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Reviews (4)
Enjoyed our first visit
Mari VineyardsVisiting pet friendly wineries with our Corgi. In spite of bad weather we enjoyed the wine and outdoor wood fireplace at Mari. We'll definitely go back.
Our Corgi's favorite winery
Bowers Harbor VineyardsWe love BH wine and have always had great experiences with and without our Corgi's. We've been coming for years and BH staff all enjoy their dog guests.
Not for us
South Higgins Lake State ParkThe park advertises two pet friendly areas. One is strictly for campers. The other, is at far right end of swimming beach (as viewed on the park map). The water off beach is shallow and our short dog (strong swimmer) could stand only a few feet out. Taller dogs could go quite a way out into knee deep sand bottom water. There is virtually no Beach between grass and water. beach is between 0 and 2 feet wide. You can't walk up and down the beach because there isn't one, and the dog area is so tiny.
The biggest problems are size of the prohibitively small dog area, Poor access from grass to beach, no beach, and ignorant people (not the parks fault).
There are three small breaks in the brush to get onto the very small beach and water. These small access lanes are very rough with roots, tree debris, and drop-offs that only tall dogs could unsafely navigate. The area is so small that with proper distancing, 6 small family groups with dog(s) was a crowd.
Ignorant people part; Three of the 6 thought it was a good idea to park their chairs and blankets in each of the 3 narrow access lanes to the water, blocking the others from the beach/water. Add a couple poorly behaved dogs (that owners allowed to attack others entering the fenced area) and it gets real exciting.
Our visit was mid-week / mid-day. Can't imaging the nightmare of a weekend or holiday.
We drove 2.5 hours, Paid $17 park fee, stayed for 1 hour, declared a "FAIL", and drove 2.5 hours home.
The experience for us would earn a rating of Zero Bones. I gave 2 bones because the lake is beautiful and others with bigger dogs may have a better experience (if they stay in the water). Better yet, leave the dog home and enjoy the "people only" beach and park.