Adventures with Four Legs

A Dog-Friendly trip into southeastern Connecticut

We loaded up Teddy to spend a day in Stonington, Ct. This was an easy, dog friendly trip and we could easily come back and have just as good of a day with an entirely different itinerary! This part of Connecticut offers great public parks and lots of dog-friendly dining options.

What we did:

• Barn Island Wildlife Preserve: great dog-friendly walking trails
• Downtown Stonington: visting Stonington Point and the Stonington Lighthouse Museum’s Property
• The Sea Swirl: a clam shack with plentiful outdoor seating

A morning walk in Barn Island Wildlife Preserve

We started our morning at the Barn Island Wildlife Preserve, a gorgous 144-acres state-managed property in Stonington. As with most public locations that allow dogs, dogs must be on leash.

There’s a parking area before you get to the to boat launch with easy access to the trails. There are a couple of different pathways of varying length and based on our visit, there are no bad options.

This is definitely a great place for walking your dog and enjoying a calm environment. I would bet the boat launch gets busy in the summer, but our spring trip was lowkey and really enjoyable.

The Stonington Lighthouse and Stonington Point

After a really nice walk around Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, we headed into Stonginton towards Stonington Point and the Stonington Lighthouse Museum. There is also a very small public in this area, DuBois Beach; however, Dubois Beach is not dog-friendly. We walked around Stonington Point enjoying the views (you can see both Rhode Island and New York from here!) before walking to the Stonington Lighthouse Museum.

The Stonington Lighthouse Museum is lovely and well-loved. There are lots of historic markers on the property, which dates to the mid-19th century. You can walk around the property and enjoy the small gardens or sit on a bench to watch the water.

Plenty of Dog-Friendly Lunch Options

Before taking Teddy on field trips, we also look to make sure there are plenty of dog-friendly activities as well as places for us to stop for a bite to eat!

Stonington has a number of restaurants that are dog-friendly. There were at least three options, including Noahs’s and the Dog Watch Cafe. The Dog Watch Cafe in particular gets really busy but you can make a reservation for the dog-friendly patio (which we’d highly recommend!).

We decided we wanted something a little more casual and decided to check out a clam shack. Clam shacks in southeastern New England typically have limited or no indoor seating, but plenty of picnic style tables. We decided to head towards Mystic and try the Sea Swirl clam shack. This was a good and easy lunch spot.

The Sea Swirl offered pretty standard clam shack fair including mostly fried foods and a plethora of ice cream options. There was plenty of seating and even though they were pretty busy, the food came out quickly. We lunched at a picnic table with a view of the Pequotsepos River while Teddy rested after his morning adventures.

Dog-friendly Stonington is a great day trip

One of the reaons we take Teddy on adventures is because we want to explore more of southeastern New England. It’s important that these trips include at least a little physical activity and a place where we can either dine outside or enjoy a picnic we bring along.

The great thing about visting a place like Stonington is that this was an easy trip. It took minimal planning to find a great place for a good walk, a very walkable, historic downtown (plus a lighthouse!), and a ton of dog-friendly food options.

If you’re considering visting Stonington with your dog, this trip gets four paws up from us!