Kingston, ON
Accommodation We stayed in dog-friendly Green Acres Inn, north of the city. Although right in the middle of a big box store area, neighbouring a Costco, Green Acres had an old-timey charm to it. Motel-style, we were able to park right outside and a Covid-friendly self-serve check-in had been implemented, which was pretty straightforward. The room came with many amenities; there was a small kitchen station with coffee maker, microwave and toaster complete with crockery and cutlery, and the bathroom housed a jet bath tub. My only dissatisfaction with the inn was the heating system was a bit noisy at night, and there was a lot of light penetrating through the window shutters. However, Rita enjoyed having free rein of the grassy area and beaver pond trail!
Hiking We spent our morning hiking Lemoine Point Conservation Area. We parked at the North Parking Lot and walked down Trail 5 towards the South lot, and then back up Trail 1 alongside Collins Bay. The first part was nice and wide, very popular with dog walkers, and Rita got to say hello to many equally friendly pups. We also encountered a group of people feeding the Chickadee birds. They were so tame, eating out of their hands! A Christmas tree had been decorated with food for them too. The second part gave us wonderful views of Collins Bay and we got to see many ducks and squirrels. On a warmer day, we may have picnicked on one of the viewing benches. On the road out of Lemoine is Rotary Park which has an off-leash dog park, if your pooch still needs to burn off energy!
Downtown We spent a few hours exploring Downtown Kingston, hitting up sights such as the City Hall with the ice-skating rink out front and the restored Engine 1095 railway train. However we spent most of our time exploring the shops, which were bustling in the run-up to Christmas. Every shop I visited was happy with Rita entering, and she got loads of attention. Some even kept dog treats behind the counter for their canine visitors. Our favourites were Happy Thoughts, Whit and its sister shop Agent 99, Send in the Clowns and The Nooks. A couple of pet shops were Birds n Paws and Bark’n up the Green Tree. The Kingston city website even has a directory of dog-friendly shops, and some had a sticker in their window indicating that dogs were welcome, to save me asking.
I would definitely like to return to Kingston in the summer. I had discovered many dog-friendly restaurants while planning my visit, some with all-weather patios, but they had recently closed due to the escalating pandemic. In addition, there was more to see around town but it was too cold to stay outside for much longer.
No dogs on the ice rink :(
