Best Hiking Vacations With Dogs – All Guides Walking People Working Backpacking Backpacking Cycling Rafting Canoeing Fishing Gear & Women’s Outerwear
How to: Expert advice and skills How to choose equipment Learn outdoor skills How to travel Cleaning, repair and maintenance En Español
Best Hiking Vacations With Dogs
All Reviews Gear Outdoor Shoes Outerwear Hiking & Mountaineering Mountaineering MTB, Cycling & Bike Touring Camping Running GPS & Electronics Water Sports Sun Protection Skiing & Snow Climbing Fitness & Nutrition Gear
Dog Friendly Hikes Near Denver — Adventures Of Alice Bug
All gear lists Crew picks Backpacking and hiking gear lists Running gear lists Ski and snow gear lists
Our values Our people Why you can trust us How to support us Featured in news Unity Tools Feedback Contact us
Calvin is one of five hiking dog testers tasked with hiking trails from Colorado to Michigan to Alaska in search of the best dog backpacks.
With a dog backpack, your pet can carry his own food, toys, hydration bottle and poop bag. We explain how easy it is to put on a dog backpack, how much weight your dog can carry in a backpack and how to choose a dog backpack for your pet.
Top Dog Friendly Vacation Travel Destinations
After researching dog travel bags and analyzing hundreds of expert and customer reviews, we’ve reviewed the most popular dog bags to find the best pack for traveling with your dog.
This story is not about the category of equipment known as “dog carrier”, “pet carrier”, “dog backpack carrier” or “dog backpack” (where the person carries the dog, a K9-style sports bag).
We create reader-supported, objective gear reviews independently selected by our editors. This story may contain affiliate links, which help fund our site. When you click on a link to purchase equipment, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work and our mission of outdoor coverage for every body!
Our best dog backpack, the Ruffwear Approach pack, is the most popular dog backpack we’ve found. In our tests, it was comfortable and easy to use with dogs of all sizes.
Dog Friendly Hikes And Breweries In Minnesota
We tested the Ruffwear Approach pack with three dogs of different shapes and sizes on hiking trails in five different countries (and vastly different climates):
• Metal V-ring to fasten your dog’s leash between the shoulders (see Champ pack photo above)
• Total volume of 24 liters in L/XL (which is big enough to fit a dog sleeping bag in one saddlebag!). Backpacking magazine testers were able to “fit in two liters of water, a collapsible bowl, nearly two pounds of snacks, his hiking boots and a stuffed toy.”
Outdoor media also likes the Ruffwear Approach pack. Backpacking Magazine wrote, “This pack has more than enough room to carry everything our dog needs for a long hike,” said one tester after a day of hiking on the trails above Golden, Colorado. The 420 denier nylon handles rocks and brush with ease, and the padding keeps the dog comfortable the whole way.”
Dog Friendly Hikes Red River Gorge Kentucky
Boxer Axel has a square body, but the attitude suits him! He (and we) love the padded chest strap. Opting for an orange chest strap also helps with visibility.
Along with our tests, here are some of our favorite quotes from customer reviews telling us they discovered Motherlode:
Customer and external media reviewers also rate it as the best, rated 4.7/5 on Amazon, 4.3/5 by REI, Backpacker’s Mention #1 and 4.7/5 by Adventure Junkies.
Very few people have anything negative to say about that approach, as this dog carrier has been on the market for years and has gone through many updates and iterations to perfect its design.
Joshua Tree Dog Friendly Hikes For A Mini Vacation
Some of the negative comments we found were related to the difficulty of getting the dog to the right size, or the lack of water resistance. (The material is 420 denier waterproof nylon. Don’t submerge your dog, but he’ll handle puddles with ease!)
Perhaps most disappointing is the price—at $100, it’s not the cheapest package for pets. Interestingly, we’ve actually seen the MSRP on this bundle drop by $10 in the past year: from $110 in 2023 to $100 this year. But the Access is consistently praised as the best quality dog backpack we’ve reviewed. We think it’s worth it.
At half the price of its main competitor, the Mountainsmith K-9 Pack is one of the best quality dog backpacks at the best price we’ve found. The Mountainsmith K-9 Pack is our pick for the best everyday pack for dogs and the best budget dog pack. It’s 12 liters — about half the size of most other packs we’ve tested — making it a good choice for short trips with your pet.
The Mountainsmith K-9 features a padded chest strap, air mesh ventilation, reflective trim along the edges of the bag, an integrated harness (so no need to buy a separate harness!) and two expandable pockets, with two smaller inner pockets. This pack is great because you don’t have to buy anything else – and you can give your dog a break by removing the bag. It’s a 2-in-1 killer. K-9 dog packs are available in small, medium and large sizes.
Plan A Dog Friendly Trip To The Sunshine Coast
The Mountainsmith K-9 Pack is rated 4.5/5 by Amazon reviewers, 4.7/5 by Adventure Junkies and 4.3/5 by Backcountry.com. Visitors beamed with praise from four-legged visitors and their humans.
The Mountainsmith K-9 pack was hailed as “the most correctly modeled dog pack Mountainsmith has ever offered, thanks to design input from service dog vets,” in an earlier version of this story by REI.
Shopping for dog backpacks is just like shopping online for humans – sometimes what you order isn’t designed for your dog’s body type. In the world of dog packs, this can happen with non-standard body shapes (again, we’re talking Great Dane or Bulldog shapes here), and the Ruffwear Palisades Pack is the best backpack for dogs with special builds, as well as ours.
Like the Ruffwear Approach pack we recommended as our overall winner above, the Palisades are 24L, so there’s plenty of volume for multiple outings with your pet.
Hiking With Dogs
The best feature of the Ruffwear Palisades is the removable saddle bag. With the mini buckle released, any detachable saddle bag can be detached from the harness, allowing Duke to relax without his load weighing him down. (Note, some reviewers mentioned frustration with the difficulty of attaching and detaching mini clips, but we think the system will be a game changer once you get the hang of it).
This pack contains a 12L suitcase (24L total) with six pockets, two main pockets and four smaller pockets or pockets available in small, medium, large and extra large.
On the Palisades, the Y chest strap and belly strap are padded, with additional padding along the spine and shoulder strap (without interfering with the dog collar). The bag also has compression straps, allowing you to close the excess to prevent smaller loads from tipping over on Duke’s back.
Bonus: Each pack comes with two 1 liter collapsible water jugs that fit into the saddle bag. Not only is it more suitable for dogs with special builds, but it also works better for overnight backpacking trips where dogs will want a more comfortable fit.
Dog Friendly Vacations (roadtrips)
According to our tests, the Gear Institute wrote that “the Palisades pack is designed for all-day adventures or big day trips that require carrying large loads.” We took Carlock on a 150 mile backpacking trip on the Chinook Trail that took the Palisades and he was able to carry his water through the dry sections.
The Gear Institute also states that “the bag is removable, leaving your dog in a Ruff Wear Webmaster-style five-point harness. This is useful if you want to remove the saddlebag while resting or on rough terrain. With or without the bag saddle in use, the harness- The harness can be used to tie the dog and he is strong enough to lift and support.”
Palisades also received high marks from other professional reviewers we reviewed. Adventure Junkies writes that it’s best for “travelers who want great quality and comfort, with great functionality… ergonomic design, strong abrasion-resistant nylon, ripstop nylon, removable bag.”
Ruffwear Palisades received the following ratings: 4.7/5 from REI reviewers, 4.5/5 from Amazon reviewers, 4.8 from Dog Outdoors and 90/100 from Gear Institute.
Dog Friendly Backpacking Trips In The Sierras
Here’s a quote that convinces us we’re not the only ones who love this package:
A common theme in Ruffwear Palisades reviews is price – for better or worse. However, we’ve seen an MSRP drop of $10 over the past year with no design changes, which we think is a good sign.
Most reviewers are happy to pay, given the quality and the fact that this is a package that actually fits their dog comfortably. Others are frustrated that backpacks for their pets can be almost as expensive as human backpacks.
We think that if you plan to do a lot of hiking with your dog—and especially hope to travel or hike with your dog—it’s hard to beat the quality and features of the Ruffwear Palisades.
Easy Dog Treats To Pack For Your Next Hike
For urban housing
Best hiking vacations in europe, best family hiking vacations, best vacations for hiking, best vacations with dogs, best hiking and spa vacations, best european hiking vacations, best hiking vacations for families, best hiking vacations in december, best winter hiking vacations, best hiking vacations in us, best hiking and beach vacations, best luxury hiking vacations
