Explorer Dog! Day Hikes

Washington abounds with places to hike with your dog. Regional trails in larger county or state parks that are more akin to hiking than park picnicking are covered here as well.

OFF-LEASH DAY HIKES

Annette Lake (Snoqualmie, WA)
Boulder River (Darrington, WA)
See also Sammamish River Trail regional trail
White River Trail (Greenwater, WA)

ON-LEASH DAY HIKES

Beaver Plant Lake, Ashland Lakes Complex (Granite Falls, WA)
Big Four Mountain snowshoeing (Granite Falls, WA)
Blanca Lake (Index, WA)
Camano Island State Park (30mi north of Seattle) - Link
Cougar Mountain Regional Wildlands Park: Anti-Aircraft trail (Bellevue/Newcastle/Issaquah)
Cougar Mountain Regional Wildlands Park: Red Town/Coal Creek (Bellevue/Newcastle/Issaquah)
Cowiche Canyon Trail (Yakima, WA)
French Creek (Darrington, WA)
Heather Lake (Granite Falls, WA)
Padilla Bay National Estuary (Burlington, WA)
Twin Falls State Park (near North Bend, WA)
Wallace Falls (Gold Bar, WA) - Link

REGIONAL TRAILS

Burke-Gilman/Sammamish River Trail (Fremont to Bothell, 27 miles) - Link
Cedar River Trail (Renton, 16 miles) - Link [Lake Wilderness Park]
Interurban/Green River Trail (Kent, Tukwila, Auburn, 14/12 miles) - Link [Fort Dent Park]
Lake Youngs Trail (Renton, 9 miles) - Link [Soos Creek Trail, Petrovitsky Park]
Sammamish River Trail (Fremont to Bothell, 27 miles)
Snoqualmie Valley Trail (Snoqualmie, 36 miles)
Soos Creek Trail (Renton, Kent, 4 miles) - Link [Lake Youngs Trail])
Tolt Pipeline Trail (Bothell)

DROOPY'S TO-DO LIST

Seattle PI NW Outdoors - A terrific listing of hikes but not sorted by dog-friendliness
Chambers Creek Park trail (Steilacoom) - Link
Edith Moulton Park trail (Kirkland) - Link
Federation Forest State Park trail (east of Enumclaw) - Link1 - Link2
Hovander Homestead Park trail (Ferndale/Whatcom County) - Link
Illahee State Park trail (Bremerton) - Link
Juanita Bay Wetlands trail (Kirkland) - Link
Kubota Garden trail (Rainier Beach,Seattle) - Link
Lake Cushman State Park trail (west of Hoodsport) - Link1 - Link2
Lakes Hills Greenbelt trail (Bellevue) - Link
McCollum Pioneer Park trail (Everett) - Link
McLane Creek nature trail (Olympia) - Link
Pacific Crest Trail - north of Snoqualmie
Potlatch State Park trail (Hood Canal/Mason County) - Link
Rasar State Park trail (Concrete) - Link
Rattlesnake Lake Trail (North Bend) - Link
Rockport State Park trail (Skagit County) - Link
Snoqualmie Falls Trail (Snoqualmie) - Link
Snoqualmie train tunnel - Link - I don't know if they allow dogs or not (or even if dogs would like it) but this sounds cool
Tennant Lake Wetlands trail (Ferndale/Whatcom County) - Link
Tiger Mountain (just outside Issaquah) - Seattle PI's Hike of the Week, 4/3/03

Other Activities

Ewe-topia Sheep Herding
The Skagit Valley Annual Tulip Festival is no longer a good place to take dogs. They are specifically not allowed in Tuliptown and Rozengaarde to name a few. You could take your dog up to take a few pictures at some of the fields, but plan for a short outing; don't leave your poor dog stranded in the car for a whole day.

See Also:

Richard's list of northwest hiking links
Camping with your dog (with references to: Terri Watson's Camping and Backpacking FAQ)

FAQ

These links take you to the NPS and NFS websites. They are truly remarkable, complete resources.

National Forests - USDA's National Forest Service listing of national forests in Washington State. Or view their directory of all national forests. The National Forests are much more dog-friendly than the National Parks. They tend to be less 'touristy' areas (i.e., no national monuments and stuff) with lots of trailheads. This makes them more remote, and more ideal for dogs.
National Parks - National Park Service's stations located in Washington State. The National Parks are notoriously unfriendly to dogs, with very limited pet access in many of these parks, e.g., Mt. Rainier. Check section details for where and when pets are allowed.

7/03