THURSDAY DOG HIKE, Castlewood creek walk.

How to amuse your dog in summer heat! About 2-3 miles, most of it in the cool clear water of the spring fed creek. We can do this in the hottest of hot weather.

We’ll usually walk 3/4 mile to the beach on trails, then back the same way and into the creek. About 1.5 miles on trails, 1.5 miles in the water. All level, but footing in the creek is rocky in a couple of spots. Nothing hard here at all.

**Footwear**: You will be walking in the water. Wear old sneakers WITH SOCKS. The socks will keep the rocks out. Flip flops or sandals are not good here. You need the socks.

Please use your head at swimmin’ hole. Keep the big rowdy dogs away from the wee dogs, so no one gets hurt. There’s plenty of room to spread out.

There is an attendance limit, so things don’t get too crazy. Human guests are welcome, but no guest dogs.

Please keep your RSVP updated, so we don’t have to stand in a parking lot waiting for you. We leave promptly at 10:00, with or without you. Arrive a little early and be ready to go by startup.

**Ticks:** Please treat your dog with Frontline or equivalent on any of our warm weather hikes. We have had very little trouble with ticks on this hike, because we are actually in the water much of the time. Keep your dog out of the brush on creekbank and you should be pretty safe.

For this hike only, retractable leash is okay so pups can play in the water. Please keep them short until we’re in the creek. Keep some space between dogs, so they don’t get tangled.

Bathroom at parking lot.

**DRIVING DIRECTIONS:**

Use meetup mapping or gps to get to the park.

Once inside the park, park at the SECOND LOT ON THE LEFT, a little before the RR tunnel. It’s a pretty big parking lot and it is shaded to keep cars cool for pups. If you get to the tunnel, you’ve gone about 500′ too far.

Meetup map pin is in the right place.