17 Best Dog Friendly Hikes around Tucson, Arizona

Dogs are "man's best friend." They're loyal, they're affectionate, and they make for excellent hiking companions.

Unfortunately, not every trail is ideal for the both of you. Some are just too rough for them and some don't allow them to begin with. We recently posted a series of tips on how to hike with dogs that can help make hitting the trail with your four legged friend a good experience for you and Fido. We've also written up an overview where you can and can't hike with dogs around Tucson.

Even though large areas around the Old Pueblo are off limits to dogs, there are still tons of trails to choose from. Of course, you can use the dog friendly filter to help narrow your search in Trailvoyant's "Find a hike" tool, but we thought it might be helpful to have a reliable list of the best hikes around Tucson where you and your pooch can enjoy the wilderness together. Here it is:

17. Palisades - Level 4

A post shared by Jocasta 🚼 (@jocahontas_elaine) on Sep 11, 2016 at 11:13am PDT

Starting behind the Palisades Ranger Station in between mileposts 19 and 20 on the Catalina Highway, this hike begins in the pines and gradually descends into the high desert grasslands, staying well above the harsh rocky desert trails down below. Along the way, you'll pass a small spring and a seasonal waterfall before ending up at a spectacular vista overlooking the front range of the Catalinas and city of Tucson beyond.

View the Hike Profile

Tips for Hiking with Dogs: Part 3 - What to Watch for

We've shown you how to prepare for a hike with your dog and what to bring with you in parts 1 & 2 of this 3 part series. Now it's time to wrap things up with our tips for what to watch for while on the trail with your best friend.

Here's Part 3:

Tips for Hiking with Dogs - Part 2: What to Bring

How long does it take you to throw a pack together for a hike? If you're anything like me, it always takes longer than you expect.

I want to be prepared for whatever situation I might find myself in out there, so in addition to water and snacks, I think about what kind of extra layers I might need, is my gps charged, do I have a way to start a fire if things get really bad, etc.

When you take on the responsibility of bringing your best friend on the trail, you'll want to consider their needs out there as well, and that can warrant putting together a different packing list altogether.

In our first post on How to Prepare for a hike with a dog, we addressed the things you'll want to do well in advance to ensure Fido has a good hike. In this post, we'll be running through the next 14 of our 29 tips for hiking with dogs, which focus on what things you should consider bringing along.

Here's Part 2:

Tips for Hiking with Dogs - Part 1: How to Prepare

Man's best friend is arguably the best companion to have with you out on the trail. But just because your hiking partner is a quadruped doesn't mean that it's a good idea to act like they'll be right at home in the wilderness.

Domesticated dogs are pretty far removed from their wild origins and it's important to take that into account if you're going to take one with you for a hike.

When you go for a hike, you probably have something of a routine. You find a great hike on Trailvoyant, you pack your food and water, you dress appropriately, and you pay attention to certain things out on the trail. Taking Fido with you involves many of the same things, just tailored for their unique requirements.

We originally had a single list of 29 things in one post, but we realized that it was probably too long to be readable in a single go, so we decided to break it up into three parts:

1. How to Prepare
2. What to Bring
3. What to Watch for

Here's Part 1:

Where to Hike with Dogs in Tucson, Arizona

Knowing where you can and cannot take your pooch with you on the trail around Tucson can be tough.

Yes, Trailvoyant has a dog friendly hike filter that makes finding a great hike you both can enjoy easy, but it can also be helpful to understand the general landscape so that you'll know in which areas of the map to look. And you'll definitely need to know this stuff if you want to build your own adventure for a custom day hike or backpacking trip.

Who Sets the Rules

The rules regarding whether dogs are allowed on the trail or not are determined by the various agencies that manage the land that the trails pass through. With so many different authorities managing land around Tucson, knowing the rules can be confusing, so we'd like to clear that up.

Generally speaking, state parks and national forests are pet friendly, provided they are on a leash, while national parks will only allow dogs on a leash in the picnic areas, but not on the trails.

As you can see from the map below, which we've created to identify the areas that are off limits to dogs, things are a little more complicated than those 3 rules of thumb though.

We Heard You: Dog Friendly Hike Filter

If you're a hiker that has a dog, combining your two loves isn't always easy. It can be tricky business to figure out which trails are dog friendly and which are not, until now.

We recognize that our four legged friends can be a lot of fun to bring out on the trails, but it's not always easy to discern where they are welcome, so we decided to do something about it.

As of now, Trailvoyant allows you to find hikes where pups are allowed by simply checking a box. Leaving it unchecked will show you all hikes, while checking it will filter all of the hike results so that only those that are dog friendly will display.

The box is unchecked by default in order to show you as many options as possible unless you are intentionally planning an outing with Fido.

This filter is currently only available under the "Find a hike" section.