My badge and documents.
September, 2015: Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
This was Riders first adventure into a National Park. He had been camping in Big Bear and visited a number of National Forest area, but Grand Canyon was his first National Park. The campground was dog friendly and he slept happily in the tent and lay in the dirt while resting at camp. Dogs are allowed on the rim trail and he enjoyed looking at the beautiful big ditch. Though he was not permitted in any of the buildings, they had lots of places with shade outside to sit while the humans trade off looking around.
September, 2016: Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT
This was another overnight camping trip. The elevation gets to most people and though Rider and I were fine, Michael succumbed to elevation sickness that first night. From the campground near the monument, it’s a nice walk to the site of erosion. There are beautiful views of the color changing sedimentary rock that make up the monument in a beautiful forest of trees (Dixie National Forest which is full of gorgeous trails that Riders are perfectly welcome to enjoy). The sunset trail is wheel chair accessible and leads to a beautiful vantage point for sunset photos. At the time, there was no sign forbidding dogs on the pathway but I think a recent review of their website prohibits pups which I think is unfair.
September, 2016: Zion National Park, UT
We dropped down to Zion from Cedar Breaks and the drive through the valley was almost unreal. The colors hit the red rocks in such a way that it looks like an animated desert setting. Whereas it was 60 degrees at Cedar Breaks, it was nearly 90 in Zion. The one dog friendly trail left the West entrance visitor center and passed the campground along a river. Unfortunately, there was no shade. It was too warm and Rider formally requested to return to Cedar Breaks. Overall, I do not recommend Zion for anyone with a dog (or a cat, though I’ve never seen one in a National Park).
October, 2016: Crater Lake National Park, OR
Crater Lake is the second most beautiful place in Oregon (in my opinion which is admittedly subjective). Once parked at the rim of the lake, there is a paved path along a wall that allows you to look down at the volcano formed surface. It started snowing while we were there and upon our return there were a couple inches on the ground that made the terrain challenging. There are a few dog friendly trails along the rim and off the roadway, but mostly Rider was content to get out at the overlook points and sniff about. There are a few more challenging hikes listed in the paper we received, but we are not overly capable snow hikers (read: Southern Californian).
February, 2017: Yosemite National Park, CA
Yosemite Valley is one of the few National Parks that has crowds like Disneyland. February is a decent time to go (or at least it was), and we were able to find a place to leave our car and go to the Lower Falls loop trail. The loop is about a mile and a half and is tree lined and gorgeous. When we returned in May of 2018, it was impossible to find a spot to get out and look around. However, on that trip we were able to see Glacier Point which has a dog friendly trail and is extremely beautiful (if difficult to access due to human congestion). There is also a pathway that extends along the buildings that is a beautiful walk to stretch furry and human legs. Yosemite doesn’t have any pet friendly trails beyond that really, but it is enough to get a feel for the majesty the valley has to offer.
June, 2017: Grand Teton National Park, WY
I don’t have a lot to say about this park. We were able to walk around the visitor center, but most of the park is accessed via tram service that Riders were not allowed on. However, there is a road running alongside the mountain that allows for beautiful views of the snowcapped peaks.
June, 2017: Yellowstone National Park, MT
Visiting Yellowstone has been a dream of mine since elementary school. I owned a ton of books on wolves and the majority contained information about the wolves of Yellowstone. We entered from the east and took the lower loop pass. Due to the wildlife and geothermal features, it is not safe for fluffs on the majority of trails. Some are short enough that in the 60 degree weather you can take a quick 10 minute jaunt to see the caldera before reuniting with your furry friend, but largely most hiking was off limits. That said, it is beautiful just to drive around. You can see so much wildlife and beauty in America’s first National Park by just driving around. At Old Faithful there is an unofficial Pet Viewing area, it consists of a series of wooden fence posts that humans lean on approximately 30 feet from the erupting geyser. It is an astounding site, though Rider could not care less about the water gushing from the ground.
August, 2017: Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA
Lassen is not a very dog friendly National Park, but it is also not a National Park that has excessive need to stray very far from your vehicle. We came to Lassen for the solar eclipse as it had the highest percent coverage within a half days driving distance. Rider was welcome to exit the vehicle at all parking lots and turn outs and had the opportunity to sniff a few things and take in some amazing views. The features in this park are gorgeous and standing on an overlook is a peaceful and extraordinary experience, even if you can’t get an extended walk in. I can’t emphasize enough that a lot of beauty can be seen just from the roadway in this park. However, if you’re looking for a hike, this is not the place for you.
November, 2017: Joshua Tree National Park, CA
We only had a few minutes to see and explore Joshua Tree National Park. We were in the area for the Joshua Tree Half Marathon and only had a brief amount of time pre-race to drive into the park. Even in November, it was warm. This is not a place to bring your dog in the summer. The paved overlooks and sand are warm to the touch and the area is home to a large number of dangerous desert creatures. However, I would like to go back and explore more of the park (from the safety of my vehicle) and take in the gorgeous desert.
March, 2018: Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, CA
Sequoia-Kings Canyon is 2 National Parks for the price of one. When you ask at the guard shack in Kings Canyon, they direct you to just north of the road to an area with named Sequoias that is outside the boundaries and accessible to dogs for walks and hikes. One such area, a long walk on equal parts trail and pavement around Hume Lake, offered all the trees and nature feel of Kings Canyon on a dog friendly journey. The Chicago Stump and Boole Tree Loop are also dog friendly and just outside the boundaries, but snow blocked the roads to each of the trails and the ranger advised that it was not traversable without significant snow gear. From the Sequoia entrance, we inquired about tunnel log. The trail to tunnel log is not pet friendly, but the snow covered paved road was closed to vehicle traffic and acceptable for Riders to walk on. It was about 2 miles each way to the tunnel log and was a virtual winter wonderland of adventure. When we travelled through the area in May, the shuttles were running and sheer congestion made such a walk impossible. Most of the trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon are closed to pets, but there are a great many trails in Sequoia trees just outside both parks that the National Forest allows dogs on. Overall, this is one of my favorite parks in California, just not during tourist season. Like Yosemite, it is heavily trafficked.
July, 2018: Mount Rushmore National Monument, SD
This was a detour on a road trip from CA to WY to IL. I wanted to see the rock with the giant heads and after reviewing the website, I thought Rider would be able to get reasonably close. That was not the case. There is what amounts to an invisible barrier at the archway before the restrooms with signs refusing pets to go any further. While we were able to take turns and walk down the state flag corridor, I did not see a clear wildlife or safety reason why Rider should not have been allowed to accompany us down the path.
July, 2018: Badlands National Park, SD
There are a few turn off areas in Badlands that Riders are permitted in. July is a bad time to explore Badlands with a furry friend because it was hot, dry and windy. Though he was able to get out at a few of the turn offs and overlooks (as long as he didn’t enter the planked sidewalk area), it was honestly too hot for his paws to be present on the ground. Badlands is an incredible park, with gorgeous views of fossils that demonstrate how the land changed over time. We detoured to this park once on the way to Chicago and once on the way home. It is a beautiful park to drive through and would be an amazing place to explore with more time and cooler temperatures. It is important to note that not everyone in the party was excited about these detours but I am a very persuasive person so while we might have been able to see more, I was lucky to stop for as long as we did.
July, 2018: Pullman National Monument, IL
Pullman National Monument, in the South side of Chicago, is a great place for a leisurely stroll. The signs tell the stories of the building and you are able to take a walk through the history of the location and almost imagine life if you’d been alive during the Pullman train car manufacturing era. Historically significant for the legal outcome of the strike, the location has original structures that are not accessible. Dogs are not permitted in the visitor center, but they are able to walk around and to the buildings. It is my understanding that this is one of the newest National Monument sites in the country.
July, 2018: Timpanogos National Monument, UT
Timpanogos National Monument mostly consists of a cave. The cave is a significant upward hike from the visitor center and dogs are not allowed on the trail or in the cave (for wildlife safety reasons). However, there is a trail from the Visitor Center to a picnic area that is a nice scenic walk for leg stretching. There are a couple bridges that cross rivers and a few gentle inclines and declines. The area surrounding the visitor center is beautiful forest with vivid colors and is worth a walk through, even if you can’t make it to the cave.
November, 2018: Montezumas Castle National Monument
We only visited half of this National Monument, there was also a river dwelling area we did not make it to. This park was the first one we’ve attended that had the Bark Ranger program where Rider was able to get his Bark Ranger badge (after I completed a series of activities). It was a quarter mile walk on a well paved walkway and the Park rangers were not only very kind, but they carried dog treats in their pockets for the furry visitors. This site is a structural marvel and incredibly impressive to see in person. While it is not an extensive area to visit, it is worth seeing.
November, 2018: Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is an interesting National Park to visit with a dog. The park does not allow dogs on the dirt trails, which doesn’t sound incredibly safe in the desert heat, but was actually pleasant in November. There is a 5 mile loop road through the park with a 5 MPH speed limit. It isn’t incredibly wide, but there is sufficient space on the one way roadway to walk a doggo. We parked in an overview area and walked about a mile along the road. There is also a nature trail loop off the main roadway that we were able to walk with the Rider faces. It is an excellent place to visit, but it’s important to test the black top heat before allowing you furry friend to walk upon it.
