PET FRIENDLY WILLIAMSBURG

Travelers don’t need to leave their fur babies at home when planning a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. Dogs and their owners can shop, eat, stay, and play at any number of dog-friendly businesses throughout the destination. The “pawsibilities” are endless in Williamsburg.

Many Williamsburg hotels offer amenities just for pets. From in-room treats and dog beds to pet-friendly suites, there are plenty of reasons to bring along a best buddy. Kingsmill Resort designated a set of guest rooms available for pets and boasts a layout that offers plenty of areas to stretch all four legs. In addition, the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Sampler Bed & Breakfast Inn, and Westgate Historic Williamsburg Resort are all dog-friendly. 

Shopping in Williamsburg has literally gone to the dogs at “barkeries” and stores offering canine specialties. The Corner BARkery caters a full bar and great menu for humans, while offering a specialty menu for their four-legged guests, including a bark-cuterie board, filled with dog-friendly snacks. At The Nautical Dog and Gangsta Dog, pet-loving visitors find gifts and high-quality foods, including freshly baked treats.

Dogs are welcome at many coffee shops and cafés with patio seating throughout the destination. Visitors can grab a cup of joe and sit outside with their pups at Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters, illy Caffé, and The Bake Shop.  

Additionally, several restaurants offer al fresco dining, welcoming pups and humans alike. At Carrot Tree Kitchens, DoG Street Pub, Culture Cafe, and Blue Talon Bistro, guests enjoy a casual bite with their pups in tow.

Beer lovers can also enjoy dog-friendly breweries around Williamsburg. Dogs are welcome at the Virginia Beer Company and Alewerks Brewing Company, both of which host a variety of food trucks for outdoor dining. Additionally, the aptly-named Hungry Pug Food Truck is found daily at Billsburg Brewery.

Want to shed some pounds off your furry companion? There are numerous dog-friendly hiking trails and parks in Williamsburg.  Lake Matoaka provides 10 miles of trails and boating, and dogs are allowed in certain areas along the waterfront hiking trails at Little Creek Reservoir, a 996-acre park offering a variety of activities. For fidos looking to soak up the sun, Jamestown Event Beach Park is a dog-friendly beach that serves “pup cups” at the concession stand. 

Don’t worry history buffs, dogs also are allowed in the outdoor areas of Historic Jamestowne, Colonial Williamsburg,  and at Yorktown’s Riverwalk Landing, where dogs can walk with their owners and enjoy shopping, restaurants, and popular attractions. 

TEMPTING NEW TASTES AND SIPS – VIRGINIA BEACH

The Chipper. Virginia Beach has no shortage of delicious seafood restaurants, and this new Irish establishment prepares tasty fish and chips in the original style. Made-to-order fried fish and thick-cut fries, traditionally labeled “the chipper,” are the centerpiece of the eponymous restaurant’s menu. U-Pick fields ripe with flavor.

Cullipher Farms opens its fields to the public this spring for fun you-pick outings to collect sweet spring strawberries and blueberries. Make plans to return in summer to harvest fresh peaches and grapes.

SE – Virginia Beach. Owl Creek Landing The outdoor adventure attraction features a first-of-its-kind observation tower, slide and treetop trails that deliver bird’s-eye, panoramic views of the surrounding nature area.  OwlCreekLanding.com or by calling 757-330-0473. 801 General Booth Blvd, Virginia Beach VA 23451 (near Virginia Aquarium). Adult tickets are $28, and youth tickets are $18, and each include timed access to the Nautilus Tower, Canopy Walk, Treehouses and Children’s Playground. Add-on options include spiral slide access ($15) and an Adventure Park ticket bundle.Free, public access to more than a mile of ground-level nature trails that ring the perimeter of the 38-acre wooded site is available during Owl Creek Landing’s regular operating hours. 

Modeled after similar structures in Europe, the Nautilus Lookout Tower is 65 feet tall with a spiraling seven-foot-wide ramp to the top and the longest stainless-steel slide in the country. Visitors can ascend to the open-air observation deck and stroll along the treetop trail canopy walk, a half-mile series of connected trails suspended above the forest floor for additional views. While on-site, explore the children’s playground and a neighborhood of treehouses equipped with themed, hands-on activities for kids ages two and up. The Nautilus Lookout Tower and Owl Creek Landing are fully ADA accessible and welcome visitors of all physical abilities to experience the attraction. 

NEW EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES:

1000 catamaran race sails back to Virginia Beach. After a decades-long break, the 12-day ocean endurance race returns to the resort city when 17 catamaran sailing teams cross the finish line on Saturday, May 21. The 1,000-mile trek begins in Fort Lauderdale and pits two-man race teams in a physical and mental battle against the elements and each other.

Oceanfront pilots free summer shuttle service. In a plan to improve access and mobility in the busy resort area, the city will pilot five electric shuttles this summer. Riders hail the compact Freebee vehicles via a mobile app and can enjoy courtesy transportation throughout the oceanfront district for twelve hours daily.

East Coast Surfing Championship celebrates 60th anniversary August 21 – 28, 2022: The eight-day, international surf contest is the world’s longest-running surf competition and celebrates its diamond anniversary in 2022. Streets along the Virginia Beach shoreline welcome several hundred surfers each year competing for titles, prizes, history and the love of surfing. The week-long celebration also includes volleyball, a Boardwalk;5K run, street skate and ramp contests, swimsuit contests, food and drink concessions, and live music on the beach.

SE – Chincoteague – Iron Pony Adventure Park. Take yourself to the edge and try the pony plunge, a 26-foot-high leap of faith.

CLOSED

NE – McLean, Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run; NE – Manassas, Old Dominion Speedway; 

NW – Harrisonburg (Dayton), Heritage Center;

SC – South Hill, Virginia S Evans Doll Museum;

SE – Hampton, Miss Hampton II Harbor Cruises; SE – Norfolk, Rowenas Jam & Jelly Factory; SE – Richmond (Sandston), Virginia Aviation Museum; SE – Portsmouth, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame; SE – Eastern Shore (Parksley), Eastern Shore Railway Museum; SE – Yorktown, Duke of York Hotel

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(search KIDS LOVE VIRGINIA, 5th Edition)