in a
room unattended, if there’s greenspace on-site, and whether it offers thoughtful
amenities such as a water bowl or chew toy.

According to Barker, Canopy by Hilton, Kimpton, and Loews consistently get high
scores from BringFido users. Kimpton’s motto is: If your pet fits through the
door, we’ll welcome them in. When traveling with his giant dogs, Siler seeks out
that brand’s hotels. He’s also a fan of the Bunkhouse Hotel Group; in fact, he
was married at its property in Todos Santos, Mexico—the Hotel San Cristóbal Baja
(where Teddy, Siler’s Kangal, is relaxing in the image above)—and says staff
happily accommodated his dogs, who were part of the ceremony.

Another standout is the Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile, in Kanab Utah.
Conveniently located 30 minutes from the east entrance of Zion National Park,
it’s a dog’s version of a five-star lodge. Dogs of all sizes stay free and are
pampered to boot. Owners can expect complimentary access to pet-washing
facilities, a fenced-in pet-park area with a splash zone, and grooming products,
and guest rooms have built-in cubbies and beds for your pup, as well as a smart
two-door entry system that ensures your dog won’t dart out of the room.


SMART ADVICE FOR DRIVING OR FLYING WITH YOUR DOG

If you have a small dog, it can fly with you in the main cabin in a carrier that
fits beneath the seat. (Photo: Getty Images/Su Arslanoglu)

Christine Sperber and her partner spent 15 years living between Breckenridge,
Colorado, and Todos Santos, Mexico, regularly making the 1,860-mile commute with
their four dogs (one a 90-pounder) in a converted van. The vehicle, which she
refers to as the “dog transporter,” is always stocked with poop bags and dog
food, and they installed a battery-charged Maxxair fan to ensure their animals
stay cool should they need to leave them inside while they run an errand.

Sperber says Facebook groups are a great forum for advice and intel on
dog-friendly rest areas. When they road-trip, they typically leave early and map
out stops that have shady places where their pups’ paws won’t burn. And she
always has a close eye on her Chihuahua, particularly if she lets him out at
night to do his business. “We’ve had a few close encounters with owls,” she
says.

Outside’s Wes Siler removed the back seats from his pickup truck so his dogs
have extra space when they come along, and he installed a remote start so he can
leave the A/C on with the doors locked if he needs to pop into a store. He notes
that the more capable your vehicle is of handling all kinds of terrain, the
farther away you can get from crowded front-country recreation and camping areas
so your dogs can roam free. On road trips, he tries to stop at least once a day
to give his dogs 15 minutes of off-leash time; he uses the Gaia GPS app to
locate city dog parks.

You can also, of course, fly with your dog, though it can be pricey—shipping
large dogs in a crate can cost upward of $500. You also must be savvy about
changing regulations. After years of people trying to fly with their pets
onboard, claiming them as emotional-support animals (a list that included
everything from pigs to peacocks), the Department of Transportation cracked
down. As of 2021, all major U.S. airlines have banned emotional-support animals
on flights; the exception is service dogs.

Owners of dogs weighing less than 20 pounds can pay a fee to have their pet tag
along in a carrier that fits beneath the seat. According to Barker, JetBlue gets
some of the highest marks from BringFido users because owners are permitted to
hold the carrier in their lap once the plane is in the air. Allegiant is also
known as a popular budget airline that welcomes small pets in the cabin, she
says.

For larger pets who do not meet the under-the-seat requirements, American
Airlines’ PetEmbark program allows owners to ship pets up to 100 pounds via
American Airlines Cargo as long as they’re not brachycephalic breeds (such as
bulldogs and pugs). Owners receive tracking information so they can monitor
their dog’s journey.


BE A COURTEOUS PET OWNER

You probably think your pup is the most precious thing in the world, but not
everyone likes furry faces. Don’t assume everyone is OK with your dog jumping or
slobbering on them. And if your dog is friendly, don’t assume other dogs are,
says Sperber.

All four of her dogs are rescues, and while they like people, they don’t like
other dogs. “We treat them like loaded weapons at all times,” she says. Because
she worries that other dog owners will permit their pets to get too close,
Sperber keeps them off even mildly trafficked trails. “I always want to be
respectful of other people’s outdoor experiences, so we keep them on leash at
all times and really try to find trails that are off-piste.”

Basic pet-owner courtesy extends to not leaving your dog alone to howl in the
hotel room all day while you go off to hike, not letting it wander off at a
campground to chew other people’s gear or get into their cooler of food, and
perhaps most important, always picking up their poop. (Here’s an article laying
out the most eco-conscious ways to do that.)

Siler recalls watching horrified as a pug did his business on the poolside grass
of the Kimpton Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, California, while its owner just
watched from their lounge chair. “If it wasn’t a Kimpton, that dog would have
been kicked out,” he says. “That type of behavior is exactly why hotels don’t
allow pets.”

This poop etiquette extends to both front- and backcountry areas. Even when
you’re out hiking with your dog, you must take the time to clean up your dog’s
poop so it doesn’t contaminate groundwater or spread viruses to wildlife, Barker
says.

If you want to avoid stink eye from fellow travelers this summer, be a
responsible dog owner. Follow the rules of parks and outdoor recreation areas,
and choose pet-friendly trails and beaches. It almost goes without saying that
if you’re traveling with your dog, you’re thinking of his best interests, but it
pays to be overly considerate and cautious—if you think your pooch will end up
sitting in the car (a big no-no) or hotel room all day while you’re off
adventuring, you should probably splurge on a pet sitter or kennel instead.

Have a question of your own? Drop us a line at Traveladvice@outsideinc.com.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside correspondent Jen Murphy is one of the most well-traveled people we
know, and we’ve long relied on her expert advice about awesome adventures and
how to get there in a sane way.

The author, on the road (Photo: Courtesy Jen Murphy)
Filed to:
 * Acadia National Park
 * Camping
 * Denver
 * Hiking and Backpacking
 * Zion National Park

Lead Photo: Getty Images/David Bouchat


READ THIS NEXT


THE ULTIMATE DOG FIRST-AID KIT

By: James Dziezynski


THE 11 MOST DOG-FRIENDLY BEACHES IN THE U.S.

By: Ryan Krogh


HOW TO FIND A LAST-MINUTE CAMPSITE

By: Jen Murphy


HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BACKCOUNTRY DOG THAT EATS EVERYTHING

By: Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis
Twitter Icon sms
Share





OUTSIDE+

Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and
more.

Learn More
Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon

 * Advertise
 * Privacy Policy
 * Contact
 * Careers
 * Terms of Use
 * Licensing & Accolades
 * Digital Archives
 * Site Map

HEALTHY LIVING

 * Clean Eating
 * Oxygen
 * Vegetarian Times
 * Yoga Journal

OUTDOOR

 * Backpacker
 * Climbing
 * Fly Fishing Film Tour
 * Gaia GPS
 * National Park Trips
 * Outside
 * Outside TV
 * SKI
 * Warren Miller

ENDURANCE

 * Beta MTB
 * Fastest Known Time
 * Pinkbike
 * Trailforks
 * Trail Runner
 * Triathlete
 * Velo
 * Women's Running

INDUSTRY

 * athleteReg
 * Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
 * FinisherPix
 * Inkwell
 * Nastar
 * Roam Media
 * Outside Books
 * Outside Events Cycling Series
 * Outside Shop
 * VeloSwap

© 2023 Outside Interactive, Inc