Pet Friendly Lehigh Gorge Railway And Giveaway

How cool would be it to travel from sea to shining sea with your dog and stop at different pet-welcoming places along the way? Our pals at GoPetFriendly.com did just that and wrote a book about it called The Ultimate Pet-Friendly Road Trip. The dynamic duo of Rod and Amy Burkert live the life. They travel the country in their custom RV with their dogs, Ty and Buster. Their popular website now has a wonderful book featuring attractions from each state all compiled in one book for those who want to go road tripping with their dogs.

Fidose of Reality is getting involved and we want to take you along. Not only did we visit one of the pet-friendly stops in the book, but we also are giving you the opportunity to win a copy of this new book for your own road travels-with-dog plans!

Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway

Nestled into the historical town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, is the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway. We are the type of dog-loving family that enjoys exploring, take day trips together, and going out on excursions with our dogs. The train rides are pet welcoming if your dog is well behaved. A well-behaved dog should be good around people, not a barker, and is a happy pooch who remains on a leash. Our 26 years of traveling with a dog has revealed many lessons to us, the first being well-behaved dogs set the standard for how all dogs should behave. And poorly behaved dogs make it hard on everyone. That said, grab your doggie and head for the tracks.

This was our second visit to the Lehigh Gorge railway, and unfortunately, the trains were full when we were hoping to ride. Tickets sell out and are first come, first served in the busy October month. In the fall season, there are many folks from all over the country who want to take this scenic train ride with their dogs. It makes for a fun memory, and the views are wonderful. Since we already did the railway ride a year earlier, we are sharing our experience with you. Instead of the train ride, we went into the town of Jim Thorpe for some shopping, photo taking, and then to a special historic site nearby. Keep reading.

Pet Friendly Train Ride

Our dog, Dexter, a 10-years-young Cocker Spaniel, loves taking adventures because we’ve been traveling with him throughout his life. He’s been to California and back and all the states in between. This was his first official big train ride. Up to that point, we had taken a smaller train ride at the pet-friendly Knoebels Amusement Resort on their park train.

Choose from two types of trains on which to ride: the standard coach or the open air car. We did the standard coach on our first visit. If it isn’t too cool, the open air car makes for a nice breezy and enjoyable trek with your dog. You sit facing outward so the view is easily accessible throught the open air train’s sides. You are also allowed to stand along the sides, which many people did. Open air cars have roofs, and they do run May through October.

Most folks in the cooler months especially, take the standard coach train ride. The beaming blue coaches were built in 1932 by Bethlehem Steel. They have nice seating, restrooms, and operating windows.  The ride lasts around an hour or so, but in October the rides are 45 minutes due to high demand. Here in the state of Pennsylvania, the leaves turn and are glorious this time of year. We’ve had a lot of rain so they aren’t as spectacular but the train ride is well worth it.

You get a narrated tour where facts and history of the town are presented as you relax and enjoy the landscape with your dog by your side. If your dog isn’t a fan of car rides, I’d probably forego this. For those dogs who love rides, exploring, and being with their parents, we highly recommend this train ride. It feels like a slice of yesteryear and days gone by. It is simple and memories are created. What more could a dog lover want? (Well, maybe a few smooches from their dog, too).

Jim Thorpe is considered part of the famous Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Jim Thorpe has much to offer like its riverfront, parks, shops, and quaint feel overall. I didn’t find many stores that allowed pets, but you can always allow your travel partner to hold the dog while you bargain browse. There’s also  Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary and Jim Thorpe Memorial. Jim Thorpe won both the pentathalon and decathalon at the 1912 Olympics before have his gold medals revoked on a technicality. He was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. The town used to be called Mauch Chunk, meaning ‘Mountain of the Sleeping Bear.’

There is a Santa ride and other holiday events in the town, so be sure to check the schedule for a trip and time that makes sense for you and your dog. Note that northeastern Pennsylvania roads can be tricky in the winter months.

Other Pet Friendly Things In the Area

Some of the stores near the train station are pet welcoming, and others are not. There are quaint shops and places to eat. We walked around, took some photos, and brought home some Halloween themed decor. From here, we headed towards another area called Boulder Field. It is about 35 or so minutes from Jim Thorpe.

Boulder Field is at the Hickory Run State Park and is truly a site to behold. It has remained mostly unchanged for the past 20,000 years. Some of the boulders measure almost 26 feet long. It is a relic of the past because it was formed during the Ice Age. The rocks are weathered, shaped in different ways, and are weathered from time and the elements. While there, I climbed out on a few of them with my dog. However, I then ventured out on my own with the other rock climbers to explore and know that I could do it. Checking that off my bucket list.

While there, we met people from Canada, France, and different states in this country. Geologists come here, too, since it is so unique, flat, flawless, and standing the test of time. It makes for fun photo taking, too!

For a day of sightseeing, history unfolding, train ride, shopping, snacking, and photo snapping, Jim Thorpe and its surrounding towns has something for every dog lover to do with their dogs.

Now, let’s give a book away and tell you some other blogs to visit on this virtual road trip hosted by Go Pet Friendly!

Online Pet-Friendly Road Trippin’

Visit these blogs to get other pet-welcoming destination ideas in the United States:

Free E-Chapter

Enter to Win The E-Book: Closed

The winner is Marilyn Nawara. Thanks to all who entered!

Want to take your dog on a pet friendly trip to one of 48 states and Washington D.C.? Enter to win your very own copy of The Ultimate Pet Friendly Road Trip e-book from GoPetFriendly.com! Simply use the Rafflecopter entry form below and enter as many times as you would like each day until the giveaway ends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.

Sweepstakes begins on OCT 23, 2018 at 12:01 AM and ends on OCT 29, 2018 at 11:59 PM ET 

Open to residents of USA and Canada who are 18 years old. Employees and affiliates of GoPetFriendly.com, and their immediate families are ineligible to enter the Sweepstakes or win a prize. This Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Prize: One printed copy of The Ultimate Pet Friendly Road Trip, signed by the author, and with Ty and Buster’s “pawtographs.” Approximate retail value: $30 All federal, state and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner.

Enter the Sweepstakes during the Promotion Period online by visiting the entry form, which can be found on the following website: https://gleam.io/Gsn1R/the-ultimate-pet-friendly-road-trip-giveaway

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received, and will be notified via email and announced in a blog post on GoPetFriendly.com on Oct 31, 2018. The prize must be claimed within two weeks of notification. Sponsor is not responsible for any delay or failure to receive notification for any reason, including inactive email account(s), technical difficulties associated therewith, or Winner’s failure to adequately monitor any email account. If the prize is not claimed in the allotted time, an alternate winner will be randomly drawn from the remaining eligible entries.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy of GoPetFriendly.com posted at https://blog.gopetfriendly.com/online-privacy-policy/

Sponsor assumes no responsibility or liability for (a) any incorrect or inaccurate entry information, or for any faulty or failed electronic data transmissions; (b) any unauthorized access to, or theft, destruction or alteration of entries at any point in the operation of this Sweepstakes; (c) any technical malfunction, failure, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or communications line failure, regardless of cause (d) inaccessibility or unavailability of any network or wireless service, the Internet or website or any combination thereof.

If, for any reason, the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned for any reason, the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes in whole or in part. In such event, Sponsor shall immediately suspend all drawings and prize awards, and Sponsor reserves the right to award any remaining prizes in a manner deemed fair and equitable by Sponsor. Sponsor shall not have any further liability to any participant in connection with the Sweepstakes.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to the Sponsor and not to the social media platforms used to promote the Sweepstakes. 

For a list of the winner contact GoPetFriendly.com