Despite being the capital of my home country, and less than a day’s drive from home, I’d never made the time to really explore Washington DC until recently.
Accompanied by @miniaussiegoose and his mom, we needed to make sure that we focused on dog friendly excursions. Feel free to take a peek at our dog-friendly DC itinerary!
Please keep in mind that dogs must be kept on a leash no longer than 6-feet long in the majority of these locations.
Hotel
First, and most importantly- we had to find a place to stay.
Nearly all IHG hotels are pet-friendly, so we stayed at Kimpton Hotel Monaco. The hotel was once a post office, and little touches of this can be seen throughout the property- particularly in the shape of the rooms and some of the smaller details. These days, the hotel has a pretty eclectic collection of decor, so it’s fun to see the combination of classic and modern.
When we entered our room, we were greeted by a cute little dog bed and bowls for food and water. While they typically have dog-sitting available, it had been cancelled for Covid related reasons (we were visiting in 2021), so Goose ended up being our constant companion.
National Mall
The National Mall is an easy place to start getting used to being in a new city. The long grassy park makes for a nice stroll, and there are several major landmarks to admire along the way.
We started our walk at the Washington Monument. The towering obelisk is as iconic as the White House in the landscape of the city and it’s a great way to orient yourself in the area.
From here, we walked down to the World War II Memorial, which features a water fountain amongst its stone columns. I’m not sure that people are really intended to wade in this, but Goose took his cue from the splashing children and took the opportunity to cool off in the water.
Just a few steps down, the Reflecting Pool is something that I definitely would not find myself jumping into. The long narrow pool is pretty stagnate- which is how you get all of the aforementioned reflections, but it does seem like a breeding ground for mosquitoes, though the local ducks seem to enjoy it.
Book-ending the other side of the Reflecting Pool, the Lincoln Memorial has a lot more stairs than I was expecting. Poor Goose had a hard time figuring them out and had to be carried back down.
Most of the steps are worn smooth with the footsteps of thousands of visitors so make sure to walk carefully! I saw more than a few people slip here in the short time I was visiting.
Much like there were more stairs that I thought, the Lincoln Memorial was huge. The statue of Lincoln himself is 19 feet tall! There’s really something to be said for perspective- everything was so equally big that I was under the impression that they were normal sized!
Goose wasn’t allowed in the interior of the monument, and he was a little overwhelmed by the crowds, so we headed to the nearby lawn to have a little mini-Aussie meet up!
The two dogs tired themselves out, but luckily there are several public water fountains located along the mall to provide water for both people and animals.
Dacha Beer Garden
Dacha Beer Garden is not only dog friendly, it’s got a whole dog-specific menu! They’ve even got a dog “beer” made with dog friendly flavors. We also got some dog treats that were presented in a beer glass that Goose seemed to love.
The human beer was good too, and it was a great place to have a little boozy brunch to start our day. The venue was open air, but there were umbrellas and fans to help beat the heat. Maybe double check the weather before heading over, though!
Paddleboarding
Possibly the coolest thing we did in DC, The Warf Boathouse offers dog friendly Stand Up Paddleboard rentals. Dogs and humans alike do need to wear life preservers so make sure your pup is comfortable with that before booking.
I’d never paddle boarded before and I have to say I was not good at it. The fact that I absolutely did not want to fall in the Potomac River was not helping, but luckily I was able to swap to a kayak halfway through my rental period and had a lot more fun.
Waterproof pouches are not provided, but I was able to store my phone with the staff member who took our money- I figured he seemed trustworthy, and I did get my phone back in the end, but I doubt that is a common allowance, so plan ahead!
Meanwhile Goose was doing everything he could to jump right into the river, so that definitely added an extra challenge, but overall we all had a great time.
Tidal Basin
This lovely flat concrete trail around the Tidal Basin takes about an hour to fully walk around. You’ve probably seen endless photos of this place during cherry blossom season since this is where the prettiest cherry trees are located.
There are several memorials along this trail to stop and admire, but my favorite was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Be aware that there is no railing to separate the trail from the basin so keep and eye on your pup here!
About the Museums
Washington DC is known for its plethora of beautiful museums, but unfortunately none of them are dog friendly (except for service animals)! They are really excellent, though, so if that dog-sitting service is back up and running, definitely try to arrange a visit to any one of them!
If you’d like to see more adventures with Goose, click here!
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