Looking for dog-friendly activities in the Adirondacks?  If you have friends or family members on the more adventurous side, Adirondack Extreme (caution: website has audio effects) is a great dog-friendly option.  It is a high ropes adventure course with several different courses at varying levels of difficulty and height, located in Bolton Landing.

Last month, my daughter turned 7 and we treated her the ropes course for her birthday.  Since she was going on the kid’s course and we couldn’t join her, I called the park ahead to see if we could bring Darwin with us.  They said they were dog-friendly and he was welcome to join us on the trails while she participated on the course.  They even said we could tie him up outside their building while we did the course, but I was not comfortable with this option.  I was, however, perfectly fine with bringing him with us while we watched Anna complete the kid’s course.  She thought it was a great extra bonus for Darwin to join her on her special birthday trip.

When we arrived we brought Darwin inside the main building with us to buy tickets and all of the staff was friendly and welcoming.  They came over to greet him and offered us water for him.  After we paid and got a harness for Anna, we went outside for a two-part training.  Dogs are allowed in the training areas as well, so we didn’t have to worry about getting separated from her as she went through the training.  Once she got on the course itself, we were able to follow along on the ground as she went through the obstacles.  Darwin thought it was great fun because the course is in the forest; therefore, there were plenty of things to explore.  It took my daughter about 20 or 30 minutes to go through each time (she went through twice), and he never seemed bored or restless.  Because the course is in the woods, there is plenty of shade, including at least one picnic table underneath the adult courses that probably receives shade all day long.

If you are traveling in the Adirondacks and at least one member of your party is not interested in doing the actual ropes course, this is a great dog-friendly option that allows you to enjoy the area without leaving the dog at home all day long.  After the ropes course, we bought ice cream at their main building and enjoyed it on their big log-cabin porch (also dog-friendly).