hikewithyourdog.com newsletter
Great hikes with your dog don’t always have to take place on grass and dirt...
walkthetown.com
find out more
April 2011. In this issue:
- National Parks Dog Owners Can Experience Like Everybody Else
- Beach of the Month: Kiptopeke State Park (VA)
- On the Trail At...Pancho Villa State Park (NM)
- Quick Tip - Start A Trail Dog Program
- Save up to 70% on our Dog Ears guidebooks
- Join the Hiking With Dogs group on Facebook
Checking out a namesake thermal spring at Hot Springs National Park
Feature
National Parks Dog Owners Can Experience Like Everybody Else
Feature
National Parks Dog Owners Can Experience Like Everybody Else
It makes you nutso sometimes when the mailbag reveals recent posts like these:
"Mostly EVERY beach in Nova Scotia allows dogs. I have been there with mine many summers... and have never found a mess left by any dog owner and everyone seems to be able to control their pets. Adults, children and dogs spend many happy hours together on the beaches... the way it SHOULD be. WHY do we have such restrictions in the States? It makes if very hard for people who travel with their pets.. and my dog is small. Sometimes it makes me want to cry when I see an obnoxious child kicking sand in peoples faces.. and my little poodles is not allowed on the beach at all."
and...
"I just read on your site that dogs are allowed on the Tower Trail, at Devils Tower Nat. Monument, Wyoming. I was just there yesterday, 31 March 2011, and they are NOT allowed on the Tower Trail, only in the parking lot area near the visitors center."
Devil's Tower is one of America's more remote national monuments, seen by most people only in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. It is not a park that is going to be frequented by a local canine hiking club. It is a place that people have to travel out of their way to get to. The Tower Trail is paved and the hiking experience is akin to walking around your local recreation park, only in the middle is one of our great natural wonders instead of softball and soccer players. It's a little over a mile and if you stop and take a lot of pictures and really take your time you might take as long as 45 minutes to an hour to finish the trail. It is hard to imagine why this experience should be denied to dog owners.
Along those lines I put together a list of American national parks that dog owners can actually experience just like every other visitor...
Beach of the Month
Kiptopeke State Park (VA)
The site was purchased by the Virginia Ferry Corporation for the northern terminus of the Virginia Beach to Eastern Shore Ferry. In 1949, when the terminus was moved to Cape Charles, the abandoned area was named Kiptopeke Beach in honor of the younger brother of a king of the Accawmack Indians who had befriended early settlers. Kiptopeke means “Big Water.” In 1950 the terminus opened after the completion of a $2.75 million pier, promoted as the world’s largest and most modern...
On The Trail...At Pancho Villa State Park (NM)
Do you know where the last place in mainland America that was attacked by a foreign nation? In the early morning hours of March 16, 1916 Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and 500 men raided the tiny border town of Columbus, New Mexico and killed 18 Americans - the first invasion of the United States since the War of 1812. General John "Black Jack" Pershing was sent with 10,000 soldiers to bring Villa back to American soil but after 11 months the "Punitive Expedition" came home empty-handed. Apparently harboring no ill will, when a 60-acre park was created in 1959 it was given the name of the infamous invader. Pancho Villa State Park features...
Quick Tip
Start A Trail Dog Program
From Sharon Nowakowski: I developed and run the trail dog program at Richard Bong State Recreation Area. We do a couple of hikes each weekend and I help people with their dog training while out on the trail. We mostly work on basic good canine manners in public, i.e. greeting people, no jumping up, being friendly with other dogs and of course, no pulling on the leash. I started the program back in June of last year and right now have approximately 40 people and dogs in the program. I have a sign in sheet at each hike and keep track of everyone's miles. I then give them mileage awards patches as they reach certain levels (25, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000). If anyone would like to start a program in their area I would be happy to assist them in any way I can.
Save up to 70% on Hike With Your Dog Guidebooks!
From time to time we get books back that have been damaged in shipping. We are offering some for sale for just $5 each - more than 70% off retail. These books are brand new; usually with a slightly dented corner - they look like a book would look after your first hike. Check out the titles here. And shipping is FREE - regardless of how many books you order! Hurt Books