Beaverdam Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Gloucester VA

The Park

Mordecai Cooke was the earliest English settler of this land, patenting this part of Gloucester in 1652. His descendants established several large estates in the area, including Wareham that includes much of the park property today.

The Beaverdam Reservoir is of recent vintage - in 1990 a newly built earthen dam flooded the open fields and woodlands of Beaverdam Swamp to a depth of 25 feet to stabilize the Gloucester water supply. The 665-acre park surrounds the many tentacled lake.

The Walks

Given just a slender band of land along the lakeshore park officials have succeeded in creating one of the Tidewater’s best trail systems. The main multi-use trail stretches 9.5 miles from the main park around the northern edge of the reservoir to Fahy’s Road and is used as a stem for a string of loop trails. If you have a car shuttle that journey through thick hardwoods makes for a solid day’s outing with your dog but otherwise you have a score of options to craft your canine hiking day. The multi-use trail is hard-packed and stony; the various spur trails are reserved for hikers and more paw-friendly. The two bridges on the route are often used as turn-around points by trail-users; Morgan’s Bridge from the main park is a three-mile round-trip and canine adventurers seeking a bigger outing can find a six-mile round trip on the loops at the Route 606 trailhead. Expect rolling terrain throughout. For a relaxing introduction to Beaverdam Park’s splendors pick up an interpretive brochure and follow the Lake’s Edge Trail from the ranger station at the main entrance.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There are park maps, trail guides, signposts, and blazes.

Workout For Your Dog - Many hours possible through the rolling hills.

Swimming - Sorry, this is Gloucester’s drinking water.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed on Beaverdam trails. 

Something Extra

Film buffs may already recognize Beaverdam Park from the action thriller “Minority Report.” The waterside home of Tom Cruise’s estranged wife is on Ware Point Road, near Beulah, Gloucester. After escaping via a car production line, Cruise drives the red Lexus through Beaverdam Park.

Phone - (804) 693-2107

Website - www.gloucesterva.info/pr/parks/welbvd.htm

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Gloucester; From Route 17 turn onto 17 Business into town (Main Street). Turn onto Roaring Springs Road and follow to the main park at end. For Fahy’s Road (Route 606) trailhead, stay on Route 17, turning onto Fahy’s Road and continuing three miles.

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Roan Highlands

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Burnsville NC

The Park

Roan Mountain, dressed in a dark green spruce-fir forest and including the world’s largest natural rhododendron garden and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range, has long been considered a treasure of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1870 John T. Wilder, a Union Army General famed for his command of the Civil War “Lightning Brigade,” bought up 7,000 acres along the top and sides of Roan Mountain. Wilder made his money firing the first blast furnaces in the South after the war and his ironworks manufactured rails for the railroads, including his own narrow gauge railway he built to bring tourists to the top of Roan Mountain. In 1885, Wilder constructed the luxurious Cloudland Hotel on the mountaintop, promoted as a health resort that was frequented by captains of American industry and European nobility. The hotel was abandoned by 1910, sunk by exorbitant operating costs, and the mountain’s forests were subsequently logged off. When the timber was gone Roan Mountain became part of the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests in 1941.

The Walks

Roan Mountain is not actually a peak but a high ridge that runs five miles from a low point of 5,500 feet at Carver’s Gap to 6,285 feet at Roan High Knob. The knob is accessed from a moderate 1.2-mile canine hike along the Cloudland Trail. In mid-June the hundreds of acres of Catawba rhododendrons erupt into a magenta riot, luring thousands of visitors to the mountain-top to travel through the canyons of blooms on a paved trail. The two-mile road from Carver’s Gap to the gardens is closed from the end of October through March but you can hike - or ski - in with your dog as the case may be.

As remarkable as Roan Mountain is, your dog will likely prefer the canine hiking on the opposite side of Carver’s Gap as the Appalachian Trail crosses over three grassy balds in less than two hours of hiking. The third, Grassy Ridge Bald, rises to an elevation of 6,189 feet, making it the second highest grassy bald in the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, this is the only stretch of the Appalachian Trail that rises above 6,000 feet between Old Black 150 miles to the south and Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 1,500 miles to the north. The views for your dog, of course, are stunning.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Paw-friendly natural trails

Workout For Your Dog - Hours, days, weeks of hiking possible

Swimming - None

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to enjoy the views from the Roan Highlands.

Something Extra

Botanists have been fascinated with Roan Mountain as long as there have been botanists. In 1775, 36-year old William Bartram traveled through here on an epic journey from the foothills of the Appalachian mountains all the way to the Mississippi River, collecting specimens and sketching plants. He became the country’s first nature writer in 1791 with the publication of Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, an account of his adventure. Andre Micheaux followed in 1794, discovering several alpine species rarely found outside of the New England and Canadian latitudes. In 1799, John Fraser explored Roan Mountain, collecting specimens of rhododendron and noting the existence of the fir tree that now carries his name. Asa Gray, considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century found a lily on Roan Mountain that bears his name.

Phone Number - (828) 682-6146

Website - fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc

Admission Fee - Vehicle parking fee at Roan Mountain; none for the Appalachian Trail lot at Carver’s Gap

Directions - Pisgah National Forest; from Burnsville take 197N to Red Hill, turn left towards Johnson City, TN (Route 226N). Go 3 miles to Fork Mountain Road #1338; turn right and go to the end of the road. Turn left onto 261N and follow to Carver’s Gap and Roan Mountain.

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Elk Neck State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Northeast MD

The Park

At Turkey Point the Northeast and Elk rivers have pinched a finger of land in the Upper Chesapeake Bay so violently that it swells to more than 100 feet above the water. The result is Elk Neck State Park, a vibrant mix of sandy beaches, marshlands and hardwood forests.

The Walks

There are five main trails at Elk Neck State Park. None is longer than two miles and all can be covered in a leisurely afternoon of canine hiking. The White Trail through the Thackery Swamp is a self-guiding nature trail. The Black Trail skirts the shoreline of the Elk River and the waters of the Chesapeake Bay can be reached from the Blue Trail at Turkey Point. You start your explorations on an old access road high above the waters that soon turns towards the Old Turkey Point Lighthouse. The various footpaths radiate off the main trail across the peninsula.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt roads and woods paths

Workout For Your Dog - Gradual climbs to Turkey Point

Swimming - Spirited dog swimming on small sandy beaches on the Chesapeake Bay

Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs on the North East Beach

Something Extra

A lighthouse was authorized by Congress in 1831 and two years later a tower and keeper’s quarters was situated on a 100-foot bluff where the North East and Elk Rivers converge. Originally, the 35-foot tower had a panel of red glass to warn ships they were approaching the shallows. The beacon was visible for 13 miles and was the highest of 74 lighthouses on the Chesapeake Bay. The keeper’s quarters are gone but the tower and spectacular views remain atop the grassy bluffs.

Phone - (410) 287-5333

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Northeast, Cecil County; from I-95 exit onto Route 272 (North East Road)and go south 2.4 miles to Route 7 (East Cecil Avenue). Cross State Route 7, stay on Route 272 and go 11 miles to the end of the road and the park.

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The Greenway

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Block Island RI

The Park

Back in 1972 Block Islanders looked around and noticed houses going up at an alarming rate. Captain John Robinson “Rob” Lewis led a small group to form the Block Island Conservancy with the modest goal to just save Rodman’s Hollow, a precious glacial outwash basin. They were able to raise enough money to preserve this region of maritime scrubland. Hundreds of islanders donated money and the conservation movement flourished. Over the years some land was donated and more made available below market value. Today over 40% of Block Island is protected from future development. So effective were the efforts of the Conservancy that the Nature Conservancy designated Block Island as one of its original “Last Great Places” in the Americas.

The Walks

Take away the ferry ride and the half-hour walk along shoulder-less - and sometimes busy - two lanes road and The Greenway would be the finest place in Rhode Island to hike with your dog. What is your dog interested in? Open fields? Sporty hills? Long vistas? A romp on the beach? A swim in a pond? Unique woodlands? The Greenway has them all. There are about 12 miles of footpaths crisscrossing the southern half of Block Island in the tradition of walking the English countryside. In addition to paw-friendly mown grass and soft dirt trails you will need to go down dirt roads and paved streets to get to some trailheads. To reach the beach use Black Rock Road in Rodman’s Hollow. If you find yourself with your dog walking along Mohegan Trail/Spring Street you can descend a flight of wooden stairs to the beach at the foot of the spectacular Mohegan bluffs from Payne Overlook.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Your first stop on Block Island should be in the Visitor Center on the dock to buy a trail map for a small fee. This will show you the way to the trailheads. Signs are posted at some trailheads and along the trails.

Workout For Your Dog - Allow a full day of canine hiking to explore The Greenway.

Swimming - There are 17 miles of public beaches on Block Island so your dog will get an ocean swim. Crescent Beach, a few pawprints from the ferry landing, is the most convenient but crowded in-season. As the new arrivals fan out from the ferry the beaches offer more room for your dog. One beach that is too small for sun worshippers but ideal for dogs is just south of Old Harbor along Spring Street - as you reach the crest of a hill drop down to the sand in front of a guardrail for great canine swimming along a breakwater.

Restrictions On Dogs - Block Island is a dog-friendly island - don’t come without him!

Something Extra

Block Island supports some 40 rare or endangered species. One that is found only in Rodman’s Hollow, in huge kettleholes gouged by Godzilla-sized chunks of glacial ice that melted, is the Block Island Meadow Vole, first discovered in 1908. It is part of the magic of the island that it is a thrill here to see rodents considered vermin on the mainland. It’s not easy to see a brown-and-black vole but you may see their tunnel-like trails through the grass.

Phone Number - (401) 466-5675

Website 

Admission Fee - None (ferry fee may be necessary; dogs sail for free)

Directions -The Nature Conservancy office on Block Island is on High Street, straight ahead out of Old Harbor.

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Bear Mountain

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Salisbury CT

The Park

Through much of the 19th century reference books stated confidently that no part of Connecticut was higher than 1,000 feet. No one living in the remote Litchfield Hills probably paid what was printed in books much mind but Robbins Battell of the prominent musical family of Norfolk wanted to set the record straight. He identified Bear Mountain as the highest point in the state, negotiated a long-term lease on the property and had it surveyed to make it official. But having set out in his quest for accuracy, Battell actually muddied the waters more. Long after the expert flutist, state senator and philanthropist died in 1894 modern surveying techniques identified the side of Mount Frissell, four miles away, as the highest point in Connecticut. Bear Mountain, however, is the state’s highest summit.

The Walks

Every Nutmeg state dog should get a chance to stand on the state’s highest summit. The most popular route is via the blue blazed Undermountain Trail to the Appalachian Trail, tagging the peak in just under three miles. Bear Mountain is an honest mountain - there is scarcely a downhill step on the ascent to the top - no depressing drops into saddles and ravines that set tails to drooping when you know you should be headed up. You are gaining over 1,500 feet in elevation on this canine hike but the serious panting does not begin until the final half-mile. Across Bear Mountain you’ll find view-blocking stretches of blueberry and huckleberry struggling with pitch pines and oaks in the stingy mountaintop soils. The views come soon enough, first to the west, then to the south and finally in all directions. You can continue across the summit and return on the 2.1-mile Paradise Lane Trail that crosses upland forests with small ups and downs. The drop down the north slope is steep, quick and rocky and will challenge the most cautious of dogs so take your time here. The full loop with a backtrack on the Undermountain Trail will cover about 6.6 miles.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: After studying the map on the information board, the blazes will be sufficient to get you to the top and back.

Workout For Your Dog - Absolutely.

Swimming - Seasonal streams and a vernal pond are the best you can hope for.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome on these mountain trails.

Something Extra

Robbins Battell hired local mason Owen Travis to erect a tower on the roof of Connecticut in 1885. Without the aid of any roads, Travis spent the next three years hauling 350 tons of stone to the summit. He built a pyramid 20 feet square and 22.5 feet high in the rural tradition of New England stone fences with no mortar. A lightning rod extended another 17 feet above the surrounding countryside. Over the years the tower has crumbled but you and your dog can still scramble up ten feet of stabilized rubble and think about what it took to bring all these stones to the top of the state.

Phone Number - None

Website - None

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Salisbury; head north on Route 41 from the intersection with Route 44 in town. Go 3.5 miles to a large parking lot on the left for the Undermountain Trail (it is signed).

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Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Santa Rosa Beach FL

The Park

Topsail Hill is the most intact coastal ecosystem in all of Florida. The state moved to protect this unique natural area by purchasing 1,637 acres here in 1992. There are 14 identifiable ecosystems, including freshwater coastal dune lakes, wet prairies, scrub, pine flatwoods, marshes, cypress domes, seepage slopes and 3.2 miles white sand beaches - the remnants of quartz washed down from the Appalachian Mountains. Topsail Hill gets its name from the landmark 25-foot high dune that resembles a ship’s topsail.

The Walks

Topsail Hill is the best place that you can take your dog for an extended hike along the Gulf of Mexico. The trail of choice is the Morris Lake Nature Trail, a 2.5-mile balloon route laid out through ancient coastal dunes. The dunes trail is wide open and exposed to the elements so bring plenty of water for your dog on a hot day and since every step of the way is across glistening white soft sugar sand, your dog will get a workout any time of the year. In fact, look for iron tracks laid down during World War II that allowed heavy trucks to travel across the thick sand when these dunes were used as a bombing range. Morris Lake is one of three freshwater coastal dune lakes on the property. These rare oases are found only along the Gulf Coast in America and while tempting to visit for your dog, are inhabited by alligators. The trail climbs briefly into a Florida shrub community where your dog can find some shade among the sand pines and shrubby oaks before finishing along the Gulf of Mexico beach. If your dog isn’t spent from an hour on the Morris Lake dunes there is more hiking available in the other direction to Campbell Lake. This trail can also be accessed from the main entrance and campground and your dog won’t be allowed to finish the entire 5.2-mile loop (it tracks along the beach) but she can reach the broad, flat lakeside.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: A trailmap and interpretive brochure can be found at the trailhead and directional signs decipher the faceless dunes.

Workout For Your Dog - Several hours possible

Swimming - Alligators live in the lake but your dog can step in to cool off.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed on the trails and in the campground but not on the beach.

Something Extra

In the days of sailing ships, turpentine was critical to the upkeep and preservation of wooden boats. The word turpentine derives from the terebinth tree, from whose sap the spirit was originally distilled. In early America, the tree of choice for turpentine was the old growth longleaf pines found across the South. To get the sap to flow, a deep V or “cat face” is cut into the side of a tree and gathered in a clay pot hung from a nail in the tree. The sap is then boiled and the turpentine residue collected. You can see cat face scars on trees still living in the preserve.

Phone Number - (850) 267-0299

Website 

Admission Fee - Vehicle entrance fee

Directions - Santa Rosa Beach; the main entrance is on CR 30A, one mile east of US 98, but the entrance of choice for most dog owners will be via Topsail Road from US 98, west of the junction with CR 30A.

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The Hiking With Dogs group on Facebook is the place to post photos and info on your favorite canine hikes. Also get questions answered and find advice from members: join now