Whether your dog is named Aspen, Cody or Chinook, we get it; he’s your constant companion. You take them to the park and hiking all around the state. They’re with you when you call it a night and they’re the first face you see in the morning.
So it makes sense that you’d want to take them around town with you, right? Lucky for you, Boulder is a fairly dog-friendly city, so you have a ton of options when it comes to dining out, drinking up or just running errands.
Restaurants and Bars
As I stated above, Boulder is pretty laid back about the whole dog thing, especially when it comes to patios. Of course, it never hurts to check with the staff, but chances are pretty good that if they have a patio, you can leash your pup up right there. Of course, when you add food into the mix, it’s against state health codes to allow pets of any kind (except, of course, service animals) inside the establishment, so you aren’t going to find any restaurants that allow dogs inside the restaurant or bar. There is one nanobrewery called J Wells Brewery, on the outskirts of Boulder, that’s 100% dog friendly, but it’s by no means a large space.
Retail Shopping
This was probably the biggest surprise for me. While researching this category, I came back with an overwhelming amount of retail stores that are more than happy to welcome dogs inside. If you’re in the market for some new sporting equipment, Excel Sports, University Bicycles and Meta Skateboards are all dog friendly (and that’s just to name a few!). For shoes and accessories, Two Sole Sisters allows dogs onsite and just down the street, Bliss welcomes canine companions in their store as well.
For home improvement and furnishing projects, stores such as McGuckin Hardware, Boulder Furniture Arts and Reclaimed Style allow pets. Heck, you can even take your pooch into some electronics stores in Boulder (The Mac Shack and Shieldman’s)!
Arts & Culture
Of course, Boulder has no shortage of parks and many of them have some great events year round. If dogs are welcome in the park, then chances are that dogs are welcome at the event, unless specifically stated that there are no dogs allowed. While Boulder also has a great off-leash policy, it’s best to keep your pooch on a leash at crowded events, since it can be difficult to predict how other attendees will react to your dog (no matter how well-behaved they are).
Rembrandt Yard, an event venue and art gallery near downtown Boulder, is also dog-friendly.
This list is by no means extensive. There were a ton of great businesses in Boulder that are more than happy to have dogs in the store. What are some of your favorites?
