National park touring with dogs?

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RoxieRV

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Joined
May 11, 2017
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Hey y'all!

I just bought my first RV. I'm setting out in the road with my two large dogs in a couple months. One of my goals is to see as much national park land as possible, but my research is showing me that many parks have quite restrictive pet policies. Just wondering what you all do to mitigate that, and see as much as you can while keeping your pets and the park rangers happy!
 
There are only a few trails in the National Park system that allow dogs. You will need to stay in parks with full hookups. Only a handful of parks have full hookups (Zion, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone). However most all of them have commercial parks close by with full hookups.
 
If your dogs don't bark when you are away, you can leave them in your RV while you hike (using AC if needed - that's what Tom meant about having hookups). A lot of dogs do bark when left in RVs though. If yours do. then you have a choice about finding a kennel (there are some nearby to many parks) or resign yourself to visiting areas that allow dogs. That means you will miss the National Parks and many state parks.
 
I have the same issue, what we have done so far is stay at RV parks that are near the National Parks. It is not as convenient at the end of the day, but they are usually easy to find and often have amenities that you might enjoy that the state or national parks do not. Like pools, nicer laundry areas and bath houses.
I was quite disappointed when I found out this info as well, but I will always have dogs! Good luck! And please share your experience as well.
 
We're out traveling with two dogs, and are just finishing the national park portion of our trip having seen Zion, Bryce, Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. It is very disappointing the approach the national parks have taken, begrudgingly allowing visitors to keep their pets only in their rigs or walk on the roads. Bryce was the exception, allowing dogs on portions of the Rim Trail which is a nice walk. Our dogs are recent rescues with some separation anxiety so we can't leave them in the coach for more than 2-3 hours so it's put a damper on activities such as hiking and biking.


We anticipate that as our dogs are able to spend more time alone we'll be less constrained by areas that don't allow pets but it's definitely an issue now.
 
You do know that the reason dogs are not allowed on most National Park trails is that dogs and wildlife don't mix don't you? Even a lovely, quiet dog will act as a challenge to other animals, just the nature of animals. That is in addition to the nasty dog owners (yes, a minority) that leave feces all over.
 
We travel with our two dogs and we just find ways to work around the restrictions.  For example our dog breed only bark to alert and are not nuisance barkers, so we are comfortable leaving them in the rig, I believe all the parks, at least the ones we have visited allow dogs on the paved areas, so we use those areas and in other cases we have split up, one taking the dogs, while the other hikes or go into the visitors center. 
 
UTTransplant said:
You do know that the reason dogs are not allowed on most National Park trails is that dogs and wildlife don't mix don't you? Even a lovely, quiet dog will act as a challenge to other animals, just the nature of animals. That is in addition to the nasty dog owners (yes, a minority) that leave feces all over.
Click to expand...

So who picks up after the bears, pumas, deer, coyotes, etc? :) :)
 
UTTransplant said:
You do know that the reason dogs are not allowed on most National Park trails is that dogs and wildlife don't mix don't you? Even a lovely, quiet dog will act as a challenge to other animals, just the nature of animals.
Click to expand...


Yup, totally aware of that and understand. However Bryce has addressed this (no dogs "below the rim") and there are numerous areas we have seen where accommodations could be made but aren't (for example, trails near the visitor center here in Glacier).
 
BruceinFL said:
So who picks up after the bears, pumas, deer, coyotes, etc? :) :)
Click to expand...
;D ;D That is supposed to be part of the overall experience.

UTTransplant, Thank you for the wildlife explanation, I did not know that.
 
BruceinFL said:
So who picks up after the bears, pumas, deer, coyotes, etc? :) :)
Click to expand...
They live there; the dogs don't.

BTW folks, we have had dogs much of our married life, and we just took "guardianship" of one of our grand dogs until my son gets some housing issues settled. We know we can't take her some places, and we adjust our travel plans appropriately.
 
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