Doggin'
The Tidewater: Best of the Best
As the temperatures drop, you may notice
your dog getting friskier. Autumn is the best time of year to
get out and exercise with your dog on Tidewater trails. The Tidewater
can be a great place to hike with your dog. Paw-friendly sand
trails, shady maritime forests, some of the most historic grounds
in America, the estates of Virginia's wealthiest families and
some of the country's dog-friendliest beaches all beckon to your
canine adventurer.
BEST PLACE FOR YOUR DOG TO SWIM: Kiptopeke State Park. Concrete
ships placed offshore from the sandy beach keep Chesapeake Bay
waves gentle and appealing to even the most leery canine swimmer.
BEST ONE-HOUR WORKOUT FOR YOUR DOG: Waller Mill Park. The sporty
Lookout Tower Trail dishes out plenty of ups and downs as it
loops a picturesque peninsula.
PRETTIEST HIKE FOR YOUR DOG: Mariner's Museum. Your dog will
cross 14 bridges on the Noland Trail that is more garden stroll
that forest hike. The park features every species of fern native
to Virginia on the grounds.
BEST BEACH TO HIKE WITH YOUR DOG: Hughlett Point Natural Area.
The stretch of Chesapeak Bay beach here will have your dog thinking
she just landed on Tom Hanks' deserted island in Cast Away.
BEST HALF-HOUR HIKE WITH YOUR DOG: Chesapeake Arboretum. Your
dog will find easy going on flat, soft dirt and wood chips on
these short, interlocking trails. A half-hour won't be enough
time to locate the more than 100 identified species of trees
and bushes here.
MOST HISTORIC HIKE WITH YOUR DOG: Greensprings Greenway. In a
region where every trail is historic, this loop stuffs so many
interpretive signs into its two miles your dog will be able to
pass History 101 after a hike. The trail itself skirts perhaps
the oldest continuously cultivated farm in British North America.
BEST OPEN-FIELD HIKING WITH YOUR DOG: Belle Isle State Park.
The 1.2-mile Neck Fields Trail that meanders through open pastures
and fields beside the Rappahannock River covers cropland that
has been farmed for over 300 years.
BEST PLACE TO CIRCLE A LAKE WITH YOUR DOG: Oak Grove Lake. It's
not a mountain lake but this circumnavigation delivers more than
you expect from a lake created as a borrow pit for highway construction.
BEST PLACE TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE WOODS WITH YOUR DOG: Beaverdam
Park. Given just a slender band of land along the Beaverdam Reservoir,
park officials have nonetheless created one of the Tidewater's
best trail systems for any level of canine hiker.
Find out about these and other destinations for your dog in DOGGIN'
THE TIDEWATER:THE 33 BEST PLACES TO HIKE WITH YOUR DOG FROM THE
NORTHERN NECK TO VIRGINIA BEACH, $9.95. So what are you waiting
for? Your dog will want to find the rare tiger beetle (page 23),
hike past one of Virginia's two natural lakes (page 55), chance
to see a Sasquatch? (page 21)...
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