Best Hikes with Dogs (Texas Hill Country and Gulf Coast) is a great resource for dog owners and dog lovers who like to get their canine buddies out on the trails with them. Dogs have a great time on the trail and it is painful to suit up for a hike, get your boots and walking stick, fill up your water containers, grab your hat and sunscreen and then have to edge your way out the door past Romper, who lies there with his head slumped on his paws, giving you that mournful, slightly accusing but loyal stare that says “I would never go someplace really fun and not invite YOU, mister.” With Melissa Gaskill’s book, published by the highly-respected Mountaineers, you can find a great hike that you both can enjoy without worrying about getting to a trailhead and finding a “No Dogs Allowed” sign to dampen your enthusiasm.
Gaskill has a useful introductory section that covers stuff every dog owner should know but often does not – making sure your dog is up to the hike you are planning, health concerns, safety, weather and camping tips as well as some excellent suggestions about how to “Go Lightly on the Land,” a concept that follows and cites the “Leave No Trace” ethic, the rules taught by the Sierra Club when we train outings leaders. The same section briefly mentions the “Ten Essentials” for hikers with which Sierra Club hikers are familiar, but she also adds “Ten Essentials for your dog,” a useful list of doggy-specific preparations that will make your hike better for both man and beast. The list includes a specialized canine first-aid kit and sensible precautions like a doggy bowl for water on long, dry hikes where water is not available for your pooch. The list includes a doggy backpack so that Fido can carry his own supplies on the trip.
Trail descriptions are excellent, with the trail(s) laid out carefully on a topo map overlay with trailheads, picnic tables, parking areas and campgrounds, if any, marked on the maps. The topo maps give an idea of the terrain and Gaskill always includes a summary of the hike statistics: distance, hiking time, difficulty, high point, elevation gain, best hiking season, regulations (specifics about leash requirements and waste disposal, etc.), topo map identification (eg., USGS Austin West 7.5’ Quadrangle) and finally, contact information (phone and website, if appropriate). She also provides a graphic elevation gain/loss chart so that you can see at a glance how many hills you will face and how high they will be.
Sierra Club hikers will find several familiar hikes (Emma Long, Barton Creek Greenbelt, Bull Creek Greenbelt) as well as several in the Highland Lakes area, San Antonio and the surrounding Hill Country and “low country” (Georgetown, Bastrop, McKinney Roughs, Lake Somerville) that we visit less frequently. She also includes hikes that are further away than we usually go, like ones on the Gulf Coast and the Texas beaches.
The book is solid, informative and a very useful guide for both dog owners looking for a place to exercise Bowser and hikers who like to share the outdoor experience with dogs and their owners. It should be a required text for Sierra Club Outings Leaders who lead dog-friendly hikes.
The book is available on Amazon at:
Amazon - hikes with dogs
or on the Mountaineers Books website at:
Mountaineers Books about dog hikes (multiple states)
(which features, by the way, several Best Hikes with Dogs books for several states)

Get this book. If you don't want to carry it yourself, put it in Tailgate's doggy pack. He will carry it gladly just for the chance to go with you.

Review by Chuck Byrd, Austin Sierra Club Outings Leader

(no graft or bribery was exchanged for this endorsement. I admit I was given a free copy of the book. I intend to keep it. It's a good book. - Chuck)