[GrahamandMary]

Hi

My wife is recovering from an illness and I would love to arrange a vacation for her and the dogs for a week or so at the end of June.

The ideal would be somewhere where we can run the dogs on the beach, off leash. We are in New York and we are happy to drive for a day or two up or down the east coast to find such a place but from what I can find on the internet this is not possible. Does anyone know somewhere that would fit the bill?

Thanks

Graham

[Max'sHuman]

During tourist season finding beaches that allow dogs off-leash is going to be very hard IMO. So my question is, what's wrong with taking them to a beach on their leashes? I guess that's not totally relevant to your inquiry, but the thing is, having a dog off-leash on a popular beach is just generally not safe. The only hope I'd think you'd have is a really, really small beach somewhere off the beaten path. Rhode Island or some more northern states where the water is a bit cold for the majority of your family vacationers might work.

[FriendsOfZoe]

Why not a lake? There are some beautiful lakes up in NH, Maine, heck even in MA...maybe not the really big ones (Winnipesaukee) but lots of others have no rules about dogs. I would look to rent a lake front property.

You will run into trouble finding beaches in New England in the summer...unless you rent somewhere with a private beach that doesn't mind you bringing the dogs. But the vast majority of New England is private beaches and the public ones usually don't allow dogs at all in the summer, nevermind off leash.

Lake water is nicer to swim in anyway--no salt.

[GrahamandMary]

Originally Posted by Max'sHuman

During tourist season finding beaches that allow dogs off-leash is going to be very hard IMO. So my question is, what's wrong with taking them to a beach on their leashes? I guess that's not totally relevant to your inquiry, but the thing is, having a dog off-leash on a popular beach is just generally not safe. The only hope I'd think you'd have is a really, really small beach somewhere off the beaten path. Rhode Island or some more northern states where the water is a bit cold for the majority of your family vacationers might work.

The only problem with the leashes is that I cannot run as fast as they can!

We live in NY and they rarely get off leash. It is a huge pleasure to see them tearing up and down at full pelt, I think they enjoy it too

However I do understand why they are generally not allowed on beaches in the Summer.

Originally Posted by FriendsOfZoe

Why not a lake? There are some beautiful lakes up in NH, Maine, heck even in MA...maybe not the really big ones (Winnipesaukee) but lots of others have no rules about dogs. I would look to rent a lake front property.

You will run into trouble finding beaches in New England in the summer...unless you rent somewhere with a private beach that doesn't mind you bringing the dogs. But the vast majority of New England is private beaches and the public ones usually don't allow dogs at all in the summer, nevermind off leash.

Lake water is nicer to swim in anyway--no salt.

Your lake idea may be the answer. I will do a bit of research.

[dog-man]

i live in New York, and take Oinest to the beaches off-leash from April 1 to October 1.

after that, the rules are very strict.

i went for a week to "dog" hotels...these are bed and breakfasts that cater exclusively to people with dogs.

We had a very good time, and Oinest did too.

they both had a large fenced-in area for the dogs to play.
they only allow friendly dogs...it was alot of labs and retreivers, plus an assortment of small dogs that did just fine.

for when you want to go out without them, they have their own clean kennel.

it is more expensive than just going to a dog friendly place, that doesn't have all the doggie amenities, but if your wife is recovering, these extras might be what you need.

these places are about $120 - $160 a night (i think), whereas a plain dog friendly place (like where we went in Maine) can be about $80.

there is LAZY DOG INN in New Hampshire.
my wife was very impressed at how nice they keep the rooms...it was very charming.
the owners are friendly and good cooks.
we went swimming in a beautiful lake about 1 mile away, with Oinest.
nice National Forest nearby to walk in, too, that doesn't have to be too
strenuous.

then there is THE PAW HOUSE in Vermont.
also a good place with nice owners.
we had a bigger room, and the grounds were larger.
rooms were good enough for us, but a step down from LAZY DOG.
there were lakes and forest, too, but further away.
we were willing to make the longer ride.

both have websites.

if your wife is not well, i think LAZY dog might be better.

the grounds disappointed us a little when we first drove up, but it turned out to be nicer than our initial impression.

i never went to it, but there is also RESTFUL PAWS in Massachussetts.

hope that helps.

[Macky]

In the fall we go to North Carolina. A town called Surf City. We stayed at a wonderful 2 bedroom house a block from the beach. The house is called "Aqua Paws". Very, very dog friendly with a nice fenced in yard. Off season the house is pretty inexpensive. It has a wonderful deck that leads down steps to the fenced in yard. As far as off leash on the beach (the dogs need to be leashed) but when there is no one around I let him off leash and the one or two fishermen on the beach didn't complain. I had a great time watching my dog run and splash in the water (leashed with retractable leash in the water, didn't want to lose him there!) My favorite thing to do on the beach is finding shark teeth, lots of them. It is the most wonderful relaxing vacation. 20 miles south is Wilmington for entertainment.

[Elana55]

I found a place that I am renting in Maine at this site:

http://www.petfriendlytravel.com/

The house I will be staying in allows up to two dogs and you do need to crate if you leave them alone in the house at all.

There are places in MA on Cape Cod but finding an off leash beach in season is pretty difficult.

Good Luck!

BTW how many dogs are you talking about? That can make a difference.

[GrahamandMary]

Originally Posted by Elana55

BTW how many dogs are you talking about? That can make a difference.

We have two cavalier king charles. They are not normally this muddy.

Graham

[GrahamandMary]

Originally Posted by Macky

In the fall we go to North Carolina. A town called Surf City. We stayed at a wonderful 2 bedroom house a block from the beach. The house is called "Aqua Paws". Very, very dog friendly with a nice fenced in yard. Off season the house is pretty inexpensive. It has a wonderful deck that leads down steps to the fenced in yard. As far as off leash on the beach (the dogs need to be leashed) but when there is no one around I let him off leash and the one or two fishermen on the beach didn't complain. I had a great time watching my dog run and splash in the water (leashed with retractable leash in the water, didn't want to lose him there!) My favorite thing to do on the beach is finding shark teeth, lots of them. It is the most wonderful relaxing vacation. 20 miles south is Wilmington for entertainment.

This sounds promising. Thank you.

I was wondering about somewhere that is officially leash only but is deserted enough to get away with it, especially very early in the morning.

Originally Posted by dog-man

i live in New York, and take Oinest to the beaches off-leash from April 1 to October 1.

after that, the rules are very strict.

i went for a week to "dog" hotels...these are bed and breakfasts that cater exclusively to people with dogs.

We had a very good time, and Oinest did too.

they both had a large fenced-in area for the dogs to play.
they only allow friendly dogs...it was alot of labs and retreivers, plus an assortment of small dogs that did just fine.

for when you want to go out without them, they have their own clean kennel.

it is more expensive than just going to a dog friendly place, that doesn't have all the doggie amenities, but if your wife is recovering, these extras might be what you need.

these places are about $120 - $160 a night (i think), whereas a plain dog friendly place (like where we went in Maine) can be about $80.

there is LAZY DOG INN in New Hampshire.
my wife was very impressed at how nice they keep the rooms...it was very charming.
the owners are friendly and good cooks.
we went swimming in a beautiful lake about 1 mile away, with Oinest.
nice National Forest nearby to walk in, too, that doesn't have to be too
strenuous.

then there is THE PAW HOUSE in Vermont.
also a good place with nice owners.
we had a bigger room, and the grounds were larger.
rooms were good enough for us, but a step down from LAZY DOG.
there were lakes and forest, too, but further away.
we were willing to make the longer ride.

both have websites.

if your wife is not well, i think LAZY dog might be better.

the grounds disappointed us a little when we first drove up, but it turned out to be nicer than our initial impression.

i never went to it, but there is also RESTFUL PAWS in Massachussetts.

hope that helps.

This could fit the bill too. Thanks

Graham

[Macky]

Graham, Where we go in NC is definitely on leash but I would get up to see the sunrise, take my dog and there is no one but a couple of fishermen out. That's when I set him free. No one has bothered us about it. It is pretty relaxed there because it's more remote. Now again this is at the end of September when most vacationers are gone. I'm not sure how crowded it gets at the end of June. That is more like peak season.

I don't know much about a place called "Camp Gone to the Dogs" I think is in Vermont somewhere. You can google it. It's a place where you vacation with your dog and there are many events that include you and your dog. Sounds fun to me!

[GrahamandMary]

Just an update to this thread.

Well we did find somewhere and the dogs have been having a great time charging up and down the beach all week.

We went to Cape Cod. Most of it is protected national seashore where you can only walk a dog on the beach with a leash and even then only before 9am and after 6pm BUT there is a portion that is not national seashore between Provincetown and Truro that is private beach. When I called the owner of a rental place there she said we could let them run free on this beach, I did not quite believe it but it is true. We rented a place just off the beach with steps down to the sand and let them run anytime of day with no problems at all. There are not many people around even during July, it was a great holiday.

Graham

[Renoman]

Originally Posted by Elana55

I found a place that I am renting in Maine at this site:

http://www.petfriendlytravel.com/

The house I will be staying in allows up to two dogs and you do need to crate if you leave them alone in the house at all.

There are places in MA on Cape Cod but finding an off leash beach in season is pretty difficult.

Good Luck!

BTW how many dogs are you talking about? That can make a difference.

Even trying to find a rental on Cape Cod at this time of year would be difficult. Most places are booked far in advance. If you did happen to find one it would probably cost you an incredible amount of money. Besides, for my money, the Cape in the summer is not relaxing or enjoyable. Getting anywhere is very stressful (I lived there for many years). Wall to wall people, traffic jams and the beaches are so crowded you probably couldn't get close to them anyway - blech!

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have some beautiful areas on the water that would be much more relaxing and peaceful.

[GrahamandMary]

Originally Posted by Renoman

Even trying to find a rental on Cape Cod at this time of year would be difficult. Most places are booked far in advance. If you did happen to find one it would probably cost you an incredible amount of money. Besides, for my money, the Cape in the summer is not relaxing or enjoyable. Getting anywhere is very stressful (I lived there for many years). Wall to wall people, traffic jams and the beaches are so crowded you probably couldn't get close to them anyway - blech!

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have some beautiful areas on the water that would be much more relaxing and peaceful.

Oh well all to his own! I enjoyed it.
Booked it in June, didn't have any traffic trouble with loads of room on the beach and found it wonderfully quiet and relaxing but there again I do live in NYC so most places seem that way to me.

Graham

[ACampbell]

That makes me ask what about the great lakes, Ontario and Champlain? I'm about 30 minutes from Lake Ontario and about 2-3 hours from Lake Champlain...any know if there's area's that allow you to run amok with kids and dogs?