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# Dog Friendly City Guide: Scottsdale, Arizona
- URL: https://rochsociety.com/dog-friendly-city-guide-scottsdale-arizona/
- Published: 2026-11-04T13:15:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T13:15:54.000Z
- Description: Scottsdale is the desert resort city east of Phoenix, with an Old Town of patios, a green wash running through its middle and more than 30,500 acres of preserved Sonoran Desert on its northern edge. Where to stay, eat and walk with a dog, and the heat rule the city asks every owner to follow.
- Author: Oliver Williams
- Tags: City Guides

When the air in Scottsdale reaches 90 degrees, the rock on the trails north of town can reach 135, and the city that looks after those trails says so plainly on its [McDowell Sonoran Preserve](https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/preserve?ref=rochsociety.com) page: "If it is over 90 degrees at any time in your hike, it's too hot for your dog." Scottsdale is the resort city on the east side of Phoenix, a place of golf courses, spas and an Old Town of Western storefronts and patios, and its great outdoor asset is that preserve, more than 30,500 acres of Sonoran Desert with over 230 miles of trail. Plan the walks around the heat and the city is a very good one to bring a dog to.

## Coming In From Another Country

Entry to the United States turns on where a dog spent its last six months. If that was only in places the [CDC lists as rabies-free or low risk](https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/rabies-free-low-risk-countries.html?ref=rochsociety.com), the checklist is short: half a year of age or more, an implanted chip that any standard scanner picks up, and a dog that looks well when it comes off the plane. The paperwork is one free online form, the CDC Dog Import Form, which you may fill in the day you fly; its emailed receipt is your proof at any airport, port or road crossing. A stay anywhere on the [CDC's high-risk list](https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/index.html?ref=rochsociety.com) changes all of that; our guide to [taking your dog abroad](https://rochsociety.com/taking-your-dog-abroad/) walks through it.

## Where to Stay

[Mountain Shadows](https://www.mountainshadows.com/?ref=rochsociety.com) sits in Paradise Valley on the edge of Scottsdale, beneath Camelback Mountain, on the site of the original Mountain Shadows that opened in 1959\. It holds One MICHELIN Key for 2026, and many of its rooms, and the Sunset Pool, look out at the mountain. Between the rooms lie an 18-hole par-3 course called the Short Course, the restaurant and bar Hearth '61, and Rusty's, the golf course restaurant.

Here the dog is a guest rather than an extra. [The resort's own page](https://www.mountainshadows.com/resort/faqs?ref=rochsociety.com) says pets are welcome throughout its guestrooms and "pets stay free", and there is no weight limit. Ask for the pet package when you book and the room will have a bed, bowls, bottled water, poop bags, a treat and a map of places to walk. Rusty's patio and the lounge take dogs, the team can find a walker, a sitter or a groomer, and a dog settled in its crate can stay behind while you go to dinner. Mountain Shadows holds an A; the full picture is in [our Mountain Shadows review](https://rochdog.com/dog-friendly-hotel/mountain-shadows-resort-scottsdale?ref=rochsociety.com).

In north Scottsdale, the [Fairmont Scottsdale Princess](https://www.scottsdaleprincess.com/pet-policy?ref=rochsociety.com) is a AAA Five Diamond resort with six pools and the Well & Being Spa, and at Christmas it puts up 17 million lights and an ice rink. It keeps three resident lobby dogs, Bixby, Ellie and Nash, whom guests are welcome to visit. A visiting dog gets a bed, bowls, treats, a toy and waste bags, and its "Pupcierge" can book a sitter or a walker. The resort's own policy is two dogs a room with no weight limit, $50 a night plus a $150 cleaning fee, and a dog left in the room must be in its kennel. It holds a C; read [our Fairmont Scottsdale Princess review](https://rochdog.com/dog-friendly-hotel/fairmont-scottsdale-princess-scottsdale?ref=rochsociety.com).

In Old Town, the [W Scottsdale](https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phxwh-w-scottsdale/overview/?ref=rochsociety.com) stands on East Camelback Road. Most of its rooms take dogs and the staff are trained to look after them. The lounge and the terrace are open to the dog, so it can stay with you for the evening, and you can leave it in the room when you go out. The fee is $100 plus $25 a day and nothing is laid out for the dog, so pack its bowls and bed. It ranks D; see [the W Scottsdale review](https://rochdog.com/dog-friendly-hotel/w-scottsdale?ref=rochsociety.com).

## Eat and Drink

For breakfast, [Morning Squeeze](https://www.morningsqueeze.com/scottsdale/?ref=rochsociety.com) on North Scottsdale Road has been open since 2013 and serves from seven until two every day. It has a full bar and a coffee programme, banana macadamia pancakes in praline sauce, and a dog friendly patio with its own Tail Wagger menu, built on the kitchen's house-made dog biscuits.

Further down North Scottsdale Road, [Brat Haus](https://www.brathausaz.com/?ref=rochsociety.com) is a beer garden with 28 craft beers on tap and a made-from-scratch menu inspired by European food craftsmen: brats, burgers, salads and sides. Its patio, set up with bag toss, ping pong, darts and a life-sized Jenga, is, in the house's own words, a dog friendly zone.

For an afternoon at the hotel end of town, [Rusty's at Mountain Shadows](https://www.mountainshadows.com/resort/faqs?ref=rochsociety.com) is the golf course restaurant by the Short Course, and the resort welcomes dogs on its patio.

On McDowell Road, [Duke's Sports Bar & Grill](https://dukessportsbar.com/?ref=rochsociety.com) has been run by a father and daughter since 1998\. It has two dog friendly patios, which it says were voted among the top five patios in Scottsdale, and a long menu of sandwiches, burgers and ribs.

![Rounded granite boulders and green desert shrubs near Granite Mountain, saguaro cactus standing beyond them and blue mountain ridges on the horizon](https://rochsociety.com/content/images/2026/11/scottsdale-mcdowell-granite-mountain.jpg)

Near Granite Mountain in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Photo: Scotwriter21, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

## The Preserve, the Wash and the Dog Parks

The [McDowell Sonoran Preserve](https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/preserve?ref=rochsociety.com) is open every day from sunrise to sunset and costs nothing to enter. Start at the Gateway trailhead on Thompson Peak Parkway, which has water, shade ramadas and restrooms, and the short, accessible Bajada Nature Trail for a dog that only wants a stroll. Brown's Ranch on Alma School Parkway reopened on 30 October with five rerouted trails, a new trail dispersal area and the Jane Rau Nature Trail. Lost Dog Wash, on 124th Street, also has water. Tom's Thumb, on 128th Street, has none, so carry it in.

The preserve treats dogs as "a privilege" and keeps three rules: a handheld leash no longer than six feet at all times, waste picked up at once and carried out, and the 90 degree limit. Its advice on water is the one to remember: "When it is half gone, turn around." The city also names the dogs most at risk in the heat, older and overweight dogs, those with a medical condition or on medication, and short-faced breeds such as Boxers, Bulldogs and Pugs.

![White metal horse sculptures pouring water into the channel of the Indian Bend Wash, palm trees and a green lawn behind and mountains in the distance at dusk](https://rochsociety.com/content/images/2026/11/scottsdale-indian-bend-wash.jpg)

Sculptures along the Indian Bend Wash after a summer storm. Photo: Nicholas Hartmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Through the middle of the city, the [Indian Bend Wash](https://scottsdaleaz.gov/outdoor-activities/paths-trails?ref=rochsociety.com) greenbelt is a band of parks, lakes and golf courses with an 11-mile path running its length, crossed by more than 24 bridges and underpasses, which makes it the easy flat walk on a warm morning. The same city page describes the [Arizona Canal trail](https://scottsdaleaz.gov/outdoor-activities/paths-trails?ref=rochsociety.com), almost 70 miles long, which links Scottsdale with Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria.

For time off the lead, the city runs [three dog parks](https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/parks/dog-parks?ref=rochsociety.com). Chaparral, on North Hayden Road, has three acres of grass in three areas with benches, play features and water fountains, and is open from 5.30 in the morning to ten at night; one area is always resting, and the park closes for maintenance on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Vista del Camino on East Pierce Street is half an acre, and Horizon on North 100th Street is the small one in the north.

## Good to Know

Every dog in a Scottsdale dog park must be licensed and vaccinated, puppies under four months stay out until they have both, and children under 16 need an adult with them. Outside the fenced areas the city wants a lead of no more than six feet.

On the trails, check the hourly forecast before you leave, not the morning temperature; the preserve page suggests cooling vests and trail booties for dogs. The early signs of heat trouble it lists are heavy panting and a bright red tongue or gums with thick saliva, and the answer is water and cool packs on the groin and neck, shade, and a vet. Our guide to [heat and your dog on holiday](https://rochsociety.com/heat-and-your-dog-on-holiday/) goes further, and for the city next door there is the Society's [guide to Phoenix](https://rochsociety.com/dog-friendly-city-guide-phoenix-arizona-usa/).