Paw Stops: The Road Trip Planner Built for Traveling With Your Dog

Why Paw Stops Exists

My daughter had spent four years on the West Coast at the University of Oregon, and she was moving to San Francisco to start pharmacy school. Her black Lab, Ember, needed to get from Central Pennsylvania to her new home on the other side of the country.

Ember is a seasoned traveler. She'd made multiple trips to South Dakota, but always in an RV, where your space comes with you. This time it was a car and hotels, and I had never traveled with her that way.

I was stressed about two things. First, finding hotels that would take her. Second, finding places to stop where she could get out and move around safely, which matters even more with an older dog. The hotel search turned out to be the hardest part. Filtering for pet-friendly hotels was one problem. Filtering for pet-friendly hotels close to the route I was actually driving was another, and none of the tools I tried did it well.

So about a week before the trip, I started writing code. I kept coding on the road, adjusting the app as real problems showed up along the way.

Ember did far better than I expected and only got restless a few times. Toward the end of the trip, Paw Stops found us a park in Winnemucca, Nevada, where I could let her off leash to run, with fresh air and green grass under her feet. That stop is the reason this app exists.

Paw Stops wasn't designed on a whiteboard. It was built on the road, for the road.

How Paw Stops Plans Your Driving Day

Most trip planners show you everything near a city. Paw Stops starts with how you actually drive. You enter:

• Your starting point
• Your destination
• How many hours you want to drive each day
• How many stops you want to make, or how often you want to stop
• Your average highway speed

From there, Paw Stops calculates where your driving day will realistically end and where your stops will fall, then shows you the amenities near those points. Plans change on the road, so you can adjust any of these settings at any time during your trip and get an updated list of stops and places to stay.

Pet-Friendly Hotels Close to Your Route

After a long day of driving, the last thing you want is a pet-friendly hotel that's twenty minutes in the wrong direction. Paw Stops looks for pet-friendly hotels within a narrow band of your route and near where your day is planned to end, so the right place to stay is a short detour, not a side trip.

Dog Parks and Rest Stops Where Your Dog Can Really Stretch Out

A patch of grass next to a busy highway isn't a real break for your dog. Paw Stops looks for places that are:

• Park settings or dog parks, with fenced dog parks being the best option
• Big enough for your dog to actually move
• In the right spot off the highway: close enough that you stay on schedule, but far enough from traffic that your dog is safe

These stops matter on every trip, and they matter even more for older dogs or dogs who need regular breaks to stay comfortable on a long drive.

Fuel, Coffee and Food for the Humans

A good travel day has to work for both ends of the leash. Paw Stops also helps you find:

• Fuel stops along your route
• Coffee, from major chains to local roasters, depending on whether you want something familiar or want to try something new
• Food options matched to your preferences

The goal is a travel day that's easier to plan and more efficient to drive.

Who Uses Paw Stops

Paw Stops started with one cross-country trip, but plenty of people travel with their dogs all the time:

• Families and individuals on road trips, moves and long drives
• Agility competitors heading to events
• Support animal handlers
• Dog trainers
• Hunters traveling with their dogs

Everyone uses the same set of tools, hotels, parks, fuel, food and coffee, and simply weighs them differently depending on the trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Paw Stops?

   Paw Stops is a road trip planner for people traveling with dogs. It finds pet-friendly hotels, dog parks and safe rest stops, fuel, coffee and food along your route, based on how far and how long you plan to drive each day.

2. How does Paw Stops find pet-friendly hotels along my route?

   You enter your start point, destination, daily driving hours, stop frequency and average highway speed. Paw Stops uses those to estimate where each driving day will end, then shows pet-friendly hotels within a narrow band of your route near that point.

3. Can I change my plan during the trip?

   Yes. You can adjust any of your settings at any time during your trip and get an updated list of stops and hotels.

4. Does Paw Stops find places for my dog to exercise?

   Yes. Paw Stops looks for parks and dog parks, including fenced dog parks, that are large enough for your dog to move and positioned close to the highway but safely away from traffic.

5. Does Paw Stops include fuel, coffee and food?

   Yes. Paw Stops shows fuel stops, coffee from major chains and local roasters, and food options matched to your preferences.

6. Who is Paw Stops for?

   Anyone who travels with a dog, from families on a one-time cross-country move to agility competitors, support animal handlers, trainers and hunters who are on the road regularly.

7. Is Paw Stops available on iPhone and Android?

   Paw Stops runs in the web browser on iPhone, Android phones and computers, so there is nothing to install. Native iPhone and Android apps are in development.

8. Is Paw Stops free?

   Yes. Planning trips, pet-friendly hotel results, dog stops and weather are all free, with no account and no card. The site is funded by affiliate commission when someone books a hotel through one of our links, at no extra cost to you.

Plan Your Next Road Trip With Your Dog

Tell Paw Stops where you're starting, where you're going and how you like to drive. It's free, and you don't need an account.

Start planning your route