Stop, slow down, and notice the white porch swings and USA flags dotting Main Street of Woodstock, Virginia – while staying at the dog-friendly accommodation called Gracie’s Place. Gracie’s Place is a fully restored historic dog-welcoming house with fenced-in back patio and pup approved amenities.

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Gracie’s Place is our second stop on our tour of dog-friendly Virginia accommodations owned by the Shenandoah Dog Friendly Rentals company. Check out our experience at Chateau Frankie here.

Dog-friendly Gracie’s Place

If Chateau Frankie in Bentonville, Virginia sounds too isolated for you, there’s a fix. A forty-minute drive away, thanks to a route that takes you around the Shenandoah mountains, you’ll find Gracie’s Place in Woodstock, Virginia.

Gracie’s Place is a 1920’s Sears Roebuck house (the sister house is next door) that brought back memories of my grandmother’s maritime home: bending wooden staircase with wide banister, bedrooms with wardrobe cabinets instead of closets, and wide dark wooden trim from floor to ceiling throughout the house.

But unlike my grandmother’s house, dogs are welcome at Gracie’s Place – no number, size, or breed limit. And no extra charges!

Also unlike my grandmother’s home, Gracie’s Place has a lot of modern updates:

• Three bedrooms – one with king bed, one with queen bed, and one with twin bed and futon couch
• Two bathrooms – whirlpool tub upstairs and a heated floor downstairs
• Enclosed second level sun room
• Fully fenced back patio with a patio stone ground cover – good for wearing down dog nails
• Gravel area in the back yard for peeing and sand pit for digging
• Two large dog crates – to keep dogs in if you leave the house without them
• Dog bed, dishes, and basket of toys

The Heart of Woodstock, Virginia

Plus, this place is in the heart of town – everything you need at Gracie’s Place is just outside the door (including a community library box). Main Street is one block away and lunch at one of the best bakeries in the state, two blocks away.

It’s cliché to say, but Woodstock, Virginia is the quintessential American small town with a compacted, well-treed and maintained historic Main Street that’s too often described as quaint. To some, quaint might mean slow moving, but that’s not entirely true. A steady stream of traffic flows through the middle of Woodstock because Main Street is actually Highway 11 connecting several small towns in the Shenandoah region.

Dog-friendly Antiquing in Virginia

In fact, Highway 11 will lead you from Woodstock to Strasburg, two towns over and home to the Emporium. The Emporium is 52,000 square feet of antiques, collectibles, and essentially giant flea market that’s – wait for it – entirely dog friendly. If you love vintage hunting, you can spend hours here … unless you’ve got an impatient pulling spaniel with you like I did. Then you’ll spend time keeping her from jumping on staff. Did she get treats at the check out counter? You bet. Both on the way in and out.

In fact, Woodstock and the surrounding area is an antique-hunter/thrift store enthusiasts’ dream. The Emporium might be the big draw, but there’s got more secondhand stores per capita here than any other town in the state – though, I have no definitive figures to support that observation.

Dog-friendly Woodstock Downtown

But back to Main Street. Woodstock was established in 1752, so many buildings are historic, some pillared examples of 18^th and 19^th century architecture. White porch swings are popular.

Woodstock, Virginia is a town is near the Shenandoah River, Seven Bends State Park, and the George Washington National Forest – all areas those who love hiking, or even paddling, with your dogs will enjoy. Some people staying at Gracie’s House are in the area exclusively for that reason, according to writer, dog foster mom, and Shenandoah Dog Friendly Rentals owner Cara Sue Achterberg.

The courthouse, now home to the Woodstock Museum, is the centre of downtown – look for the brass pointing sculpture of Woodstock’s most famous 1776 revolutionary, Reverend Peter Muhlenberg. Nearby are several gift stores including the Travelers Treasures featuring products from Virginia state businesses and artists including all of Cara Sue Achterberg’s books. (Yes, she’s a writer too).:

• I’m Not Her (recommended – I read it in one evening at Chateau Frankie)
• Girls’ Weekend (next on my list)
• Practicing Normal
• Blind Turn
• Another Good Dog (a memoir about fostering rescue dogs)
• One Hundred Dogs & Counting: a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues (nonfiction)

Across the street, Three French Hens is a beautifully merchandised shop inside a former home blending both vintage finds like dishes and crystal and new artisan clocks made from antique cutlery.

Dog-friendly Dining in Woodstock, VA

One block off Main Street is The Woodstock Brewhouse, dog-welcoming especially on the outdoor patio. It’s a local haunt for dinner and live music most weekends.

Water and Flour Bakery is the place for Parisian pastries and French bread and sandwiches. Pups are permitted on the outdoor patio, and if you’re in town on Wednesdays, you’re in luck. It’s wood oven pizza night.

Otherwise, visit the Sugar Creek Snowy & Sweet Ice Cream parlour a block away open 3 to 8 pm daily. Your dog can sit with you on the outdoor patio. Or bring your Sugar Creek ice cream back to Gracie’s Place because you’re steps away from the back gate.

The best part is that all of Main Street is within an easy walk of Gracie’s Place, and all stores permitted dogs – Three French Hens was a bit reluctantly but the Travelers Treasures enthusiastically.

Woodstock Off Leash Dog Park

While the patio-stone fenced yard at Gracie’s Place is great for outdoor dining with your pup – or ice cream sundae – is much smaller than the grassy yard at Chateau Frankie. If you’ve got a high-energy spaniel like mine, you’ll need more room to run.

The Woodstock Off Leash Dog Park is about a six minute drive away (a very long walk), but it’s worth visiting. Well designed with both large and small dog areas, strong double gates with latches so effective they almost had me fooled  into thinking they were locked, and agility features. Yes, it the Woodstock dog park isn’t only about running in circles – though that’s what my spaniel did with a five month old Doberman.

Dogs can climb two platforms, jump through hoops, and run under tunnels. My dog only did one of the three. Plus, there’s covered seating for humans and bag dispensers. Bring your own water, though.

Check out our adventures at Chateau Frankie here.

Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research.