Last April, my husband, our Lab Garth and I were lured to Beaufort, S.C. by the Pet-Friendly Beaufort website and Facebook page. We were looking for a vacation spot with good walking and interesting things for the three of us to see and do, and dog friendly Beaufort fit the bill perfectly.
We stayed at the City Loft Hotel, which is dog friendly, upscale and modern, yet located in the heart of the historic part of town. From there, we could walk with Garth anywhere we wanted to go – restaurants, shops, scenic residential neighborhoods and the town waterfront. Beaufort is a lovely place to walk. Even brief walks for Garth to relieve himself led us past amazing old homes and waterfront views with signs saying, “This View Preserved by the City of Beaufort.” (Thank you, City of Beaufort!)
Each morning, Garth and I walked to the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and stopped at the human/dog water fountain for a drink before returning to the hotel to plan the day’s exploration. We love trees, so we all went on the self-guided Beaufort Tree Walk as one of our first activities. The tree walk introduced us to the part of town known as “The Point,” with its Spanish-moss-draped, centuries-old live oaks and antebellum architecture.
After much exploring on foot, we thought a horse-drawn buggy tour would be fun, but we hated to leave Garth alone in the hotel. We asked at the ticket office if he could come along, and they said, “Sure!” Garth walked right up the steps into the front of the buggy and sat calmly at my feet throughout the tour. Our tour guide was both knowledgeable and humorous, and she clearly loved her job, so the tour was an enjoyable way to learn more about the town and its history.
Another highlight of our vacation was our trip to Hunting Island State Park, an island about 25 minutes from Beaufort. We checked out the Marsh Boardwalk for views of the marsh and fiddler crabs eating on the mudflats. We then headed to the beach near the lighthouse. Strewn with weathered dead trees that looked like giant pieces of driftwood, the beach at Hunting Island was like nothing we’d ever seen.
We found several restaurants with dog friendly outdoor seating, and a couple with views of the Waterfront Park, but our favorite one — Nippy’s — had no view, just fantastic food. We didn’t have time to check out the shops along Bay Street, but there were a number that piqued our interest. Many have bowls of water and treats by their doors, and some allow dogs inside.
We loved Beaufort. We loved the enormous trees, Spanish moss, architecture and small-town feel, but most of all, we loved that it’s so dog friendly. We definitely plan to return, and have added it to our list of favorite vacation destinations.