Dog Friendly City Guide: Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a walking city, and that is the best news a dog can hear. The old peninsula is small enough to cross on foot, its streets are lined with porches and garden walls, and the whole thing ends at the water under a canopy of live oaks. What sets it apart for a dog is how the city treats its parks. Several of them, including the famous garden at the tip of the peninsula, set aside hours when a dog can come off the lead, so a morning run under the oaks before the city wakes up is part of the routine here, not a lucky find. A warm climate keeps people eating outdoors most of the year, and the one thing to plan around is the summer heat.

Getting There With a Dog

A dog arriving in the United States from abroad must meet the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the first question is where it has spent the past six months. If that has been only in countries the CDC treats as rabies-free or low risk, the dog needs to be microchipped, at least six months old, and travelling with a receipt for the CDC Dog Import Form, which you complete online before you fly. Time in any country on the CDC's high-risk list for dog rabies brings extra paperwork and stricter checks, so read the CDC's guidance on bringing a dog into the United States before you book anything. The historic district is best on foot, but a car helps for James Island and the creeks.

Where to Stay

All three hotels below sit in the historic district within a few minutes' walk of one another, and all three have been inspected and ranked. For the full field, see our ranked dog friendly hotels in Charleston.

The Charleston Place holds an A and is the most generous welcome in town. It is the city's grand hotel, a 434 room house on Meeting Street with the Thoroughbred Club, the Palmetto Cafe and a light filled rooftop pool on its fourth floor. Dogs stay free, with no weight limit, and two dogs can share a room. Most rooms take dogs, and your dog is welcome with you on the terrace and in the lounge. A bed, bowls and free treats are waiting, the staff are trained to look after canine guests and will point you to the best walks, and the concierge can arrange a dog sitter when you want an evening out. The hotel also throws a Halloween party and parade for dogs.

Mills House Charleston, ranked B, is a short walk down Meeting Street on the corner of Queen Street, grand, historic and very pink, with the Iron Rose restaurant tucked inside its walled courtyard and a pool with the Terrace Bar beside it. Most of its 216 rooms take dogs, and a dog may join you on the terrace, in the lounge and in the garden. The room comes with a bed, bowls, free treats and poo bags, the staff will suggest walking routes, they can arrange a sitter, and a settled dog may be left in the room while you go out. The fee is $200 per dog, there is no deposit, and dogs weigh up to 40 pounds.

The Vendue, ranked D, is the choice for anyone who wants art with their stay. It calls itself Charleston's art hotel, spread across two historic buildings by the waterfront, with rotating gallery exhibitions, daily art tours, the Revival restaurant and the city's original rooftop bar. Most rooms take dogs, up to two of them, with real food and water bowls and free treats on arrival. The staff will share walking routes, the hotel keeps an emergency vet number to hand, and it hosts dog friendly events. The fee is $120 for the stay, with no deposit, and dogs weigh up to 50 pounds.

Eat and Drink

Charleston eats outside for most of the year, and these are the places that say on their own pages that dogs are welcome.

On the upper peninsula, Kudu is a coffee house and craft beer bar in a Vanderhorst Street building that has been a gathering place since 1910. It describes itself as laptop friendly and dog friendly, and its shaded courtyard under the oaks is where you will want to be, with a coffee in the morning or a beer as the day cools.

Further up King Street, Leon's Fine Poultry and Oyster Shop is a Charleston favourite for fried chicken and oysters, and its own FAQ could not be warmer: it loves visits from well behaved dogs, allows them on the patio, and warns you not to be surprised if your dog is greeted before you are.

In the Wraggborough neighbourhood, Bay Street Biergarten is a big, sociable beer garden built around community and festivity, and a dog friendly patio is one of the first things it lists among its attractions, along with games, specialty cocktails and the rare luxury of a parking lot.

North of the centre, Edmund's Oast Brewing Co. answers the question in capital letters in its FAQ: "WE. LOVE. DOGS." As a full service restaurant it cannot legally have pets inside, so dogs join you outside for a beer and supper.

Over the Ashley River on James Island, Ellis Creek Fish Camp is the most relaxed of the lot, a waterfront fish camp where you order, find a seat inside or out, and the food is brought to you. Its own page says simply, "Bring your best dog friend with you!", and it runs a dog menu. Pair it with a morning at James Island County Park.

Walks and Parks

The city keeps its own list of dog parks and off leash areas, split into fenced dog parks, open dawn until dusk, and off leash areas inside ordinary parks, some with set hours. Everywhere else your dog stays on the lead.

The walk that defines the city is White Point Garden at the tip of the peninsula, where the Battery meets the harbour. Its lawns sit under some of the finest live oaks in town, and it is an off leash area from dawn until 9am and again from 5pm until 11pm. Go at first light, then walk the Battery seawall with the harbour on one side and the grand houses on the other.

On the west side of the peninsula, Brittlebank Park runs along the Ashley River beside the marsh, and its off leash area is open dawn until dusk, which makes it the most flexible run in the centre. Nearer the hotels, the same list gives a fenced dog park at S Adgers Wharf, close to the waterfront and The Vendue, and off leash hours at Hazel Parker on East Bay Street and Cannon Park on Rutledge Avenue, both from dawn until 9am and from 5pm to dusk.

Hampton Park is one of the city's largest parks, on the upper peninsula, with walking trails and the most extensive floral displays of any park in Charleston, including an old rose collection. It is a lead walk. Across the river, the West Ashley Greenway is an eight mile linear park through the West Ashley neighbourhoods, quieter than the peninsula.

For a proper run, drive to James Island County Park, run by Charleston County Parks. Beyond miles of paved trails, it has one of the area's most popular off leash dog parks, with separate areas for large and small dogs. The dog park closes on Wednesday mornings from 7 to 9 for maintenance, so plan around it.

A Day Out

Be at White Point Garden at seven, while the off leash hours run, then walk the Battery and up through the old streets to breakfast. Spend the warm middle of the day at the hotel, or drive over to James Island County Park for a run and lunch on the water at Ellis Creek Fish Camp. In the late afternoon, take coffee or a beer in the courtyard at Kudu, give the dog a second run at Brittlebank Park when the evening cools, and finish with fried chicken and oysters on the patio at Leon's.

Good to Know

The city's rules are short and clear: pick up after your dog, put the lead back on as soon as you leave a designated dog area, and keep dogs off athletic fields, courts and playgrounds at all times. At the restaurants above, dogs sit outside, on the patio or in the garden. At The Charleston Place the dining rooms are kept for people and a dog is not left alone in the room, which the concierge's sitter takes care of. At The Vendue dogs are not left alone in the room either. From late spring to early autumn, walk early and late, carry water, and test the pavement with the back of your hand before you set out.