Bryce/Zion with dogs...

PS - the Deer inside Zion are very cheeky. I had one deer-momma from a family of 4 stalk me for a bit while I was walking our one dog inside the campground. Since my dog was fairly close in color to the deer, I wondered if she thought I'd absconded with someone else's baby.

The buck from that group departed through our campsite and bounded right by my napping wife, giving her a thrill.

I live fairly close to Zion and do multiple day trips each year. Pa'rus was being worked on a lot last year and that eliminated some of our enjoyment with the pups.

We stayed in Watchman for the first time with our TT in November and naturally ALL the campgrounds are dog-friendly for walking polite dogs. We had no problem creating multi-mile routes for ourselves.

You can also carry your pass and walk out of the park and into the town of Springdale, where you will find multiple restaurants which allow dogs on the patio dining areas (one even had us walk ours through the restaurant to get to the patio).

We haven't gone to Bryce yet with the dogs, but I second the suggestion for Ruby's - just ask to be put in the area with more trees if the weather might be warm.

Also remember that a lot of Utah that is not National Park land is BLM land which is almost always very dog friendly.

Here in the western states most NP's (maybe all - and we have been to the majority of them) do not allow dogs off paved areas and sometimes paved trails. Main reason is wildlife issues and potential interaction.

MARKW8 wrote:

KarenS144 wrote:
National Parks do not allow dogs on trails or anywhere other than paved areas & campgrounds. National Forests aren't as strict and state parks have the most lenient rules.

We do leave our dogs occasionally but not for long. At Zion, you have to take shuttles to see the park and of course, dogs can't go. We camped in the park at Watchman and fortunately had good shade & comfortable weather so left the furry ones for a couple of hours while we took the shuttles around. We made a trip back to check on them then caught the shuttle again.

I've not had any luck finding kennels that I would leave ours in.

This isn't completely true but not far off. We live close too, and I volunteer at, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. I don't know of anywhere except buildings, that you can't take dogs there.

Mark

Shenandoah NP, also, there are some trails they're not allowed on, but there are 500 miles of trail that they Are allowed on, I know it's different in many parks out west, where grizzlies, Lions, wolves, & coyotes like to make snacks out of them.

KarenS144 wrote:
National Parks do not allow dogs on trails or anywhere other than paved areas & campgrounds. National Forests aren't as strict and state parks have the most lenient rules.

We do leave our dogs occasionally but not for long. At Zion, you have to take shuttles to see the park and of course, dogs can't go. We camped in the park at Watchman and fortunately had good shade & comfortable weather so left the furry ones for a couple of hours while we took the shuttles around. We made a trip back to check on them then caught the shuttle again.

I've not had any luck finding kennels that I would leave ours in.

This isn't completely true but not far off. We live close too, and I volunteer at, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. I don't know of anywhere except buildings, that you can't take dogs there.

Mark

National Parks do not allow dogs on trails or anywhere other than paved areas & campgrounds. National Forests aren't as strict and state parks have the most lenient rules.

We do leave our dogs occasionally but not for long. At Zion, you have to take shuttles to see the park and of course, dogs can't go. We camped in the park at Watchman and fortunately had good shade & comfortable weather so left the furry ones for a couple of hours while we took the shuttles around. We made a trip back to check on them then caught the shuttle again.

I've not had any luck finding kennels that I would leave ours in.

You might try calling Ruby's RV which is just outside Bryce. It's a huge complex with a motel, restaurants, RV repair, etc. so they might have a kennel.

Thanks for the update. I saw the reference to the first, but it seems likely that they are out of business.

Any general recommendations for campgrounds? Kodachrome might be close to first choice, but it's not available for the length of our stay in May, so private ones may have to be next on the list.

To my knowledge, the only trail in Zion that allows dogs is the Pa'rus trail. At Bryce, they are allowed on the paved trails & the Rim Trail between Sunset & Sunrise Points.. Both require leashes...

According to the Brice website, "The nearest kennel to Bryce Canyon is located in Panguitch, approximately 30 miles northwest. Contact for PawzDogz at 435-691-3696."

The Doggy Dude Ranch in Rockville is listed as the closest to Zion.

I haven't used either so no idea on the quality...