Dog walking in Mount Horeb

North Side

Mount Horeb's North Side neighborhood is where you can enjoy a stroll through the charming downtown area. It's home to a host of dog-friendly businesses. You can grab a bite to eat with your pup on the patio of Bistro 101, a locavore restaurant with a seasonal menu, or at Schubert's Downtown, a bakery where everything is made from scratch. You can even take your pup along for a wine tasting at Fisher King Winery! As you sample everything from complex reds to a blueberry wine, you can snack on cheese plates and chocolate. If you're more into beer, you should definitely stop by the Grumpy Troll Brewery, which has seasonal and dog friendly outdoor seating, and a full menu of food to pair with the beer. While the downtown area lacks any proper parks, it abuts several in neighboring areas, including the large Stewart Lake County Park.

South Mount Horeb

South Mount Horeb features many pleasant walkable streets as well as a couple of neighborhood parks where you can take your dog for a spirited romp: Garfield Park and Grundahl Park. The larger Grundahl Park features a sledding hill as well as an open octagonal shelter with electric outlets and a water fountain. Garfield Park has a skating rink in the winter. The 26-acre Duane Hofstetter Conservation Park features both wooded and open grassland areas. Work is being done to improve and expand the park's trails. All of the parks require you to keep your dog on a leash and provide your own waste bags.

East Mount Horeb

The east side of Mount Horeb features several parks. Liberty Park and Summer Frolic Sunrise Park have sports facilities, open grassy areas, and covered shelters with electric outlets. The large sports fields are great places for on-leash play when they're not being used for a game. Smaller neighborhood parks include Lions Park, Sutter Farm Park, and Howard Himsel Park. You will need to bring your own waste bags and water to all parks. The Military Ridge Trail also passes through the neighborhood. This forty-mile trail connects several towns in Dane County and is popular with bicyclists, as well as hikers. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.

Nesheim Trail

In the Nesheim Trail neighborhood you'll find the small Nesheim Park, which includes grassy areas, a sledding hill, and a playground. The neighborhood's best dog-friendly feature, however, is the 191-acre Stewart Lake County Park. Along the park's three well-maintained hiking loops you can take in marshy and wooded scenery as well as a large lake, dolomite rock formations, and several streams. The park is popular for trout and bass fishing, non-motorized boating, and birdwatching. It's a particularly good place for spotting bluebirds. Its trails are also groomed for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. You will need to bring your own waste bags and water and keep your dog on a leash.

Blue Mounds

The 1100-acre Blue Mound State Park is only a ten-minute drive from Mount Horeb. If you're up for a longer trek, you could walk or bike the six miles of the Military Ridge Trail from downtown Mount Horeb to Blue Mound State Park, or you could simply pick up the ridge trail from inside the park, which features twenty miles of additional biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing trails. Blue Mound State Park is situated on the highest point in southern Wisconsin and offers vistas of unique rock formations from its observation towers, as well as peaceful walks through wooded areas. Leashed dogs are welcome throughout the park and you will need to bring your own waste bags and water.