Dog Friendly Hiking Vacations – Warmer weather is upon us and you know what that means…road trips! If you’re like us, you love taking your dog on the road. Last September we had one of the most amazing road trips we’ve ever taken to Utah with our two kids, Newton + Maya. I thought I’d do a little blog series (this is Part I of Part II) about our adventures and hope to give you some helpful tips if you’re traveling there with your dog.
Well, in Utah there are two main factors to consider: (1) climate + (2) range. As a major tourist destination, it gets busy during the warmer months, so keep that in mind. Also, Utah gets HAWT in the summer. This may not be right for you and your children. We decided to go there in mid-September and it worked out well for us. People were still there, but not as many as say June, July or August. Although it was still hot, and hot at times, it wasn’t summer heat. Can we do it in October? Probably. But you also don’t want it to be too cold, so maybe you can do this trip in late September, early October is a good compromise.
Dog Friendly Hiking Vacations
So, are you ready to travel with your dog?! Maybe you’ve done it before (count on you!) but maybe this is your first long trip and you’re a little nervous. Here is a little information that we hope will help you prepare. First, make a list of the things dogs need every day…
Dogs Luv Us And We Luv Them: Dog Friendly Fun In Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
And anything else they use on a daily basis OR that helps make them comfortable outside the home.
Then spread out the dog food and treats each day, multiply by how many days are left, and put them all in containers or bags for easy portability. Count the number of tablets/supplements needed each day and multiply by the number of days and put them in a bag/container for easy carrying. Then simply pack the water bowl, toys, dog bed or blanket, and anything else your dog might need and lock up the car!
Now for the good stuff…where to go in Utah? Well, we had a hard time choosing an area. If you’ve ever explored Utah, you know that it has amazing parks and sites throughout the state. You want to see the Arches and Canyonlands of eastern Moab, but you also want to see Zion National Park and see the amazing desert canyons of southwest/southcentral Utah. Utah has a lot to offer, and if you’re traveling from both sides of the country, it’s a long way, so you might as well slow down and take it all in at once! [PS: I didn’t even make it to Monument Valley in Arizona, which isn’t far at all and it would have been easy to add a day or two, but alas…next time!]
We decided to do a week long trip (5 nights and 6 days to be exact) to see as much as possible. Planning a big trip can be overwhelming, but with a little (actually a lot) of research, planning, curiosity, and motivation, you can do it! I hope this blog helps you with your planning. So here’s how we broke it down.
Dog Friendly Yosemite Itinerary
Since the house is in Denver, CO was our location. We decided to include Moab and Zion on our itinerary, even though they are over 4 hours from the ends of the state. Doing Zion first made sense because it’s the farthest point (9.5 hours + DEN) and there are some amazing caves on the way back to Moab from Zion that we wanted to check out as well, that was the plan. We started our long weekend trip in Hurricane, just 35 minutes from Zion. We spent 2 nights there before going to Moab. On our way to Moab, we stopped at Kanab in the Utah desert for some amazing dog-friendly canyons. The driver also took us around parts of Arizona, including Lake Powell (which looks amazing and is LEGIT on our list for our next adventure). We ended up in Moab where we stayed for the rest of the trip and a total of 3 nights. It was an easy + beautiful 5 hour drive home at the end of the vacation. Overall, I think the way we designed it made a lot of sense for what we were doing. You may want to change, add, delete, and plan based on where you’re coming from, how much time you have, and what else you want to see. (If you’re short on time, I recommend going down Moab while you’re there.) Here’s a little bit of the first two legs of our trip: Zion and the cave in the Utah desert. [We will have a separate page on Moab, coming soon!]
After a 9.5 hour drive from Denver to Hurricane (with plenty of snacks and potty breaks), we arrived at Hurricane, UT’s most unique A-frame cabin, within walking distance of less than an hour from Zion National Park. Just watch the video on this site! Day 1 was a wash because we were tired and wanted to relax and enjoy the amazing view from our Airbnb. Hurricane is a small town, but if you want something big, check out Main Street Café.
Hurricane is also 50 minutes from a completely unexpected and (to us) unplanned natural wonder… Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park! We didn’t even hear about this park until we were in the storm, and since it was so close, we ended up driving. Boy oh boy was it worth it… I had never seen pink sand before and this place was amazing! Plus, as a state park, it’s dog friendly, which was obviously the best part for us! Also, since she’s not really famous, she doesn’t need to deal with all the crowds. The Coral Pink Sand Dunes are located between Mount Carmel and Kanab Junctions, south and west of US Highway 89 in Kane County.
On day 2 we drove about 35 minutes to Zion National Park. Zion, like all national parks, restricts dogs to the park. But unlike many other national parks, there is a dog-friendly trail in the park, the Pa’rus Trail. Pa’rus is a 3.4 mile road (in and out) that is almost completely paved with beautiful scenery and dogs are allowed on leashes. This is the only trail that accepts animals in the entire park. Off Pa-rus Highway, you can enjoy the park on Route 9 (Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy) with your kids in the car and stop at several spots for amazing views. Unfortunately, during the tourist season, private vehicles are not allowed on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which is for transportation only. It is possible to do Bryce Canyon on the same day because it is only an hour from Zion. We stopped for lunch in the beautiful town of Springdale, just outside of Zion, where many travelers seem to stay when they visit Zion and then take the park trolley. We had lunch at Cafe Soleil, which has outdoor seating for dogs and delicious sandwiches. In hindsight, Springdale probably would have been a great place to stay since we were traveling with a dog because you could leave the pup at your hotel/airbnb on days you wanted to do a non-dog friendly tour of Zion. , like the famous Angyalszálló! Springdale is minutes from the park with great restaurants.
Dog Friendly Hiking Trails In Wisconsin (2024 Guide)
On day 3 we said goodbye to the hurricane and headed to Kanab, UT and finally Moab. The canyon location we chose (after much research) was the Wire Pass Trail in Buckskin Gulch. This tour was perfect for us because (1) it was dog friendly and (2) much smaller than other popular tours like the famous Arizona Wave (which requires you to enter the lottery for a chance) . while walking). Fair warning, the road to Wire Pass is not easy. It is in the middle of nowhere, very rough terrain and requires four-wheel drive. You should also make sure that there is no rain in the forecast. No joke, the area is prone to major flash flooding and you don’t want to be stuck in this area when it floods. So definitely plan for a dry day. But the reward is well worth it! Near
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