Doggin' Asheville

Places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail...Have you ever considered how far you walk with your dog? If you walk just 15 minutes a day you will have walked far enough in your dog's lifetime to cross the United States. With all that walking ahead of you, aren't you ready for a new place to take a hike with your dog? Doug Gelbert, author of 27 books on hiking with your dog, has brought his pack to the Asheville area to sniff out the area's best tail-friendly parks and trails for the new book, DOGGIN' ASHEVILLE: THE 50 BEST PLACES TO HIKE WITH YOUR DOG IN THE CAROLINA BLUE RIDGE. Asheville can be a great place to hike with your dog. Within a short drive your canine adventurer can be climbing mountains that leave him panting, trotting through impossibly green ravines, or exploring some of America's most spectacular waterfalls. DOGGIN' ASHEVILLE explores the region's top trails with your best friend in mind...Where can your dog hike on the highest trail east of the Rocky Mountains? (page 37)Where can your dog see the country's largest World War I internment camp? (page 67)Where can your dog hike to see prickly pear cactus?(page 87) No Dogs!Is there any more dispiriting day for a dog owner than driving to a new park and encountering the dreaded "NO DOGS" sign? DOGGIN' ASHEVILLE tells you the parks that don't welcome dogs. Also packed inside these 128 pages are......30 canine hikes to waterfalls ...tips on outfitting your dog for a hike ...tips on practicing low impact hiking with your dog ...and much moreWhat makes a great place to take your dog hiking? Well, how about a paw-friendly surface to trot on? Grass and sandy soil are a lot more appealing than asphalt and rocks. A variety of hikes is always good - long ones for athletic dogs and short ones for the less adventurous canine. Dogs always enjoy a refreshing place to swim as well. For dog-friendly parks our guides describe the trail options for your dog, evaluate park traffic from other users, tell you whether you will need a guide dog to find your way around and, of course, tell you how to get to the park.While walking the dog around Asheville, Gelbert also brings along generous helpings of local history, botany, geology, architecture and more. So what are you waiting for? Your dog will want to hike across the Mile-High Swinging Bridge (page 113), hike to the grave of the first white settler in the Blue Ridge Mountains (page 29), hike to a set for The Last of the Mohicans (page 19), hike to see champion Toggenberg goats (page 33)...