Dog Friendly Vacations Colorado – Colorado has four national parks, and three of them have multiple areas where dogs are allowed! Unfortunately, the state’s most popular national park (Rocky Mountain National Park) does not allow dogs on all trails. But three lesser known parks – Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison are definitely worth a visit with your pup! All three parks are in southern Colorado and can be combined into one big road trip (the Ultimate Dog-Friendly Colorado Road Trip post is a work in progress). If youare planning to visit multiple parks in the same year, consider getting an annual National Park Pass! The annual pass is $80, but admission to each individual park will be $25 or $30 each.
The Great Sand Dunes are about a four hour drive south of Denver. Although it’s a lot of driving, it’s possible to make a day trip – that’s what Alice and I did! Dogs are allowed on the first set of sand dunes and on some trails. I was stunned when we drove up to these huge dunes, with about 14 people behind them. The weather can definitely make or break your time in this park. We were there in the first week of April, on a sunny, not too windy, very warm day and it was just perfect! It is very cold in winter, with snow, but very hot in summer. Some of the park’s trails are closed in the winter (and mostly in the spring), so you can’t access the higher altitude trails. If it’s too windy, sand can get in your pup’s eyes. If it is too hot, the sand can burn their paws. We saw other dogs with shoes and glasses to join them! Weather in Colorado is unpredictable, but I intend to go in April, May, or October, or get there around sunrise before the heat hits. Be sure to stop to tour Zapata Falls on your way – you’ll see signs for this between the highway and the park entrance. Wear waterproof shoes or at least a change of socks.
Dog Friendly Vacations Colorado
Located in the southwest corner of Colorado, Mesa Verde is dotted with cliff dwellings built and inhabited by Ancestral Pueblo people in the 1200s While dogs are not allowed on trips that take you down into the cliffs, they can join you on paved roads and paths. around the Park Point Trail, Nordskold Site #16 Trail and the Mesa Top Loop with its many valley views. and rock dwellings. It gets very hot in the summer, but the park is closed in the winter, so May or September/October might be the best time to visit. bring
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Water and note that there is essentially no shade anywhere in the park. Be sure to catch the sunset at the Montezuma Valley Overlook.
If youarelookingforaplacetostay,thisVRBOisaboutfiveminutesfromtheparkentranceanditwasbeautiful!
Conflicting opinion… I like the Black Canyon of the Gunnison better than the Grand Canyon! The park was not very busy when I was there in July, and the views of the canyon walls are amazing. The marble carvings in the rock are amazing and the rock layers created by the canyon look amazing. Dogs are allowed everywhere above the edge, although it is not entirely clear on the map. The Rim Trail is definitely dog friendly. Other overlooks along smaller trails, such as Painted Wall, Sunset Point, and Chasm View, have small signs indicating that leashed dogs are allowed. Definitely see the sunset from Sunset Point, it was beautiful! Water can be a problem here – the main road is closed in the winter, but it gets very hot during the day in the summer.
If youare looking for a place to stay nearby, the Holiday Inn Express in Montrose is about twenty minutes from the park entrance and everyone here is very friendly. I would also recommend stopping by the Museum of the West while you are in the area. It’s actually a miniature old west town filled with artifacts, and dogs are allowed! You are here: Home / Blog / City Dog / City Dog Goes to the Rockies: A Pet-Friendly Vacation in Colorado
Dog Friendly Colorado Ski Resorts
Happy 2017 peeps! Come here. Although I last checked in with you six weeks ago after my trip to Macon, my New Year’s resolution to blog more – oh wait, that’s Mom’s New Year’s resolution. I’m too lazy to come up with my own, so I just borrow hers and go with it, cool?
I’m basically a road champion, so it wasn’t a big deal. I walked like a boss in those airports – up and down the escalators – and straight through the TSA line and got a lot of attention, just the way I liked it.
Mom and Dad thought since they were staying with friends in Fort Collins, I could join Colorado. I don’t really know why that would matter, but apparently they say that hotels are not always my choice, that’s why I took a page from Stephanie Tanner’s book. How rude!
But Fort Collins seemed to be a friend of the nation on the inside because I got to go to places like Maxline Brewery and New Belgium.
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Thank you dog because it was cold outside! As a Maltese, I am the proud owner of a full head of hair, but I am not blessed with fur, so I can’t quite handle 20 degrees as a breed that is twice my staggering size.
Or well, dead, crunchy grass was the case when we went to Estes Park. I had these grand visions of three feet of snow that I was going to plow through, and what did I get instead?!?
Still, I guess – sigh – it was good to hang out with Mom and Dad, regardless of the situation. (Mom told me that, can you tell?) The snow can wait.
I learned something on this trip and that is the fact that I am a professional skater.
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We then headed to the town of Estes Park to thaw our little paws, where I was greeted with a very warm hug by the Elkins Distilling Kona greeter.
I came up with the outfit! Apparently I was born to be a distiller’s dog. Ollie was friendly and I liked him (which I feel is more than I can say for most of my kind). He also shared his whiskey with me.
In fact, I liked him so much that when he pulled a trick from my own playbook—the old high-five that’s always guaranteed to impress people—I didn’t even try to show him. How about a little humility?
On our last day home for my stuffed monkey collection in warm Tennessee, we drove early to Denver, where we were to meet Mom’s friend and colleague Lauren.
Colorado Travel Guide: Ultimate Colorado Road Trip Map [updated 2024] — Drillinjourneys
But first we walked around the rhino – which always confused me because I always thought that was what they called a horned animal, I was told that if I ever ended up in the South African bush (I later found out that the River North Art District meant …so why didn’t they mention it in the first place?!) – in the biting wind until it was time to find Lorraine.
The plan was to go for a brewery or two — you may have heard, but Colorado is known for its breweries — only to find out that Denver passed an ordinance last year banning dogs from all breweries. What a yard! Imagine if we denied you access to the best of its kind in our ‘hood (outside of course).
Instead, we met Lauren in a park where I was going to go goose hunting, but it was so freaking cold, none of us had a name (although I’m pointing the finger at you) – it took far too long. I thought if you don’t care about me, Denver, I sure as hell don’t care about you. You have seen the last of this shocking puppy!
Colorado may not give me snow (or beer in Denver for that matter), but I got a dose of that white fluffy powder when we headed up north to Washington for a week. Remember to tune in next time and read all about it
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Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Website by More Bound | Copyright © CAMELS & CHOCOLATE 2024 We managed to squeeze in one more trip this year before our van needs winter. We were planning to go to the ski town of Telluride, Colorado in the summer, but postponed the trip to comply with our state’s COVID travel restrictions. We finally went at the end of September and it was perfect because we could see the leaves changing.
More about the gondola in a bit, but first talk about where to stay. The city of Telluride has limited options for RVs: the city has no private campgrounds, and city park camping is by reservation only.