Are your dogs barking? Ready, set, hike! (with photos)

Writer Doug Gelbert remembers when he first learned that people will pay to find somewhere fun to hike with their dogs.
Ten years ago, he was running a dog-washing business in Delaware when he learned from a customer about a great hiking spot in the northern part of the state.
“I had never heard of the place she was describing in spite of the fact I had been hiking with my dog in Delaware just about every day for 15 years, and it is a pretty small place,” Gelbert told The Log.
His customer’s directions led Gelbert to a highly developed suburb hiding a park with 10 miles of hiking trails. Realizing other dog owners probably didn’t know the spot either, he self-published a 64-page guide, “Doggin’ Delaware: The 40 Best Places to Hike in the First State” that became the best-selling local title in Delaware’s Borders store.
Since then, Gelbert has written more than 20 “Doggin’ America” hiking guides, the most recent being “Doggin Northwest Florida: The 50 Best Places to Hike With Your Dog in the Panhandle,” which went on sale March 20. For each entry, Gelbert gives the park’s history, entrance fees, hours of operation and rules for dogs, and describes the trails available.
Gelbert said he used writers to research some of the earlier books for him, but hasn’t done that in several years. For the Panhandle book he visited all the parks and several that didn’t make the cut, accompanied by Katie, a German shepherd/border collie mix, and Sacha, a golden retriever.
What makes a good dog-hiking spot?
“Some of the things I look for,” Gelbert said, “are a variety of hikes, short and long. Loops are always better than linear trails. What is the surface like? This is not much of a concern in Florida since the trails are almost all pine-friendly, soft sandy dirt or pine-straw covered. But elsewhere, trails can be rocky and tough on paws. In urban areas there may be an abundance of broken glass that will cut a dog’s paws.”
Other plusses for Gelbert include parks that allow for a solitary walk — though he admits some dog-owners prefer busier sites; hiking-only trails where there’s no risk from bikes or off-road vehicles; places where dogs can swim; hikes that include a variety of habitats; and in Florida, whether the trail changes elevation.