Canine Colorado: Where to Go and What to Do with Your Dog

by Cindy Hirschfeld, Al Hirschfeld

Your complete guide to dog-friendly trails, activities, and accommodations throughout the state.

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1998

Reviews

[Addy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a late-90's millennial who recently adopted her first dog, and has no kids, my puppy has become a huge part of my personality. I knew right away I wanted him to have as many fun, unique experiences in his doggie life as possible (he quite possibly could be described as "spoiled"); and this guidebook served as a useful jumping off point for local places of interest.
It is a little outdated for the 2020's (the edition I have was printed in 2009), so I am sure that a number of the "Creature Comfort" hotels listed might not be in operation anymore, or might seem less important with the advent of Airbnb and other similar home-hosting services.
Another drawback for me personally was how heavily the author weighed off-leash trails and parks in comparison to trails that require your dog to be on leash. I understand that the ratings the author is using are inherently subjective anyway, so this is perhaps a minor aspect to take problem with. However, when the author admits outright that she rated a trail as two wags out of four only because of the leash requirement, I found myself even more skeptical of the rating system (especially since my dog will always be leashed on any trail we use).
Bearing all this in mind, I still am very appreciative of the amount of research that went into the creation of this book. I have definitely located some Colorado cities I want to make sure to visit to celebrate my doggie's Gotcha Day (in August) and birthday (in November).

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, LOVE this book! We live in Colorado because we love to hike, camp and travel all over this beautiful state. We take our dog with us, of course, and always keep this book in the vehicle. We have found some nice hotels/motels/inns that we have returned to thanks to this book. Once we were traveling to the other side of the state and had a bad blowout that had to be repaired. We were delayed so long that we weren't going to make it to the campground we planned to stay at in time. It was late and we weren't familiar with the area let alone where we and our 65 lb dog could stay. We pulled over and called a few places listed in the book. The first few were fully booked but we found a room for the night - again, thanks to this book. The hiking trail suggestions and info on off-leash areas are especially useful. I hope I never need it, but the veterinary info is good to have as well.
I bought the 3rd ed after my dog chewed on my already well-worn 1st ed and have bought several as gifts for my friends (they all loved it too). If you live in Colorado and have a dog, GET THIS BOOK!

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of good information and I've used it quite a lot with success. My only complaint is that it covers the entire state and therefore doesn't have a lot of information about specific areas. I admit, the hikes that it does cover are probably the best ones, but I wish there were more listed. I haven't seen anything else like it out there though, so it is worth the money.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still haven't figured out if this book lists the distance one-way or total. Good book, the ranking is in paws, like 4 paws, if streams are included in the hike, etc...

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dog loved this book so much he ate it!