Doggin’ The Carolina Coasts

Doggin' The Carolina Coasts: The 50 Best Places To Hike With Your Dog Along The North Carolina And South Carolina Shores Buy on Amazon

Hike With Your Dog Adventure Log - Carolina Coasts: Places Where You Won't Be Able to Wipe the Way Off Your Dog's Tail Buy on Amazon

"This is one of those little guidebooks that's so useful, you're amazed nobody published one before. Entries cover admission fees, directions, "dog friendliness" and fun facts to make the trek more amusing. (Example: Robert Harrill, the Fort Fisher hermit, always had a dog by his side -- usually, several.) Gelbert offers useful tips for the novice hiker (around here, watch out for ticks, copperheads and the occasional alligator), tips for introducing a landlubber dog to the ocean (check with the lifeguards on local water conditions; dogs are easy targets for jellyfish and sea lice), plus an up-to-date rundown on current local regulations. (No dogs on Wrightsville Beach from April till October -- try the nearby Loop instead.) For locals, Doggin' offers some intriguing suggestions of nearby spots to explore: the nature trails at Oakhurst Nature Park, at the end of Riverbend Road up in Jacksonville, N.C., for instance, or Huntington Beach State Park, with nature trails, the Huntington family's replica Moorish castle, Atalaya to explore (with its own kennels), plus the Brookgreen Gardens sculpture park nearby." --Wilmington Star-News - the Voice of Southeastern North Carolina

Have you ever considered how far you walk with your dog? If you walk just 15 minutes a day you will have walked far enough in your dog's lifetime to cross the United States. With all that walking ahead of you, aren't you ready for a new place to take a hike with your dog?

The Carolina coasts can be a great place to hike with your dog. Paw-friendly sand trails, shady maritime forests, some of the most historic grounds in the South, the estates of America s wealthiest families and some of the country s dog-friendliest beaches all beckon to your canine adventurer. DOGGIN' THE CAROLINA COASTS explores the region's top trails with your best friend in mind...

Where can your dog hike through a movie set from Forrest Gump? (page 21)
Where can your dog hike to mysterious Carolina Bays? (page 69)
Where can you hike with your dog to the home of the Fort Fisher Hermit? (page 33)

No Dogs!
Is there any more dispiriting day for a dog owner than driving to a new park and encountering the dreaded "NO DOGS" sign? DOGGIN' THE CAROLINA COASTS tells you the parks that don't welcome dogs. Also packed inside these 124 pages are...
...rules for dogs on Atlantic Ocean beaches
...Carolina coast campgrounds for dogs
...tips on outfitting your dog for a hike
...tips on practicing low impact hiking with your dog
...and much more

What makes a great place to take your dog hiking? Well, how about a paw-friendly surface to trot on? Grass and sandy soil are a lot more appealing than asphalt and rocks. A variety of hikes is always good - long ones for athletic dogs and short ones for the less adventurous canine. Dogs always enjoy a refreshing place to swim as well. For dog-friendly parks our guides describe the trail options for your dog, evaluate park traffic from other users, tell you whether you will need a guide dog to find your way around and, of course, tell you how to get to the park.

While walking the dog around the Carolina coasts, we bring along generous helpings of local history, botany, geology, architecture and more. So what are you waiting for? Your dog will want to visit a 4,000-year old shell midden (page 31), hunt for Fulgurites (page 29), hike among insectivorous plants (page 37)...

THE BEST OF THE BEST

BEST PLACE FOR YOUR DOG TO SWIM
Ocracoke Island
The former refuge of Blackbeard in Cape Hatteras National Seashore may be the best place in America for your dog to swim in the ocean.

BEST ONE-HOUR WORKOUT FOR YOUR DOG
Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Climbing up the highest natural sand dune system on the Atlantic coast, your dog will only be going 80-100 feet up but it will feel like ten times that.

PRETTIEST HIKE FOR YOUR DOG
Magnolia Gardens
These formal gardens that date back over 300 years are not only dog-friendly but if your best trail companion gets weary he can ride the tour tram back to your car.

BEST BEACH TO HIKE WITH YOUR DOG
Fort Fisher Recreation Area
For a long solitary walk on the beach with your dog it is hard to beat the seven miles of tail-friendly white sand beaches south of Wilmington.

BEST HALF-HOUR HIKE WITH YOUR DOG
Audubon Newhall Preserve
There are wide, paw-friendly trails through eight small areas of exploration, any of which will delight your dog.

MOST HISTORIC HIKE WITH YOUR DOG
Moores Creek National Battlefield
A winning combination of park and historical trail, a surprise Patriot victory here helped tilt the balance of power in the South during the American Revolution.

BEST OPEN-FIELD HIKING WITH YOUR DOG
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
For a day of pure hiking with your dog in solitude come to the South Edisto River and the fields of the old Crowe Plantation.

BEST PLACE TO CIRCLE A LAKE WITH YOUR DOG
Merchants Millpond State Park
The marquee Lassiter Trail moves around the 760-acre millpond that harbors ancient bald cypress and tupelo gum trees.

BEST PLACE TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE WOODS WITH YOUR DOG
Edisto Nature Trail
This is the best interpretive trail on the Carolina coasts where subtle elevation changes enable the giants of northern forests to mix with the live oaks and softwoods emblematic of the Low Country.