Dog-Friendly Boulder: Trails, Patios, Parks & Services
Boulder is the one Front Range city where a dog can legally hike off leash on public open space, provided it wears a green tag and you have done the homework.
The Voice and Sight tag, in one paragraph
About 56 percent of Open Space and Mountain Parks trails, roughly 90 miles, are open to off-leash dogs that display a City of Boulder Voice and Sight tag. To get one you take a free online class (repeated every five years), show a rabies certificate and pay $13 as a city resident, $33 in Boulder County or $75 from outside the county. The tag expires December 31, and city residents must hold a dog license before buying it.
Everywhere the tag does not apply, Boulder Revised Code 6-1-16 requires a leash held by a person: the approaches to dog parks, trails posted leash-only on the OSMP Dog Regulations Map, and several trails that go leash-required seasonally because of bears. Which Chautauqua trails are tagged versus leashed changes by segment, so check the city's current map; for fines, check the city's current page.
For fenced running, Valmont Dog Park has about three acres for large dogs and a quarter acre for small ones; East Boulder and Foothills are smaller. Howard Heuston is not a fenced park: only the area north of the partial fence is off leash, and only for tagged dogs.
Licenses are $15 altered or $30 intact per year through DocuPet. RTD takes only small pets in carriers, so trails near Boulder are a drive or a walk from town. Patios have tightened: Upslope at Flatiron Park now keeps dogs on the patio because of health department rules, and the Dushanbe Teahouse allows them on the self-service north patio only.
- CountyBoulder County
- Elevation5,269 ft
- Population105,689 (Census 2025 estimate)
- Leash lawBoulder Revised Code 6-1-16: hand-held leash everywhere except fenced dog parks and OSMP trails posted for Voice and Sight tags
- Dog licenseRequired for all dogs in the city ($15 altered / $30 intact per year via DocuPet); prerequisite for a Voice and Sight tag
- Off-leash optionsValmont, East Boulder and Foothills dog parks; Howard Heuston off-leash area (north half, tag required); about 90 miles of OSMP Voice and Sight trails
- TransitRTD: small pets in closed carriers only; service animals excepted
Dog-friendly hikes near Boulder
- Chautauqua Trail and Royal ArchBoulderVoice & Sight tag or leash · 0.7 mi
- Mount Sanitas & Sanitas Valley LoopBoulderVoice & Sight tag or leash (no dogs on Lion's Lair) · 3.5 mi
- Marshall Mesa LoopBoulderVoice & Sight tag or leash · 2.7 mi
- Doudy Draw to Flatirons VistaBoulderVoice & Sight tag or leash; seasonal leash Aug. 15–Dec. 1 · 2.2 mi
- Betasso Preserve Canyon LoopBoulderLeash required · 3.3 mi
- Rattlesnake Gulch Loop – Eldorado Canyon State ParkBoulderLeash required · 3.6 mi
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Questions people ask
Does Boulder's Voice and Sight tag work for visitors?
Yes. Anyone can register: complete the free online class, upload a rabies certificate and pay the fee, which is $75 for dogs from outside Boulder County ($33 in-county, $13 for city residents). The tag is valid through December 31 and only on OSMP trails posted for Voice and Sight; leash rules still apply on posted trails and in seasonal bear closures.
Which Boulder dog parks are fenced?
Valmont Dog Park (about 3 acres large, 0.25 acre small), East Boulder Dog Park (about 1.5 and 0.45 acres) and Foothills Dog Park (about 1.6 and 0.5 acres) are fully fenced. Howard Heuston is an off-leash area, not a fenced park: only the section north of its partial fence is off leash, and only for dogs wearing a Voice and Sight tag.
Where does my tagged dog still have to be on a leash in Boulder?
On any OSMP trail posted leash-required, on the 44 percent of trails not in the program, while approaching or leaving a dog park, on trails under seasonal bear-related leash requirements, and anywhere in city limits that is not open space or a dog park. The city's Dog Regulations Map is the authority for each trail segment, and closures such as the Dry Creek Trail bridge work in late 2026 change the picture.
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