Hikes - The Dog Is Driving

Visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park with Dogs

Truth be told, I didn't really know Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado existed until we moved to nearby New Mexico. Formerly classified as a national monument, Great Sand Dunes was established as a National Park in 2004. The sand dunes formed from sediment washed into large lakes from

Hikes

Visiting El Malpais National Monument with Dogs

Looking for a dog-friendly adventure not far off I-40 in New Mexico? El Malpais National Monument and Conservation area near Grants, New Mexico is worth the stop. Hiking, great food, and a fun roadside attraction. This spot has it all. This was our first trip of the year and Lily

Fun things to do

A Dog-Friendly Visit to Telluride, Colorado

We were able to squeeze in one more trip for this year, before needing to winterize our van. We had been planning to go to the ski town of Telluride, CO over the summer, but kept postponing the trip to follow our state's COVID travel restrictions. We finally went in

Day Trips

Dog-Friendly Day Trip to New Mexico's Bisti Badlands

Ever since we bought our house in New Mexico, we've been wanting to visit the nearby Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (aka the Bisti Badlands). Winter can be a tricky time to visit since it can get very muddy. In early February, after a few weeks of dry weather, we loaded up

Dogs

Dog-Friendly Adventures at the Alabama Hills

We're spending the fall meandering down California's Highway 395 and have been looking forward to arriving to the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine because we heard it was a "must do" for boondockers. When the cold nights pushed us out of the Mammoth Lakes area, we were happy

Hikes

Exploring Cathedral Gorge With Dogs

Eastern Nevada was a new area for us, so we were excited to check out the dog-friendly Cathedral Gorge State Park (PDF map). However, visiting in June meant warm temps, and with sunrise being 5:15am, we knew we had to get an early start if we wanted to explore

Hikes

Red Canyon, Utah: Your Dog-Friendly Alternative to Bryce Canyon National Park

We love Bryce Canyon National Park. Unfortunately for our four-legged friends, they only allow dogs on the paved trail between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point, and on the paved Shared Use Path between the park entrance and Inspiration Point. Sunset to Sunrise is 1.2 miles roundtrip. It's good for

Hikes

Hike: Thunder Mountain Trail

We love Red Canyon, Utah, because of it's dog friendliness. We've done a decent amount of hiking in this area but had originally ruled out Thunder Mountain Trail because it is a multi-use trail for hiking, biking and equestrian use. But after stopping at the Red Canyon Visitor Center, the

Hikes

Hike: Honaker Trail

Honaker Trail is a hike near the Goosenecks State Park that descends from the canyon edge to a sandy beach on the San Juan river. The beginning of the trail, just below the rim. The hike there and back is 5.78 miles total, and descends, and on the way

Boondocking locations

Campsite Review: Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

What is it? Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 for the protection of bighorn sheep and is located on the east side of State Highway 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite, Arizona. We had passed it once before on our travels, but we didn’t have time to stop.

RV Park Reviews

RV park review: Devil's Elbow Recreation Site

We chose to stay at Devil's Elbow Recreation Site in Helena for several reasons. It was about a 20 minute drive to town, the location was known to get windy, which we thought would help in the current heat wave, it had a 14 day stay limit and was inexpensive

RV Park Reviews

RV park review: Red Ledge RV Park & Campground

How much did we like staying here? We extended our stay twice! For a grand total of 15 nights. Let Me Tell You Why... With our Passport America discount, we paid the full price of $30+tax for the first night, then half price at $15 for the next 6

Dogs

Hike: Pa'rus Trail (Zion National Park)

As we planned our first visit to Zion National Park, we learned it was one of the more restrictive National Parks when it comes to dog visitors. Dogs are only allowed on one pathway, the Pa'rus Trail which is about 3.5 miles round trip and a popular trail for

Hikes

Hike: Historic Railroad Trail

When doing research about Lake Mead National Recreation Area, we had read that there were many dog friendly hikes. The one that was at the top of our list was the Historic Railroad Trail, because the trail looked well groomed (meaning blind-dog Stimpy could walk it) and it was our