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Dog-Friendly Hikes in United States

The directory currently contains 1,092 quality-checked routes matching this guide in United States. Their average mapped distance is 5.5 km and average recorded ascent is 214 m (702 ft); the longest route in the set is 34.0 km.

This subset represents 19% of the 5,699 quality-checked routes in United States. Its average distance is 5.5 km, compared with 14.1 km across the full local set. Average recorded ascent is 214 m (702 ft), versus 264 m (866 ft) for all quality-checked routes in the same area.

These routes either have dogs marked as allowed or meet the directory’s dog-score threshold. Current land-manager rules take precedence. Within this set, 389 routes (36%) are rated easy, 110 (10%) are rated hard or expert, and 145 (13%) are recorded as loops. Ratings are computed from available distance and elevation data and do not establish current terrain or access.

Data refreshed September 2026

Trails

Box Cañon Falls, Ouray CO
Hard

Oak Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
10.4 km
/ 6.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,105 m
Typical duration
3 hr 49 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Moderate

Upper Cascade Falls Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
4.9 km
/ 3.0 mi
Elevation gain
784 m
Typical duration
2 hr 12 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Easy

Meadow Mountain Trail

Maryland · United States

Distance
5.4 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
86 m
Typical duration
1 hr 15 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Mountain
Hard

Bear Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
10.7 km
/ 6.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,604 m
Typical duration
4 hr 38 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Hard

Fern Lake Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
11.8 km
/ 7.3 mi
Elevation gain
918 m
Typical duration
3 hr 50 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Maroon Bells 7-4
Hard

Maroon-Snowmass Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
26.4 km
/ 16.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,078 m
Typical duration
7 hr 28 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Hard

Tonahutu Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
21.8 km
/ 13.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,210 m
Typical duration
6 hr 34 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Moderate

Timber Lake Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
4.7 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
443 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Round Hill Brook, Webb Mountain Park, Paugussett Trail, Monroe, CT.
Hard

Paugussett Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
20.9 km
/ 13.0 mi
Elevation gain
508 m
Typical duration
5 hr 17 min
  • River
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Heavy snow remained at stations along Metro-North Railroad's Waterbury Branch, preventing normal service the morning of Monday, Feb. 11, 2013.
Moderate

Beacon Falls Yellow Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
2.8 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
153 m
Typical duration
49 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Turkington Falls Loop

Connecticut · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
22 m
Typical duration
21 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Old ties from the Aptos Branch logging railroad in June 2018
Hard

Aptos Creek Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
21.8 km
/ 13.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,016 m
Typical duration
6 hr 16 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Huachuca Mountains, Arizona.
Moderate

Hamburg Trail #122

Arizona · United States

Distance
5.1 km
/ 3.2 mi
Elevation gain
81 m
Typical duration
1 hr 11 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
View north up the Trail Canyon Trail in the Mount Charleston Wilderness, Nevada from about 1.0 miles north of the trailhead
Moderate

Trail Canyon

Nevada · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
471 m
Typical duration
1 hr 22 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
Moderate

See Canyon Trail #184

Arizona · United States

Distance
4.8 km
/ 3.0 mi
Elevation gain
585 m
Typical duration
1 hr 53 min
  • Lake
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
Hard

Meysan Lakes Trail

California · United States

Distance
7.4 km
/ 4.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,235 m
Typical duration
3 hr 23 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Easy

Orange Trail

Maryland · United States

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Elevation gain
25 m
Typical duration
12 min
  • Waterfall
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Jericho Blue-Blazed Trail. Ruins of Bridge at end of Sheffield Street, Waterbury. Trailhead for Hancock Brook Trail.
Moderate

Hancock Brook Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
4.2 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
212 m
Typical duration
1 hr 11 min
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Menunkatuck Blue-Blazed (CFPA) Trail. Vernal pond along the Menunkatuck Trail in the Timberlands near the Iron Stream. Timberlands is forested preserved open space owned by the Town of Guilford Connecticut and managed by the Town's Conserva
Hard

Menunkatuck Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
25.8 km
/ 16.0 mi
Elevation gain
277 m
Typical duration
6 hr 7 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Arroyo Seco Trail

California · United States

Distance
7.5 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
222 m
Typical duration
1 hr 54 min
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Desert
Hard

Upper Lookout Canyon Trail #120

Arizona · United States

Distance
18.1 km
/ 11.2 mi
Elevation gain
138 m
Typical duration
4 hr 4 min
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Moderate

Mill Creek Falls Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.5 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
134 m
Typical duration
44 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • River
Moderate

Rock Creek Lake Trail

California · United States

Distance
5.4 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
291 m
Typical duration
1 hr 33 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Mountain
The view goes on forever after topping out at Koip Peak Pass, which is sort of a back door out of Yosemite and into the Ansel Adams Wilderness . The prominent red peak beyond the lakes is San Joaquin Mountain, which hides Mammoth Mountain s
Hard

Alger Lakes Trail

California · United States

Distance
15.7 km
/ 9.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,129 m
Typical duration
4 hr 59 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Campfire scar on Abies concolor , Pinus benthamiana , Pinus lambertiana , etc., forest floor. Viewpoint location: Snow Creek Trail, Yosemite National Park Viewpoint elevation: 2100 meter (6880 ft) View direction: N/A Location source: Casio
Hard

Snow Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
14.8 km
/ 9.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,436 m
Typical duration
5 hr 14 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Hard

Gibson Canyon Trail #308

Arizona · United States

Distance
14.1 km
/ 8.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,908 m
Typical duration
5 hr 47 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
Moderate

Middle Lookout Canyon Trail #121

Arizona · United States

Distance
4.1 km
/ 2.5 mi
Elevation gain
6 m
Typical duration
52 min
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Inyo County star tulip ( Calochortus excavatus ) on Tyee Lakes Trail
Moderate

Tyee Lakes Trail

California · United States

Distance
10.4 km
/ 6.5 mi
Elevation gain
753 m
Typical duration
3 hr 18 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Hard

Bowman Lake Trail

Montana · United States

Distance
21.3 km
/ 13.2 mi
Elevation gain
117 m
Typical duration
4 hr 48 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
View of the Thunder River trail. North Kaibab Ranger District. 10-24-13. P1040030. Photo by Dyan Bone. Credit the U.S. Forest Service, Southwestern Region, Kaibab National Forest.
Hard

Thunder River Trail

Arizona · United States

Distance
19.5 km
/ 12.1 mi
Elevation gain
343 m
Typical duration
4 hr 43 min
  • River
  • Mountain
A north-facing photo of the rugged southern face of Empire Mountain, taken from the Crystal Lakes - Monarch Lakes trail in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park. The rock is jagged and has a unique red hue.
Moderate

Monarch Lakes Trail

California · United States

Distance
6.5 km
/ 4.0 mi
Elevation gain
824 m
Typical duration
2 hr 35 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Easy

Beckman's Trail

Maryland · United States

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
69 m
Typical duration
40 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Summit Lake Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.3 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
117 m
Typical duration
51 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Hard

Birch Lake Trail

California · United States

Distance
8.7 km
/ 5.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,463 m
Typical duration
4 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Giant blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) against rocks. At 2,869 m (9,413 ft) along Pine Creek Trail under Brownstone Mine, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada mountains, California.
Hard

Pine Creek Pass Trail

California · United States

Distance
12.0 km
/ 7.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,259 m
Typical duration
4 hr 23 min
  • River
  • Mountain
view across Soldier Lake The Rock Creek wildfire was started by an abandoned campfire within a meadow, at approximately 11,000-ft. elevation in the backcountry of Sequoia National Park. Because of the lateness of the season, the high altitu
Moderate

Soldier Lake Trail

California · United States

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
556 m
Typical duration
1 hr 44 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Hard

South Fork Trail #243

Arizona · United States

Distance
22.2 km
/ 13.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,060 m
Typical duration
6 hr 25 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness is a federal wilderness area located 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Stockton, California. It encompasses 160,000 acres (650 km2) and was designated by the California Wilderness Act of 1984. It protects an area
Hard

East Carson River Trail

California · United States

Distance
27.9 km
/ 17.3 mi
Elevation gain
288 m
Typical duration
6 hr 38 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Hard

Fish Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
31.1 km
/ 19.3 mi
Elevation gain
618 m
Typical duration
7 hr 54 min
  • River
  • Mountain
20020823 1657 Forest Plants on Black Lake Trail
Moderate

Black Lake Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
4.6 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
41 m
Typical duration
1 hr 1 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Oak Creek TrailColorado10.4 km1,105 m3 hr 49 minHardJuly to September
Upper Cascade Falls TrailColorado4.9 km784 m2 hr 12 minModerateJuly to September
Meadow Mountain TrailMaryland5.4 km86 m1 hr 15 minEasyApril to October
Bear Creek TrailColorado10.7 km1,604 m4 hr 38 minHardJuly to September
Charleston Peak Trail South LoopNevada13.5 km1,504 m5 hr 4 minHardJuly to September
Fern Lake TrailColorado11.8 km918 m3 hr 50 minHardJuly to September
Maroon-Snowmass TrailColorado26.4 km1,078 m7 hr 28 minHardJuly to September
Tonahutu Creek TrailColorado21.8 km1,210 m6 hr 34 minHardJuly to September
Timber Lake TrailColorado4.7 km443 m1 hr 38 minModerateJuly to September
Paugussett TrailConnecticut20.9 km508 m5 hr 17 minHardApril to October

Oak Creek Trail, Upper Cascade Falls Trail, Meadow Mountain Trail currently rank highest in this filtered set according to the directory score. Open an individual route to inspect its mapped line, elevation profile, data source and planning caveats. Check live access, conditions and local rules with an official source before travelling.

Frequently asked questions

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