Doggin’ The Poconos

Doggin' The Poconos: The 33 Best Places To Hike With Your Dog In Pennsyvania's Northeast Mountains Buy on Amazon

Hike With Your Dog Adventure Log - Poconos: Places in Northeast Pennsylvania Where You Won't Be Able to Wipe the Wag Off your Dog's Tail Buy on Amazon

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 Pocono Mountains can be a great place to hike with your dog. Within a short drive your canine adventurer can be climbing hills that leave him panting, exploring impossibly green ravines or trailing lakes for miles and never lose sight of the water. DOGGIN' THE POCONOS explores the region's top trails with your best friend in mind...

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 Connecticut, we bring along generous helpings of local history, botany, geology, architecture and more. So what are you waiting for? Your dog will want to hike through the largest unlumbered forest left in northeast Pennsylvania (page 37), hunt the elusive morel mushroom (page 73), hike through the Ecology Cemetery (page 25), hike across a National Natural Landmark (page 23)...

THE BEST OF THE BEST

BEST PLACE FOR YOUR DOG TO SWIM
Nescopeck State Park (Drums)
Beaver ponds are splendid for your water-loving dog and so is Lake Frances; even Nescopeck reek is deep enough for superb dog paddling in spots.

BEST ONE-HOUR WORKOUT FOR YOUR DOG
Lehigh Gorge State Park (Jim Thorpe)
The Glen Onoko Run tumbles 900 feet down seven waterfalls in less than one mile and your dog can hike to the top, moving almost straight up at times, hopping across the stream and picking his way at others.

PRETTIEST HIKE FOR YOUR DOG
Ricketts Glen State Park (Benton)
After hiking the magical Y-shaped Falls Trail that visits 23 named waterfalls along two branches of the Kitchen Creek your dog will know why this area was once slated to be a national park.

BEST HIKE TO VIEWS WITH YOUR DOG
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (East Stroudsburg)
The hike up 1,463-foot Mount Minsi is a tough rewarding climb either on an old fire road or the twisting Appalachian Trail to views of the famous gap.

BEST HALF-HOUR HIKE WITH YOUR DOG
Salt Springs State Park (Franklin Forks)
The Flood of 2006 destroyed large chunks of the Falls Brook Trail, one of Pennsylvania’s most spectacular footpaths but the adjoining Hemlock Trail helps to deliver the park’s three signature waterfalls.

MOST HISTORIC HIKE WITH YOUR DOG
Mauch Chunk Lake Park (Jim Thorpe)
The Switchback Trail travels on the roadbed of one of America’s first railroads. After it closed the gravity railroad spent time as one of America’s first rollercoasters and a popular destination for thrill seekers.

BEST PLACE TO CIRCLE A LAKE WITH YOUR DOG
Delaware State Forest (Swiftwater)
Bruce Lake is one of six glacial lakes in the forest; the route combines wide, plaw-pleasing logging roads and the usual rocky Pocono paths as it rolls along.

BEST PLACE TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE WOODS WITH YOUR DOG
World’s End State Park (Forksville)
Like the early settlers who named this remote valley, you will feel like you are hiking through the end of the world in these mountains. If the park’s 20 miles of trails don’t do the trick the 60-mile Loyalsock Trail should accomplish the feeling.