Big dogs need space. Space to run, eat, and sleep, of course, but also space to drool, shed, and poop. Because canines are not always the most hygenic house guests, they're often not allowed in hotels, which can make traveling tough鈥攆or owners and pets alike. But thankfully, some lodges are making exceptions, by not only allowing furry visitors, but also by offering amenities such as dog beds, food bowls, and special treats.听
These ten hotels not only welcome labs, St. Bernards, and dogs of all sizes with open arms, they're also perched in places that are primed for adventure. From Moab's red arches to boundless miles of Washington coastline, here are our favorite places to bring our four-legged pals鈥攖o听let them (and us) unleash.
Sorrel River Ranch
Moab, Utah
Your number-one reason for hitting Moab probably doesn鈥檛 involve doggie adventuring: the world-class climbing and mountain biking there might be great for humans, but it鈥檚 dangerous for pooches.
Stay at听, though, and you'll likely change your mind. Situated 19 miles from downtown, on the banks of the Colorado River, the 160-acre resort has an organic vegetable garden, great views of Moab鈥檚 salmon-colored spires, and a barn that houses four kennels, so you can easily leave your pup and hit the trails. Or, head to Negro Bill Canyon Trail, one of the town鈥檚 best dog-friendly hikes, just down the road. A three-mile hike along the trail鈥檚 shady听streambed听brings you to a 243-foot-long arch known as Morning Glory, the sixth-largest natural rock span in America.
Back at the ranch, a dog-washing station makes it a cinch to clean up at day鈥檚 end. Although Sorrel鈥檚 55-room property might remind you of an old Western (its wooden cabins have cozy front porches), the interiors are contemporary and well-appointed. Rooms start at $329, plus a $100 pet fee per stay (includes dog beds, bowls, treats, and more).
If you want to get on the water,听, located on the edge of town, will set you and your four-legged friend up for a day on the Colorado River. The 15-mile float from the Moab Bridge to the Potash take-out includes a self-guided canoe trip down the sandy-bottomed Class II river, complete with views of striped canyon walls and famed climbing spot Wall Street. You鈥檒l even spy a few sandstone arches along the way. $75, plus a $7 van-cleaning fee (bring your own canine life jackets)
Iron Springs Resort
Copalis听Beach, Washington
Located two and a half hours from Seattle鈥檚 airport,听鈥檚 28 rustic-yet-modern cabins nestle high on a cliff overlooking the misty shores of piney coastline. Its relaxed, summer-camp feel makes for ideal reading and couch-lolling as waves churn below. Equally ideal are the miles of wide-open sand, where your dogs can sprint, dig, roll, and swim off-leash. This all-but-empty stretch, with its sea stacks and sandpipers, is home to the state鈥檚 only beach-based airstrip (don鈥檛 worry, though: it鈥檚 rarely used). Should you ever need a brief break from the beach, you can hike through old-growth evergreens on the resort鈥檚 six miles of trails. When you and your furry posse have had enough clam-digging and shell-hunting for the day, each cabin at Iron Springs has a water spigot to rinse sandy paws.
This resort is relatively remote and lacks a restaurant, so plan on bringing your own meals. (The cabins have nice kitchens.) Rooms start at $149, plus $20 a night for each pet (includes bowls and towels)
Devil's Thumb Ranch
Tabernash, Colorado
Six thousand acres of former ranch land, now turned recreational playground, is where听听calls home. Running along the Continental Divide, between Winter Park and the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, Devil鈥檚 Thumb鈥檚 65 miles of听nordic听trails make it a cross-country ski hub for Front Range residents. Five of those miles are designated for听skijoring听(cross-country skiing with your canine). Not sure how to skijor? The ranch offers clinics, including gear rentals (from $30). After the sporty fun, grab a burger and a beer at Heck鈥檚, sit by its hexagonal fireplace, and look out over the ranch鈥檚 pond and trails.
In summer months, the ranch offers dog-friendly hiking through its grassy meadows and aspen-filled hills. Cabins start at $315, plus $50 a night for each pet (includes dog beds, treats, and leashes)
Healdsburg Modern Cottages
Healdsburg, California
An hour and 15 minutes north of San Francisco, by way of Sonoma,听Healdsburg听is the little wine town that could. This off-the-beaten path farm-to-table-style weekend getaway is full of artisanal,听chef-helmed听restaurants, tasting rooms at local vintners, and a farmers鈥 market bursting with local goods. It鈥檚 flanked by grassy, rolling hills, vineyards, and some of the best road cycling in California. Bring your bike and head west from town, under Highway 101, to get on the听backroads听that wind through this pastoral wine country.
When you鈥檙e not cycling, walk to the town square, located less than a quarter mile from the dog-friendly cottages, and sign up for a paddling trip with听. A nine-mile run from Memorial Beach to听Wohler听Bridge in inflatable kayaks lets pups romp, swim, or boat along. $50, plus $10 per dog
Hungry? Grab a smoked beer brat at Wurst, near downtown, or go upscale at听Scopa, and order a sausage-arugula pizza. The low-key quartet of abodes at听听makes a perfect base camp for roughing it in comfort: minimal furnishings, gas fireplaces, a swimming pool, and a shared, fenced-in, yard let you and your pup hang inside or out with few hassles. Rooms start at $250, plus $50 a night for each pet
Hotel Madeline
Telluride, Colorado
There鈥檚 no question that Telluride鈥攖ucked in a box canyon along the craggy San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado鈥攊s dog-friendly: you鈥檒l often find pups waiting for their owners outside shops and restaurants along Main Street, or hanging out by the ski lift, sans leash. The town鈥檚 mellow vibe seems to have rubbed off on its pooches, who are unusually well behaved and happy to follow any rules. Maybe it鈥檚 all the exercise鈥攄ozens of hiking trails thread the mountains straight from town in all directions, including along the valley floor.
The 123-room听, located above town in Mountain Village, is only a dog-welcoming gondola ride away from Telluride proper, but it offers more space than some of the options in town. Also, because Mountain Village is propped about 750 feet above the valley, you鈥檒l get a head start if you want to walk your dogs up Telluride Ski Resort, just around the corner from the hotel. Trails wind through the trees between ski runs until you reach the听ridgeline, where you can turn around to take in views of听fourteeners听and other toothy mountains. In winter, chill out with your dog under the stars by the one of the cozy fire pits in Mountain Village. Rooms start at $279, plus $25 a night for each pet (includes dog beds, bowls, and toys, if desired)
The Allison Inn & Spa
Willamette Valley, Oregon
One of the newest hotels in Oregon鈥檚 pastoral wine country, the听听isn鈥檛 about rugged adventure. But it鈥檚 the perfect weekend escape from urban Portland (a 45-minute drive away) that gives visitors access to some of the state鈥檚 best road cycling. Seven miles from the hotel,听Champoeg听State Park acts as the northern hub for the 132-mile Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway, which culminates in Eugene. The ride through the valley is as quaint as the inn, passing hop farms, vineyards, coffee shops, 补苍诲听brewpubs.
After your ride (and maybe a couple of drinks), it鈥檚 time for some pampering. The Allison鈥檚 15,000-square-foot spa is just the thing (at the end of your service, they鈥檒l tell you how to massage Fido). A pet-specific meal from the hotel鈥檚 restaurant鈥攆resh steak and steamed vegetables, perhaps, or a homemade, bacon-laced treat鈥攚ill win your pet over as well.
The 35-acre, 85-room inn has trails connecting its seven acres of vineyards with the rest of the forested property. Rooms start at $330, plus $50 a night for each pet (includes bowls, filtered water, and home-baked dog treats)
Pronghorn
Bend, Oregon
Recently crowned听, Bend, Oregon, is littered with dog-friendly restaurants, businesses, trails, and off-leash areas. Among its 17听microbreweries听(that鈥檚 in a town with a population of fewer than 80,000), it even has its own canine beer:听Dawg听Grog. A stay at the local听will introduce your canine to听Boneyard听Brewery鈥檚 magic elixir, made of malted barley, water, liquid glucosamine (for joint health), and organic vegetable broth.
The resort鈥攌nown mainly for its Jack Nicklaus golf course鈥攊s a pooch-centric place to post up for your adventures in Bend. Just 16 miles north of the town, the resort is perfectly situated for hikes at Smith Rock State Park, 20 minutes away. When you鈥檙e not getting vertical in this iconic climbing playground, where more than 1,000 bolted routes look over the meandering Crooked River, hike the 3.8-mile Misery Ridge loop. It ascends more than 1,000 feet to the summit of the听eponymously听named ridge鈥攚ith views of the Monkey Face self-standing rock pillar and Oregon鈥檚 Cascades鈥攚hich cuts through Smith Rock State Park. Another option: walk your dogs to the resort鈥檚 two 1,000-foot-long lava tubes. Rooms start at $195, plus a $75 pet fee (includes dog beds, bowls, dog bags, and a walking map of the property)听
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Loews Coronado Bay Resort
San Diego, California
It might not be every canine鈥檚 cup of, well, bones, but how about a day in the waves with a board鈥攆or your pooch? Yup, thanks to a partnership between the Coronado Surfing Academy and the Coronado Dog Beach,听听has been offering dog surfing lessons for the last eight years. No need to bring a life jacket鈥攖hey鈥檒l be provided for you and your dog. Just drive five miles down the road to Coronado Dog Beach and for $60, your pup will get a one-hour lesson in the waves. According to the Surf Academy, dogs who dig water鈥攍ike labs and English bull dogs鈥攁re always wagging away. The instructors take the dogs and owners out into waist-deep water and push them into gentle three-foot waves.
After hanging ten together, head to the hotel鈥檚听Bay Terrace restaurant听for surf and turf鈥攜our canine companion鈥檚 dinner includes salmon or beef, rice, and veggies.听Or order room service from the hotel鈥檚 pet menu.
Rooms start at $219,听plus $25 a night for each pet (includes dog beds, bowls, and treats)
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El Portal Sedona Hotel
Sedona, Arizona
Steve and Connie Segner鈥檚 property,听, is so pet-friendly, your dogs will stay for free. The听Segners, with a background in pet shops and pet-food development, have four basset hounds of their own鈥攖wo of which are the 鈥渉otel鈥 dogs.
Located on Oak Creek, in the Southwest鈥檚 red-rock central, many of the resort鈥檚 1,000-square-foot rooms have their own enclosed yards for easy doggie-bathroom breaks. Though the resort itself has more than 16 miles of walking paths, the听Segners听are happy to shuttle you and your dogs to a trailhead nearby. Their recommendation? Marg鈥檚 Draw, just two miles from the hotel. The 2.5-mile trail traces crimson rock formations before ending as giant slabs of red rock in a bowl surrounded by mountains.
Have your own car? Try the West Fork Oak Creek trail, nine miles out of Sedona in the Coconino National Forest. The 14-mile trail winds you through the canyon via boulder-hopping, wading, and swimming. Or sign up for the听听($79) through the hotel grounds鈥攑ets are welcome to come along. This can get as rugged as you want, but its main goal is putting you in the backcountry to see such area claims to fame as vortexes,听petroglyphs, stunning spires, and hundred-year-old wagon trails.
Rooms start at $179 (includes dog blankets, dog bags, and treats)
The Resort at Paws Up
Greenough, Montana
If nearly 40,000 acres aren鈥檛 enough to wear out your four-legged companion, nothing will. The luxury听听property is all that鈥攁 working cattle ranch in Lewis and Clark territory, 35 miles east of Missoula. Meadows, streams, rivers, and mountains trace through the property, making it the ideal place to explore on foot. As a matter of fact, the Resort at Paws Up hosts the听听dog run in September to benefit the Humane Society of Western Montana with two-mile, five-mile, and half-marathon-length routes on its own land. The Wine & Bitch dinner, held the night before the run, welcomes owners and dogs alike.
The vast acreage contains luxury homes that are run by the resort, as well as thick-canvas, off-white tents (for when you feel like听glamping, not just camping). Although dogs aren鈥檛 permitted in the tents around the property, they can stay either in the houses or at the resort鈥檚 鈥渓ast best doggie bed鈥濃攁n outdoor dog kennel under the stars. They can order, say, a peanut butter, yogurt, and banana refreshment from the in-room menu, then receive a canine-specific spa treatment (an ear, head, and snout massage, for instance, or a paw massage with organic, edible foot salve). Houses start at $760, plus $50 a night for each pet (includes bowls, treats, toys, collars, and dog bags)
Rover.com
Can鈥檛 bring your dogs along? You can always either board them or book your favorite听petsitter. If you don鈥檛 know any sitters in your area, check out听鈥攁n online hub for connecting dog owners with sitters across the U.S. In the world of smart online startups, this one tops our list of favorites. Sift through sitters鈥 profiles, rankings, and reviews, then check out their certifications: they receive 鈥渂adges鈥 for volunteering at humane societies, responding quickly, willingness to do last-minute stays, and subscribing to the site鈥檚 protection package (which includes a 24-hour ask-a-vet service), among other things. All arrangements set up through Rover.com are covered by the site鈥檚 pet insurance for emergency vet bills up to $25,000. In addition, if a sitter backs out at the last minute, Rover.com guarantees a backup.