Dog-Friendly Traveling in Washington, DC

Washington, DC, America’s capital, is famous internationally as a tourist attraction both for Americans and international travelers. Because it’s such a popular destination, you can easily see a lot of the city with your dog.

Dog-Friendly Tours:

You can go on the Capital River Cruises, a one-hour tour that sails through most of the major attractions downtown, such as Roosevelt Island, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

If you want control over your boat tour, you can rent one from Fletcher’s Boat House and sail along the Potomac River. This boat house is located between the Chain and Key Bridges, and has been around since the 1850s. It is very pretty along the River around April, when the Cherry Blossoms are in season.

Leashed dogs are allowed at the FDR Memorial, an outdoor park full of many monuments and fountains.dog-dc There’s a statue of FDR and his dog that you and your dog can pose by!

Many of the standard sites are in the National Mall, and you can walk your dog along there by leash. They can go around all attractions not in indoor or covered areas. This gives you a chance to get excellent views and pictures of the Capital, White House and many monuments.

Doggie Happy Hour at the Helix, at the Hotel Helix, is offered every Wednesday from 5 to 8 on the patio. Humans are offered a menu and dogs are treated to snacks and water. A portion of the money goes to the Washington Humane Society.

Great Parks for Dogs:

The C & O Canal Towpath takes up 184 miles of paths, and goes from Georgetown in Washington to Cumerland, Maryland. Dogs have to be national-monumentleashed on the towpath. It often holds events, depending on when you are there.

The National Arboretum allows dogs on leashes, in which there are miles of beautiful trees and gardens.

Rock Creek Park is a large city park and dogs are allowed on leash. It extends from Washington into Maryland, and there are many trails and picnic areas along the creek.

Outdoor Dog-Friendly Restaurants:

Mexican restaurant Guapos Mexican and Cantina serves cocktails and Tex-Mex selections.

Bangkok Bistro serves Thai cuisine, sushi and desserts. Dogs may sit at the outdoor tables, and the staff will give them water.

Paper Moon is in the heart of historic Georgetown, and serves Italian food and Brunch.

Emergency Veterinarian:

The Friendship Hospital for Animals is open at all hours, all days, and offers urgent care services.

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One thought on “Dog-Friendly Traveling in Washington, DC

  1. Following this lead, we visited Paper Moon with our Labrador dog. Outdoor actually means the sidewalk, and anyone can do that, as the sidewalk is public. It happens that in the afternoon the sun hits hard in the sidewalk and we asked for a table that was just on the edge inside – open to the sidewalk; our dog could be there on the corner, practically the same as outside. But to our surprise, a big NO from management (after a friendly yes from the sympathetic young waiter). We had no choice to walk out, a family of four, with the bitter taste in our mouths. Manager was there, and no word, no sorrys, no apologies. They acted like they couldn’t care less…