Dog-Friendly Denver
Denver has sunshine most days of the year, a patio on almost every block and a brewery in nearly every neighborhood, which makes it an easy city to go out with a dog. We list 181 dog-friendly restaurants, bars and breweries, 43 dog-friendly cafés and coffee shops and 35 dog parks and off-leash areas in Denver and the metro area, from LoHi, RiNo and Capitol Hill to South Broadway, Golden and Arvada.
Categories in Denver
Eating out with a dog in Denver
Colorado law lets a restaurant welcome pet dogs in its outdoor dining area if it chooses to. The dog must come in through a separate entrance without passing through the restaurant, stay off the chairs and benches, and be leashed or in a carrier, and no food is prepared in that area. A city or county can also say no, and so can each restaurant (C.R.S. 25-4-1615). That is why the places on this list are mostly about patios, rooftops and beer gardens.
Some Denver-area taprooms that do not cook their own food let well-behaved dogs come inside, like Denver Beer Co. Platte Street, LUKI Brewery, Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, Bruz Beers Midtown and more. See the full list of dog-friendly restaurants and bars in Denver and use the filters to find patios and dogs-inside spots near you.
Breweries and beer gardens
Our list has 78 bars, pubs, breweries and taprooms in and around Denver where a source says dogs are welcome, among them Denver Beer Co. Platte Street, LUKI Brewery, Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, Colorado Campfire, Colorado Tap House and more. Golden, Arvada and Lakewood west of the city have their own cluster of dog-friendly breweries close to the foothills.
Coffee with your dog
Our list of dog-friendly cafés in Denver has 43 coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops. At almost all of them your dog stays at the outdoor tables, and several sell pup cups or dog treats, like Little Man Ice Cream in LoHi.
Dog parks and off-leash areas
In Denver, dogs may be off leash only inside the city's designated dog parks, and everywhere else in the parks they must be leashed. Most city dog parks are open from sunrise to sundown; Railyard Dog Park near Commons Park has lights and is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Denver Parks and Recreation). For a big run, the state parks at Chatfield and Cherry Creek have off-leash areas of 69 and 107 acres, with a pass required. See all dog parks in Denver.
Dog menus
18 places on our list serve something made for dogs: Denver Beer Co. Platte Street, LUKI Brewery, Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, Colorado Campfire, Colorado Campfire Uptown, Colorado Tap House, Crema Coffee House, Huckleberry Roasters Sunnyside, Junction Food & Drink, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Aurora, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Westminster, Little Man Ice Cream, Nowhere Coffee, Side Pony Coffee & Cocktails, The Patio at Sloan's Lake, The Walnut Room, ZOMO, and Rosie's Ice Cream. The note on each place says what is on offer.
Denver by area
We sort the list by neighborhood and group the neighborhoods into areas: Central Denver (Downtown, LoDo, Capitol Hill, Congress Park, Cherry Creek), North Denver (LoHi, Highland, Sunnyside, Sloan's Lake, RiNo), South Denver (Baker, South Broadway, Wash Park), East Denver (Central Park and Lowry) and the metro area: the West Metro (Golden, Arvada, Lakewood), the North Metro (Westminster), the East Metro (Aurora) and the South Metro (Littleton, Englewood, Centennial, Highlands Ranch).
Frequently asked questions
Are dogs allowed on restaurant patios in Denver?
Often, yes. Colorado law lets each restaurant decide whether to allow dogs in its outdoor dining area, as long as the dog does not walk through the restaurant and stays off the furniture. This list has 181 restaurants, bars and breweries in the Denver area where a source says dogs are welcome.
Can dogs go inside breweries in Denver?
At some of them. On our list a source says dogs can come inside at Denver Beer Co. Platte Street, LUKI Brewery, Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, Bruz Beers Midtown, Copper Kettle Brewing Co., Living the Dream Brewing, Locavore Beer Works, Odyssey Beerwerks, Resolute Brewing Tap & Cellar, Skiptown Denver, SomePlace Else Brewery, and WestFax Brewing Company. Rules can differ between the taproom and the patio, so ask at the door.
Which Denver restaurants have a dog menu?
Denver Beer Co. Platte Street, LUKI Brewery, Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, Colorado Campfire, Colorado Campfire Uptown, Colorado Tap House, Crema Coffee House, Huckleberry Roasters Sunnyside, Junction Food & Drink, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Aurora, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar Westminster, Little Man Ice Cream, Nowhere Coffee, Side Pony Coffee & Cocktails, The Patio at Sloan's Lake, The Walnut Room, ZOMO, and Rosie's Ice Cream.
Where can my dog run off leash in Denver?
Only inside designated dog parks. Our list of dog parks in Denver has 35 of them, from city dog parks like Railyard, Berkeley and Kennedy to the large off-leash areas in Chatfield and Cherry Creek state parks.
Which areas does Woofstops cover around Denver?
The city of Denver plus nearby cities in the metro area, including Golden, Arvada, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Westminster, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial and Highlands Ranch.