It's Back To School For Bowser

For many, fall means back to school. And it should formiles of
dog owners as well. Aold woodland roads to travel on. There is also a
college is a great place to look for a canine hike whenthree-mile graded loop used as a
you are traveling. You willcross-county course that winds through the woods
find many a campus to be dog-friendly. The best timearound the campus golf course
to visit with your dog is earlythat makes an ideal one-hour canine hike.College of
on a weekend day or when school is not in session.the Siskiyous - Weed, California
At smaller colleges you canBear Trail - College Avenue off I-5
maneuver your dog unobtrusively around campusThe College of the Siskiyous was founded in 1957 at
most any time. Here are some ofthe base of free-standing Mt.
my favorite campus canine hikes:Swarthmore CollegeShasta - the second highest volcano in the Lower 48
- Swarthmore, Pennsylvaniaat over 14,000 feet. The Bear
Scott Arboretum - Route 320 north from I-95Creek Trail - so named for the many black bear
The 300-acre Swarthmore campus is developed tosightings near the path - is 1.7
be an arboretum, established inmiles and easy going on level dirt through a shady
1929 as a living memorial to Arthur Hoyt Scott, Classforest. The trailhead is within 20
of 1895. Stop in the office tofeet of the college sign at the entrance parking lot.
pick up a tour map to the collections that areThe trail is extremely paw-
integrated with the stone buildings offriendly and often padded by pine straw. In addition to
the college that date to 1864. A dog-friendly campus,the easy-to-follow main
you'll find dog water bowls attrail, there are several forks where you can extend
the drinking fountains as you travel among the 3,000your canine hiking day. Enjoy a
different kinds of plants. Youstroll through the 250-acre campus after you finish the
can finish your tour in Crum Woods where your dogBear Trail.Cornell University - Ithaca, New York
can go under voice control onCornell Plantations - Judd Falls Road off Route 366
the rolling dirt paths. You can easily spend an hour orAccording to the arboretum brochure, "The name
more with your dog exploringPlantations was coined by Cornell
these trails.West Virginia University - Morgantown,University professor Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954),
West Virginiawho is often called the father
Core Arboretum - Monongahela Boulevard, next toof American horticulture. Bailey understood a
the football stadiumplantation to be 'a large group of
The 91-acre Core Arboretum on the campus ofplants, especially trees, under cultivation.'" The
West Virginia University is named forPlantations welcome visitors year-
Earl Lemley Core, the Mountain State's leadinground, are free and open sunrise to sunset. Dogs are
botanist, one-time mayor ofallowed.The trails are divided between cultivated
Morgantown and faculty member at WVU for 44collections and natural areas, spread
years. Students began coming toacross rolling terrain. The natural areas include over
the small forest in the early 1900s and the school3,000 acres of diverse habitats
acquired the property in 1948. Its- bogs, fens, gorges, glens, meadows and woodlands
steep slopes negated development and today visitors- as trails roughly trace Falls
(free admission and parkingCreek. Nearby, another four miles of woodland trails
right at the arboretum) can enjoy the old growthbeckon in Sapsucker Woods,
forest that covers the hillsides as itmaintained by the Cornell Ornithology Department, by
sweeps down to the Monongahela River.There aredogs are not permitted in
3.5 miles of trails for canine hiking that begin in an upperthis sanctuary.Clemson University - Clemson, South
lawn sprinkledCarolina
with native specimen trees. The trail drops some 200The Simpson Agricultural Station between Pendleton
feet to the river, past treesand Anderson on Lebanon
estimated at 400 years old. Look for specks of blackRoad
rock that are remnants of anThis is a spacious farm owned by the university and
old coal mine that once operated here. The foresta great place to hike with your
changes composition as it nearsdog. Foot travel is invited and there are lots of
the floodplain and thirstier species like silver maplesdifferent terrains to choose from -
begin to dominate thewoods, ponds, miles of level gravel roads, and huge
landscape. The Caperton Trail, an old rail-to-trail,fields for your dog to run in. On
crosses the park for longera clear day there are beautiful vistas of the
explorations of West Virginia's fifth largest city.Dukemountains. It's a great, off the leash,
University - Durham, North Carolinaunfettered walk with your dog!I am the author of over
Duke Forest - Research Drive off Erwin Road from20 books, including 8 on hiking with your dog, including
NC 751the
College planners began buying up small farms andwidely praised The Canine Hiker's Bible. As publisher
forestland as a buffer for theof Cruden Bay Books,
Duke campus in the 1920s. The lands have nowwe produce the innovative A Bark In The Park series
evolved into the Duke Forest withof canine hiking books found at
nearly 8,000 acres spread across six divisions. MuchDuring the warm months I lead canine hikes as tour
of the canine hiking is easyleader for tours, leading packs of dogs and humans
going in the woods is through airy pine trees, includingon day
stately loblollies andand overnight trips. Tours, ranging from one-day trips
majestic white pines.Although there are fewto multi-day explorations,
footpaths in the Duke forest there are more than 30visit parks, historical sites and beaches.