Seeking beach for my dog.
July 12, 2014 1:25 PM   Subscribe

We live in the Baltimore/ DC area. We want to take our two dogs on a vacation to the ocean or a lake that is dog friendly. A body of water that has a beach. We want them to play in the water and be able to relax under an umbrella with us. We are not interested in rivers. We are willing to drive around 3 hours for this experience. Any ideas.
posted by Coffee Bean to Pets & Animals (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
There are very, very few beaches where dogs are allowed to run off-leash outside of the off-season, and most of them aren't super nice.
posted by empath at 2:00 PM on July 12, 2014


Here's a link with a list of beaches. I remember really liking Chincoteague Island. Not sure about leash laws, though.
posted by ananci at 2:40 PM on July 12, 2014


A friend and her dog enjoyed a rental house and beach in Lewes, DE. Here is a list of nearby dog beaches.
posted by instamatic at 3:37 PM on July 12, 2014


Try calling campgrounds that border on the bay and have a beach. This place had a nice little beach, they claim to be pet friendly.
posted by 445supermag at 4:00 PM on July 12, 2014


I love taking my dog to Matapeake State Park's dog beach on Kent Island, MD in Chesapeake Bay, about an hour from DC. It's a really nice beach in its own right, with nice sand and calm waters. Lots of people seem to bring their dogs there for beach days, and no one seems to mind dogs running amok.
posted by lunasol at 4:43 PM on July 12, 2014


If on the off chance one of you has a CAC (i.e. DOD civilian, active/retired military, etc), there are cottages on Dam Neck Annex near NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach available for rental via the MWR. Across the dune is a dog-allowed beach where plenty of dogs are off-leash (although most are on-leash or a long training lead). You don't have to stay in the cottages to go on the beach, but it is on base past security.

The beach is really nice - plenty of crabs and sand mites to dig up, good smells, nice waves and very rarely crowded. The fishing and dog areas are kind of smushed together though, so watch for lines and just go down the beach from fishermen. Up the beach is a lifeguarded area (from Memorial Day to Labor Day) that is technically the only allowed swimming area, but mostly it just means you're on your own outside of that. No dogs are allowed in the lifeguarded area.

Given your question, this is probably already true, but please make sure you have iron-clad recall. It's frustrating to have your (read: my) dog be harassed by an off-leash dog who doesn't listen to recall.

Nearby there are also several state parks that allow dogs on the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal tidal areas. This is probably at your outer limits of your 3 hour rule.
posted by bookdragoness at 6:45 PM on July 12, 2014


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