Dog Friendly City Guide: Las Vegas, USA

Las Vegas is not the first city anyone pictures with a dog at their side, and that is exactly why it surprises. Step off the Strip and the town is ringed by some of the finest desert walking in the American West: the sandstone of Red Rock Canyon to the west, the old railway trail at Lake Mead to the east, and big municipal parks in between with fenced runs, shade and water fountains built for dogs. Downtown, the Arts District has turned into a neighbourhood of breweries and patios where a dog under the table is part of the scene. Come between autumn and spring, when the desert is bright and mild, and the city reads very differently with a dog than without one.

Getting There With a Dog

Flying in from abroad, your dog must meet the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they turn on where it has spent the last six months. A dog coming only from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries must look healthy on arrival, be at least six months old, carry a microchip a universal scanner can read, and travel with a receipt for a CDC Dog Import Form, one per dog. A dog that has been in any high-risk country for dog rabies in that time faces far stricter requirements, so read the CDC's dog importation pages well before you book.

Most visitors land at Harry Reid International Airport, a short drive from the Strip, which keeps designated indoor and outdoor relief areas for pets and service animals, with each one marked on the airport map. Plenty of people drive in instead, and a car is the easy way to reach Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead once you are here.

Where to Stay

The great Strip resorts take dogs, and five of them are on our ranked dog friendly hotels in Las Vegas.

Caesars Palace holds a B and leads the field. Your dog is welcome on the terrace and in the lounge, there is a dedicated dog space and a garden on site, bowls are provided and dog food is sold, and the hotel can arrange both dog walking and dog sitting. It sets no cap on the number of dogs in a room, which makes it the obvious choice for a family travelling with two or three. The fee is $150 a night.

Bellagio just to the south and also ranked B, offers much the same comforts. Dogs are welcome in the lounge, the hotel has its own dog space and garden, bowls are provided, dog food is on sale, and walking and sitting can be arranged when you want an evening at a show. The fee is $150 a night, and the hotel takes dogs of up to 50 pounds.

Three more Strip hotels hold a D. MGM Grand sets no weight limit, so it suits a big dog, with a dog space, a garden, the lounge open to dogs and walking and sitting on request, for $150 a night. The LINQ puts a dog bed and bowls in the room, has staff trained for canine guests who will suggest a walk, and a garden, for $100 a night. Paris Las Vegas is the least expensive of the five at $85 a night, with bowls, a dedicated dog space and a garden. Both The LINQ and Paris take dogs of up to 50 pounds.

Eat and Drink

The city itself has published a list of dog friendly patios, and it reads like a map of the Arts District around Main Street and Charleston Boulevard. Able Baker Brewing on South Main Street says plainly that pets are allowed on its covered patio, and it is the natural first stop. A couple of blocks up the same street, Nevada Brew Works is a family friendly brewpub serving its own beer with pizza, burgers and cheese curds, and its patio is on the city's list. On the corner of Charleston and Art Way, 18bin is a downtown bar and restaurant built around craft cocktails, and its patio is on the list too. Closer to Fremont Street, 7th & Carson is a downtown kitchen and bar with two patios, open daily for brunch, lunch and dinner, and its brunch has taken an OpenTable Diner's Choice award every year since 2020.

In the northwest of the valley, Big Dog's Brewing Company calls itself Las Vegas' original craft brewery and says that being dog friendly is part of what the brand is built around. Leashed dogs are welcome on its Front Porch patio on North Rancho Drive, and each autumn the brewery throws a DOGtoberfest, a fundraiser for its four-legged friends. South of the Strip at Town Square, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar has a patio where dogs are always welcome and a menu just for them: a free bowl of water, and a grilled hamburger patty or chicken breast bowl with brown rice and vegetables for $7. Out in Henderson, Lovelady Brewing is a family owned taproom on South Water Street with an outdoor patio where leashed dogs are allowed.

Walks and Parks

The great walk is a short drive west of the Strip. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a world of red and cream sandstone, with a 13-mile scenic loop drive, a visitor centre and trailheads all the way round. The Southern Nevada Conservancy, which works with the Bureau of Land Management at Red Rock, confirms that pets are allowed in the conservation area and along its trails, on a leash.

To the east, Lake Mead National Recreation Area welcomes dogs in its developed areas, on its hiking trails, along many of its beaches and in its campgrounds. The National Park Service names the Historic Railroad Trail and Owl Canyon as favourites with dog owners. The Historic Railroad Trail starts below the Lake Mead Visitor Center and runs 3.7 miles one way on level, hard packed gravel through five tunnels of the railway that carried materials to Hoover Dam, with views over the lake and Boulder Basin the whole way. There is no shade for the first mile and a half, so the park does not recommend it in summer.

For a walk without the drive, Sunset Park on East Sunset Road is the big county park a short drive from the Strip. It has four trails making up 3.5 miles of pathway, a fishing lake, and two enclosed dog runs on its south side along Warm Springs Road, one for large dogs and one for small, open from 6am to 11pm.

The City of Las Vegas runs a dozen dog parks, and two stand out. Barkin' Basin Park on West Alexander Road has three separate dog areas, shaded seating for owners and water fountains for dogs and people. Woofter Family Park on Rock Springs Drive is a 7.55 acre park with two dog runs and dog fountains. Both open from 7am to 11pm.

A Day Out

Book a timed entry for Red Rock Canyon, go early and drive the scenic loop with stops for short walks among the sandstone while the rock is still cool. Head back into town for a late lunch in the Arts District, starting on the patio at Able Baker and drifting up Main Street to Nevada Brew Works.

Give the dog the warm middle of the afternoon back at the hotel. As the light goes, take a turn round the dog runs at Sunset Park, or drive south to Town Square and finish on the Lazy Dog patio with a patty bowl for the one who walked the furthest.

Good to Know

A few rules keep the visit easy. At all five hotels a dog cannot be left alone in the room, so plan evenings around the walking and sitting services at Caesars Palace, Bellagio and MGM Grand. Bellagio, MGM Grand, The LINQ and Paris keep their bars and restaurants for people, and dogs are welcome in their lounges instead. Red Rock Canyon needs a timed entry reservation from 1 October to 31 May between 8am and 5pm, and dogs there must stay on a leash and must never be left unattended, not even in a vehicle. At Lake Mead the leash must be six feet or shorter, leaving a pet in a car is prohibited, and summer temperatures often pass 100°F, so the park suggests dogs sit out the hottest days in the air conditioning. The city's dog areas close for maintenance in turn, Barkin' Basin on Mondays and Thursdays from 11.30am to 4pm and Woofter on Tuesdays from noon to 3pm, and at the restaurants and breweries on this page the dog's seat is on the patio.