Snowbirding might be the best thing we can do for our animals. One week, your pup carefully picks their way down an icy driveway; the next, they’re stretching out on warm gravel, nose working, soaking up the sunshine, and getting lots of new sniffs!
Snowbirding with pets takes a little more thought than going with just humans. Mainly, you’ll need to make a few extra phone calls in October, book your campsite earlier than usual, and have a short list of questions before you lock in any non-refundable reservations. Handle those, and this can be your pet’s easiest winter yet!
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12 Best Pet-Friendly Snowbird Destinations
Additional Tips to Remember
Tips for the Snowbirding Pet Parent
Most of the work happens before you leave the driveway – but with a little bit of prep work, you’ll save yourself valuable time and resources when you snowbird with your pet!
Start With a Visit to Your Vet at Home
Book a pet wellness exam a few weeks before you leave and treat it as a trip-planning appointment rather than just a checkup.
- Walk out with the rabies certificate and vaccination record on paper. Campgrounds ask for them, and paper doesn’t require a charged phone to share.
- Get prescriptions filled past the end of the season, since a new vet in a new state usually won’t refill anything without examining the animal first.
- Make sure flea, tick, and heartworm coverage runs the whole stay. Mosquitoes work year-round in south Texas and Florida, and heartworm is a far bigger threat down there than most northern owners realize.
- If your pet is being managed for something ongoing, ask your vet to email you recent bloodwork and any specialist notes as PDFs so you can easily forward them.
- Be sure your furry friend’s microchip registry is up-to-date. A chip pointing to a phone number you gave up several years ago won’t bring anyone home.
Register with a Destination Vet
Call during your first week of snowbirding, or before you leave, to find a clinic that is taking new clients. Snowbird towns can double in size between December and March, so a practice with plentiful openings in September may be booking three weeks out by January.
When you find one with room, send your records over and ask them to start a file. That can be the difference between waiting two days for an appointment and being seen the same afternoon. Also locate the 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital, which is usually a separate clinic and sometimes a good distance away.
For everything else, ask around. People who’ve wintered at your park for a decade have opinions on every vet within 30 miles, and they’re usually right. Start at the front desk and work your way out. Bird and reptile owners should begin sooner than everyone else, since vets who work with avian and exotic pets are scarce and the closest one could be hours away.
Learn About KOA Paw Pen Sites and KampK9®
KOA earns the “pet-friendly” label more than most, thanks in part to our Paw Pen and KampK9® programs.
A KOA Paw Pen is a fenced yard, 50 square feet or bigger, built into the individual campsite. Your dog gets to be off-leash at your campsite without being loose in the campground. Paw Pens are currently available at over 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada, with more added every year. Most Paw Pens are RV sites, and some pair with a KOA patio, putting shade, seating, and a fire pit on one side of the fence and your pup rolling in grass on the other!
If you’re interested in a Paw Pen site, book as early as possible – they go fast! Some locations are fully booked for the snowbird season by the end of the previous summer.
KampK9s® are fenced, off-leash parks that come standard at KOA Journey, Holiday, and Resort campgrounds. They give your dog somewhere to burn off energy and feature waste stations and water. Larger locations often have separate areas for large and small dogs, and a number of campgrounds also have a pet wash station!
12 Pet-Friendly Snowbird Destinations
Every destination below sits in the warm half of the country and, as a bonus, has at least one KOA Paw Pen location nearby!
Tucson, Arizona
Elevation is the whole reason to winter in Tucson. At 2,400 feet, the average temperature sits in the 60s and 70s. Nights cool off nicely, so a husky or a shepherd can be comfortable here in a way it never will be down in the low desert. The Tuscon Loop gives you 130 paved miles throughout Tucson and beyond and is fantastic for walking your furry friends. A city this size also means proper emergency vets instead of one overworked clinic. Tucson also runs one of the longer snowbird seasons in the Southwest, with many parks booking from October straight through April.
Nearest KOAs:
Tucson KOA Resort (*Paw Pen)
Benson KOA Journey
Picacho / Tucson NW KOA Journey (*Paw Pen)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas weather in the winter is usually in the 50s and 60s, almost no rain, and a metro with round-the-clock emergency care plus any specialist you could need. It’s an easy place to be a pet owner for a season, since the groomers, boarding kennels, and mobile vets here stay busy year-round rather than only in winter. The ground here is gravel and decomposed granite, so remember to thread carefully and keep your eyes out for sharp or abrasive terrain to protect your pet’s feet. Red Rock Canyon (the obvious day trip) allows dogs on most trails as long as they’re kept on leash, making it one of the rare scenic stops you can share with your fur baby.
Nearest KOAs:
Las Vegas KOA Journey at Sam’s Town (*Paw Pen)
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces sits at about 3,900 feet, which means its cooler and drier than Tucson or Yuma, and it suits the dog who’d rather be chilly than warm. It also sits where I-10 meets I-25, so most snowbirds drive past here anyway. About an hour northeast, White Sands National Park allows leashed pets out on the dunes, which almost no national park does, so your dog can come along for one of New Mexico’s best-known sights.
Nearest KOAs:
Las Cruces KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Alamogordo / White Sands KOA Journey
Gulfport, Mississippi
Quieter and less expensive than the coasts on either side, Gulfport sits on a 26-mile stretch of man-made beach and a winter that barely shows up. Monthly rates here tend to run below what you’ll pay in Florida, which is a big part of the appeal for anyone settling in for a whole season. Gulfport and Biloxi both have full-service veterinary clinics, and New Orleans is close enough for a specialist appointment without having to set aside the whole day.
Nearest KOAs:
Gulfport KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Slidell KOA Journey (*Paw Pen)
Fredericksburg, Texas
Hill Country winters stay mild without tipping into hot, and Fredericksburg’s tasting rooms have more dog-friendly patios than anywhere else in Texas. The amount of veterinarians is solid here and in Kerrville, with more specialists in San Antonio, an hour away. Wineries along Highway 290 are used to four-legged visitors, and many keep water bowls by the door. One warning: the Hill Country freezes hard on some January nights. Pack for it, for your pet and your water lines both.
Nearest KOAs:
Fredericksburg KOA Resort (*Paw Pen)
Kerrville KOA Journey
Round Mountain / Johnson City KOA Journey
Galveston Island, Texas
Snowbirding in Galveston means breezy, mild Gulf winters, with beach access right from the campground. Most of the island’s beaches allow leashed dogs, though rules vary by beach, so ask at the front desk before you load everybody into the truck. Houston’s specialty and emergency hospitals sit about an hour north if something goes seriously wrong. Watch out for dampness here. A rig parked for several months in Gulf humidity can develop mildew, and your pet’s lungs will suffer before yours do.
Nearest KOAs:
Galveston Island KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Houston / Med Center KOA Holiday
Slidell and New Orleans, Louisiana
The north shore of Lake Pontchartrain gets mild winters and sits close to a city where dogs are simply part of public life. Slidell sits on the quiet side of the lake, while New Orleans is the heart of everything you come here for. Either way, you’re within an easy drive of a full range of veterinary care. Humidity is the trade-off, as it is anywhere on this coast, so keep the rig aired out.
Nearest KOAs:
New Orleans KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Slidell KOA Journey (*Paw Pen)
Gulfport KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Crystal River, Florida
This is Florida at a price that doesn’t make you wince. The Nature Coast stays green and quiet, built around springs that fill with manatees once the Gulf turns cold. Dogs can’t go in the swim areas, so take those morning strolls around the water alone. For the rest of your time, the Withlacoochee State Trail is over 40 miles of paved, flat walking and welcomes leashed dogs, which is a gift if your pup is older and gravel has started to bother them!
Nearest KOAs:
Crystal River KOA Journey (*Paw Pen)
Chiefland / Manatee Springs KOA Holiday
Clearwater and Tampa Bay, Florida
This area provides warm weather with a full-size city attached. Tampa Bay has emergency and specialty care in every direction and more groomers than you’ll get through in a season. It’s also one of the best spots on this list for a dog who loves water, since Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin has a designated dog beach where leashed dogs can go straight into the Gulf. The trade-off is cost and crowding, because this is a popular corner of Florida and the best sites go early.
Nearest KOAs:
Clearwater / Lake Tarpon KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
St. Petersburg / Madeira Beach KOA Holiday
Bradenton / Hunsader Farms KOA Holiday
Orlando, Florida
Central Florida sits a few degrees cooler at night than either coast and costs less than both of them. The seasonal population means pet services run deep here, with daycares, groomers, vets, and boarding all built around long winter stays. Just remember – the theme parks the area’s known for don’t allow dogs inside, though some have on-site kennels, so make sure you sort out proper pet care before you hit those rollercoasters!
Nearest KOAs:
Orlando / Kissimmee KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Orlando NW / Orange Blossom KOA Journey
Orlando Southwest KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston offers a mild Atlantic winter with a thoroughly dog-obsessed city attached. Highs sit in the upper 50s and low 60s, the historic district is flat and easy to walk, and plenty of restaurants with courtyards will happily seat you with a pup under the table. Mount Pleasant puts you about 10 minutes from the beach at Sullivan’s Island, where dogs get generous off-leash hours during the cooler months. Check the current schedule before you go, since the rules tighten up in spring.
Nearest KOAs:
Mount Pleasant / Charleston KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Charleston KOA Holiday
Point South / I-95 / Yemassee KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Santee / Santee Lakes KOA Journey
St. Marys, Georgia
Sure, Florida is a snowbird’s paradise – but don’t sleep on Georgia as a fantastic option, too! Coastal Georgia offers 60-degree days and mild nights right off I-95. Jacksonville’s full range of veterinary care is about 40 minutes south of St. Marys. Note that the main attraction here, Cumberland Island National Seashore, allows leashed pets, but the public ferry from St. Marys doesn’t. So this means that a dog can only come to the island via private boat. However, St. Marys has an 11-mile multi-use path that takes you through the best sights the town has to offer – perfect for your furry companion!
Nearest KOAs:
Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA Holiday (*Paw Pen)
Other Things to Remember
Buy a temperature monitor. A rig in Arizona heats up terrifyingly fast when the AC quits or a breaker pops, and you’ll probably be away when it happens. A monitor that texts you when the inside temperature crosses a line costs less than one emergency vet visit. Several will warn you about a power drop too.
Read the pet policy before you pay. Things like pet limits, breed restrictions set by the campground’s insurer, and cabin rules all vary by location. Most parks also forbid leaving an animal tied up at your campsite with no one there, which matters if you’ve planned long days out.
Find a sitter early. National parks are closed to dogs past the parking lot and the paved road, and the ones you most want to see out west and in Florida are no exception. A full day at Saguaro, or in the water at Crystal River, means the dog needs somewhere to be. Daycares in snowbird towns book up the same way vets do.
Watch the ground. Desert gravel grinds pads down. Foxtails and grass awns work into ears and between toes. Cholla grabs anything that brushes it. Check feet and coat after walks and you’ll catch most of it before it turns into a vet bill.
Learn what’s out there. Florida alligators will take a small dog off a canal bank or the edge of a retention pond, so keep the leash on and stay back from the water. Cane toads are another concern across central and southern Florida, as the toxin on their skin can turn a curious mouth into an emergency within minutes.
Sort the paperwork before you cross into Mexico. Many people wintering in southern Arizona and New Mexico make day trips to Mexico as well, so read the current guidelines from the USDA to ensure you don’t hit any logistical snags on your trip.
The Payoff
With a little advance planning, you’ll get several months of your animal being happier than you may have ever seen them, plus you get to sit outside in February while everybody back home scrapes a windshield. That’s a win-win no matter how you look at it!
Leslie is a freelance travel and health/wellness writer who gets butterflies from telling stories and sharing information with readers across the globe. Her voice comes from a place filled with passion and dreams.
With over 10 years of experience in crafting words and years of embarking on travels that have taken this Montana girl to some incredible places, Leslie loves the adventures of both body and mind that her writing takes her on.
To see what Leslie’s up to in the writing and design world, visit her website here.
