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Active Vacations With Your Dog
Ski, surf and kayak with your pup in tow for a sporty getaway
6-minute read
Considering an adventure vacation that your dog can participate in? Your dog may enjoy surfing, hiking, cross-country skiing and more.
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Key takeaways
- Dog-friendly vacations can include active sports you and your pup can do together.
- Building trust, training and confidence can help dogs safely try new activities.
- Safety gear matters, including properly fitted life jackets and emergency slings; weather-appropriate planning is also key.
Vacations with your dog involve more than them eating, sleeping and walking. For your furry pal, there are dog sports to try all over the country. Most dog-friendly activities are suitable for dogs of all sizes, except sea kayaking, which may not work with a dog larger than a golden retriever.
It’s not a stretch to vacation with your pet. More than half of adults over 50 have pets and most report benefits like reduced stress, greater enjoyment of life and increased physical activity because they have a pet in their life, according to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, conducted in 2025.
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At Lazy Dog Adventures in Key West, Florida, hundreds of individuals 50-plus rent watercraft such as paddleboards and kayaks with their dogs every month, says Heather Talton, a tour guide there. “Some [people] are beginners, and some have kayaked their whole life,” Talton says.
Talton’s best advice when trying a new water sport with your pet is: “Don’t pressure yourself, and enjoy nature.”
While dogs can participate in all sorts of sports, one you try on vacation may turn into a competitive hobby. Steve Drottar’s 5-year-old English Labrador, Rosie, just won in several World Dog Surfing Championships categories, including the team category alongside Drottar.
But years before she set a paw on a board, Drottar coached her in basic obedience with the help of a professional trainer.
“We developed communication and trust before we ever went out on a surfboard,” says Drottar. She understood “that if Dad’s having me do this, it’s going to be OK,” he says. Drottar has had a passion for surfing since going to law school in San Diego over 37 years ago. And now, he and Rosie have surfed together for more than four years.
While winning world championships may be a stretch for most of us and our dogs, surfing and other sports aren’t.
Below, find six sports you can do with your pup, as well as welcoming locations where you can try them out. Each is a tourism destination where you can take a full trip with great pet-friendly restaurants, lodging and access to a variety of activities.
Of note: Buy a dog life jacket, as many rental places don’t have them or don’t have the right size, says Sabine Weber of Man and Beast pet supply store in Lake Placid, New York.
A dog can sit or stand on a paddleboard as a person paddles.
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1. Paddleboarding
In paddleboarding, a person either sits, kneels or stands on a board and paddles. The dog sits, lies or stands alongside them. You can paddle on a lake, river or protected ocean bay, and can find boards at shops that rent other watercraft.
Paddleboarding is also a great starter sport for dogs before surfing, Talton says. Rosie started paddleboarding on a family vacation at seven months. Drottar asked his kids to paddle around the dock while talking to Rosie at the end of it. She couldn’t resist being close to them. “She jumped on the board, and we were off,” Drottar says.
Where to paddleboard: Wheel Fun Rentals, Minneapolis; Tahoe Waterman Landing, Lake Tahoe, California; Paddle Cove, near Scottsdale, Arizona; and Beach Harbor Resort, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
2. Surfing
Dogs are natural surfers because of their stability on all four paws, Talton says. You can either surf with your dog or help them onto the surfboard for a solo ride. If your furry friend is surfing alone, you help them get on the board in the water, and another person catches them when they get to the beach. Start on smaller waves and consider lessons from a surf shop. Don’t surf with your dog until you are a fairly confident surfer, Drottar says. If you fall off the board, your dog may lose trust in your ability to keep them safe in the water, he says.
Where to surf: Ohana Surf & Skate, Galveston, Texas; Pro SUP Shop, Marina Del Rey, California; and Salty Dog Paddle, Palm Beach, Florida, which supports rescue dogs and has various locations near the Florida coast.
When kayaking, your dog will sit in front of you. Here, Mark Bagguley kayaks with Bernie.
Brendan McGuigan
3. Kayaking
Kayaks are small, narrow boats you row with a double-sided paddle. You’ll either sit inside the kayak, while your dog sits in front of you, or you’ll sit on top of it with your dog in front of you, depending on the type of kayak. Dogs on this type of watercraft generally can’t be bigger than the average family dog.
“We have accommodated small dogs up to large Labradors and golden retrievers,” says Craig Comen, owner of Kayak Mendocino, which partners on sea kayak excursions with Little River Inn, a property in Northern California’s Mendocino County.
The sea kayak experience isn’t for dogs that haven’t had much exposure to water. Once started, they’ll have to stay on the kayak for at least 90 minutes, Comen says.
Where to kayak: Mendocino County, California, for sea kayaking; Lake Placid, New York, for lake kayaking; Manhattan Kayak on the Hudson River for river kayaking; and general kayaking at Lazy Dog Adventures in Key West, Florida.
Canoes can easily fit two people and any size dog. Here, a dog in a canoe on a lake.
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4. Canoeing
Canoes are larger than kayaks and can easily fit two people and any size dog, says Cally Coombs, the owner of Little River Inn.
An estuary — a body of water that transitions between an ocean and a river — is another option for canoeing. Estuaries are mostly calm, “they are more tidal than a river,” Coombs says. Check the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website for low and high tide times. If you come back before high tide, the canoe trip will be less demanding, she says.
Where to canoe: Little River Inn, Little River, California; Rowing Dock, Austin, Texas; and Aqua Adventures, San Diego.
5. Hiking
Dogs love hiking, but you have to think about safety and temperature. For instance, Phoenix prohibits hiking with dogs on desert trails and in mountain reserves when temperatures exceed 100 degrees. With that in mind, you may not want to schedule a summer trip to high-temperature destinations for mountain hiking.
Some paths may have sharper rocks than others. In addition to considering shoes for your dogs, carry an emergency sling and a medical kit on long hikes. “Dogs get injured in the backcountry, and it is good to have a way to carry them out if needed,” Weber says. “People have been stuck waiting for help or have had to leave their dogs.”
When cross-country skiing, consider a proper bungee leash to keep the dog from getting too close to the skis.
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6. Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing takes place in areas that are flat or hilly and don’t require a ski lift. If you own or rent a pair of cross-country skis, it’s easy to get started on any snow-covered trail. It’s considered a safer beginner sport than downhill because it’s done at a slower speed.
Dogs can join in cross-country skiing, either running alongside or attached via a bungee cord.
If you’re new to the sport, it’s a good idea to get lessons from a cross-country ski rental outlet. Visit an equipment store to get your dog properly fitted with an appropriately sized bungee leash to keep them from getting too close and cutting themselves on your skis, Weber says.
Safety tips
- Have a rescue kit with a sling for any kind of backwoods activity.
- Check weather reports and local weather advisories for safer outdoor play.
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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