Welcome to the Boone Adventure Guide’s Best Dog Friendly Adventures section. Below you will find information on dog friendly adventures in the Boone, NC area including the Boone Greenway, Green Knob Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Chestoa View Loop Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Tompkins Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Boone Greenway (Boone)

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Boone’s bucolic greenway trail skips from bank to bank along the South Fork of the New River as it explores a green, summit-surrounded valley that’s actually inside the city limits. The trail starts at the Watauga Humane Society Shelter, so if you don’t have your own dog, you can borrow a homeless pet from the shelter and commune with nature and clear your conscience at the same time. You can walk this great paved greenway out and back for an almost 3.8-mile hike with a turn-around at the Watauga Recreation Complex. On the way there, you’ll cross three bridges and pass through meadows with many benches. A shorter 1-mile out and back walk leaves the shelter, crosses the first bridge, and returns from picnic tables by the early 20th-century ruins of Boone’s first hydroelectric generation station and dam.

Directions from Boone: From the US 321-221/NC 105 junction, drive .8 mile on NC 105 Extension and take a right turn at the T-junction traffic light onto US 421 South. Turn right in 1.7 miles on New River Hills Road. Follow the road .7 mile along the river and make the first left on Casey Lane. Cross the low water bridge and park in the paved trailhead parking area on the immediate right.

Green Knob Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Blowing Rock)

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This little traveled 2.1-mile loop winds from a pond and stream to high meadows with great views. The variety of terrain on this trail has everything from lakeshore swim potential (starting or ending), a nice stream for drinks half way to the top, and then wide open meadows with great views of Grandfather Mountain. Be aware, there’s thistle in the fields.
Directions from Boone: From the US 321-221/NC 105 junction, take US 321 N from Boone and turn right to enter the Parkway in Blowing Rock at 5.8 miles. Go south on the Parkway 4.1 miles from Blowing Rock and pull left into Sims Pond Overlook at Milepost 295.9. Head off across the pond’s dam to start. Near the end, you’ll reach the Parkway where you’ll cross the road and walk left back to the overlook.

Chestoa View Loop Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Linville Falls)

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The scenic cataract of Linville Falls is a major Boone-area draw, so the nearby Chestoa View Loop Trail is a great place to relax with your pet on a less-popular path. Don’t miss the stone steps down to a dramatic cliff-top perch (mesh fencing prevents approaching too closely). The real appeal here is a very quiet, nearly-mile-long loop that circles a lofty, flat summit high above surrounding valleys. The loop leads right from the path down to the viewpoint.

Directions from Boone: You can get to Linville Falls and Chestoa on public highways, but you might as well enjoy the Parkway south from Blowing Rock. From the US 321-221/NC 105 junction, take US 321 N and turn right at 5.8 miles to enter the Parkway in Blowing Rock. Turn left on the Parkway and drive 29 miles south, just past Linville Falls. Turn left into Chestoa at Parkway Milepost 320.8.

Hike to Tompkins Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Deep Gap)

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For some solitude, this is a hike to do the reverse of the way many people do it. Start from the end of the The Cascades Overlook parking area away from the restrooms and take the scenic trail amid picnic tables through towering white pines. After a half mile of quiet roadside trail, you’ll emerge at Cool Spring Baptist Church, a log shelter from the circuit-riding days. Wander down the big meadow to Jesse Brown Cabin and a small springhouse near the woods. Tompkins Knob Overlook is just beyond (starting there is an option too). Either way, the round trip is about 1.2 miles.

Directions from Boone: From the US 321-221/NC 105 junction, drive .8 mile on NC 105 Extension and take a right turn at the T-junction traffic light onto US 421 S. Take US 421 10.2 miles to a right turn entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Deep Gap. Turn left on the Parkway, heading north 4 miles to the Tompkins Knob Overlook at Milepost 272.5 and the Cascades Overlook just beyond at Milepost 271.9 both on the right (about 20 miles north of Blowing Rock via the Parkway).

Watauga Humane Society Dog Park (Boone)

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It’s a fact of life-most parks require that dogs be leashed. But the Watauga Humane Society’s Dog Park is the perfect place to let your dog run. This scenic three-and-a-half acre fenced meadow includes an airy hilltop where Fido can feel all the freedom of a cool breezy romp in the mountains. There’s a separate smaller meadow for little dogs. The park is open from 6 am to sundown and the Humane Society charges a $3 fee for single-day use. Be sure to bring proof of rabies vaccination or the current rabies collar tag that all dogs must wear in the park.

Directions from Boone: The park is located about 4 miles east of Boone. From the US 321-221/NC 105 junction, drive .8 mile on NC 105 Extension and take a right turn at the T-junction traffic light onto US 421 S. Go 3.7 miles and turn right onto Old US 421. Turn right again in .5 mile on Don Hayes Rd., drive a very short distance, and enter on the right just past the church.