DOG FRIENDLY VACATION IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

West Palm Beach, Florida is a great place to vacation with or without pets.   West Palm Beach is on Florida's East coast, about 73 miles North of Miami and 170 miles South of Orlando.  It's a quick drive to upscale Palm Beach, just on the other side of the intracoastal across the Flagler Memorial Bridge.

Phoebe overlooking the beauty of dog friendly West Palm Beach from the Palm Beach Lake Trail, across the Flagler Bridge & intercoastal waterway.

Last month we took a road trip with our dogs from Long Island, New York down to West Palm Beach.  After weeks of continuous frigid temperatures and more snow than I care to shovel, I had to get away from Old Man Winter!  I'm so glad I had that break because upon our return to New York, we got hit with 4 Nor'easter storms in a row.  Mother Nature has clearly lost her mind.

Dog Friendly West Palm Beach

I was delighted to see how dog friendly West Palm Beach is!  I was so happy with our choice of hotel, the Hyatt Place hotel in downtown West Palm Beach.  The location was perfect, especially for walking and socializing with the dogs.  There were three areas, all walking distance to our hotel, that made this the ideal location for a pet friendly vacation.

The intercoastal walkway

Just one block East of the hotel is the beautiful paved walkway that runs along the intercoastal waterway.  This long walkway is perfect any time of day or evening.  The path is wide and the views of the water are beautiful.  There are some grassy patches too if your dog needs a potty break. 

The Beautiful dog friendly walkway along the intercoastal waterway in downtown West palm Beach

Take a stroll down the long pier that stretches out onto the water for an even better view of the surrounding area.

The long pier off the downtown West Palm Beach walkway offers lovely views day or evening

You can also walk your dog across the Flagler Memorial Bridge.  The bridge itself is so lovely and views of the water and downtown West Palm Beach are beautiful, especially at night.

The Flagler Bridge beautifully lit up at  night.

The Palm Beach Trail

Once you cross over the Flagler Bridge you'll be in glamorous Palm Beach.  Just over the bridge on the left you will come across a parking lot and the start of the Palm Beach Trail.  The trail runs for several miles along the intercoastal from the bridge, along most of Palm Beach island.  Along the way you'll pass the famous Flagler Museum.  There are some gorgeous homes along one side of the trail and on the other side you get a great view of downtown West Palm Beach across the water.

We loved walking the dogs along the Palm Beach Trail, enjoying the water views and peaking into the yards of the upscale homes along the trail.

We really enjoyed the sites along this pet friendly walking trail!  Thankfully, there were a few areas with shade where we could stop for a water break with the dogs.  As we passed some of the private piers we saw a few big lizards sunning themselves.  Icy was completely enthralled with the lizards and wanted to get up close & personal with them.  Of course, we didn't let her get too close!

Check out this wild looking tree we spotted at the edge of someone's yard along the Palm Beach Trail!  How'd you like to have this tree growing in your yard??

Rosemary Square (aka City Place)

East of our hotel, along the water, is all natural beauty but West of the hotel is where the action is! About a 7 minute walk West of the hotel is Rosemary Square, formerly City Place, an upscale shopping and dining area.  It's not just an outdoor mall, it's an entertainment area, where they have music and other events taking place.  

The center of beautiful City Place, where there's daytime shopping and nighttime action!

There are plenty of shops and restaurants in City Place. 

Rosemary Square is a large area, encompassing several blocks.  We spent most of our time in the main "square" you see pictured above.  There are some great restaurants and shops in Rosemary Square, or you can just grab a coffee and people watch!

One of our favorite breakfast places was the Village Gourmet Cheese Shop in the center of  City Place.

We loved Rosemary Square and spent many days and most of our evenings there.

A word of caution:  Clematis Street, near Rosemary Square, is kind of the "restaurant row" of downtown West Palm Beach.  However, there are a lot of homeless people who hang out there, especially during the daytime.  They have been known to come right up to outdoor diners asking for money and even grabbing food off their plates. The city is doing their best to rectify this issue.

I was accosted by a homeless man as we walked down Clematis one morning looking for a coffee shop.  He kept insisting that I take a small plastic bag of food from him and feed the contents to my dogs.  I don't know why he felt compelled to do that but he followed me for a few minutes trying to get me to take the bag.  Of course, wasn't my husband 50 feet ahead of me, oblivious to it.  LOL!!

Short Drive To Dog Friendly Beaches

Another great thing about West Palm Beach is that it's only a 15 to 20 minute drive to the BEST dog friendly beaches, Juno Beach and Jupiter Beaches!  

Check out my blog post on The Best Dog Friendly Beaches In Florida to find out more about the two best Florida beaches that allow dogs.

Would you consider West Palm Beach for your next dog friendly vacation?  Tell us in the comments!