I haven’t been great lately at sharing what’s going on in our lives, so I’m hoping to change that with a quick recap of a fun hike we took a few weekends ago. Earlier this month, we were searching for a pretty easy, but fun hike to kick off the real start of the spring season and warmer weather. We settled on visiting the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, which is located about an hour further west from where we live in Northern Virginia.
I hadn’t ever heard of this location before, but it turns out they have quite a few hike trails that are more than welcoming to pets! Plus, it isn’t too far away from several pet friendly wineries that I’ve been dying to try out.
We had found a recommendation online for a good combination of a few of the available trails, but for some reason found it difficult to follow the instructions at first and ended up in a grassy pasture! The dogs didn’t mind one bit. Ralph enjoy a bit of extra space to run like crazy.
Once we made it onto the trial, it was pretty quiet. We only passed one other person and dog the whole time we were out there. Many of the trails are also suitable for horses, so we had to avoid the occasional land mine. I think Ralph thought it was a fun game. That boy loves to jump!
About halfway through our hike, we passed Piney Run and let the dogs jump in for a few minutes to cool down. Luna absolutely loved it, but Ralph wasn’t too sure what he was supposed to do with all this moving water.
I was a little disappointed we didn’t see much wild life even though the area is known for its birds. Perhaps it was too early in the season. We’ll have to go back and check. We did see plenty of beautiful flowers and plants including a ton of Redbud trees – my favorite! We also passed a few historical buildings. They were a bit dilapidated, but part of the history of the land where the trails were.
After we finished our 3 mile hike, us humans were pretty hungry! We headed back to the car to get some fresh water and then we set off to find something delicious to eat. We decided on Market Burger & Fries in Purcellville, VA. This burger joint even had a treat for dogs made with ice cream, peanut butter, and a dog cookie! Though we didn’t get one this trip, I’m sure we’ll be back.
The food was pretty tasty, but I devoured the burger far too quickly. We had plenty of fries – both sweet potato and regular – so even the pups got a few sweet potato fries!
We didn’t make it out to a pet friendly winery this time around, but it’s just the start of the season. Hopefully, we’ll change that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, stay tuned for a post on our recent camping trip to Douthat State Park!
- Happy Birthday Ralph! - July 11, 2019
- How to Entice Your Dog to Eat {Stocking Stuffer Giveaway – Day #10} - December 14, 2018
- Must Have Travel Items for Dogs {Stocking Stuffer Giveaway – Day #9} - December 13, 2018
