Marfa With Dogs: A Pet-Friendly Visitor's Guide

Most travel guides treat dogs like an asterisk.

A footnote at the bottom. A line that reads "pets allowed (additional fee)" and nothing else. As if your dog is luggage, or a logistical problem to be priced into the booking.

We disagree.

If you're the kind of person who builds your trips around your dog, who plans drives in shifts so they don't get carsick, who packs their bowl before your toothbrush, who's willing to pay more for somewhere they can actually relax, Marfa is your kind of town. And The Milky WayFarer is your kind of stay.

This post is for you. The dog is reading over your shoulder. We see them.

Why Marfa Works for Dogs

Marfa is what dogs would design if they ran the planning office.

Wide streets. Almost no traffic. Long sightlines. Cool nights, even in summer. A whole sky to look at when the leash gets too short. Most of the town is walkable, which means your dog gets to be part of the trip instead of waiting in the room while you go do things.

The dirt roads on the outskirts of town stretch in every direction with very little to interrupt them. The pace is slow. People nod at strangers and at strangers' dogs. Most shops are dog-tolerant if not outright dog-friendly, and the ones that aren't will tell you politely.

The desert is also forgiving in ways most landscapes aren't. No surprise creeks to ford. What you do get: dust, big skies, and goatheads, those tiny spiked seedpods that lurk in patches of grass like land mines for paws. We wrote a whole piece on the goathead problem; the short version is, watch where your dog walks in unfamiliar yards. Our yard doesn't have many of them, but plenty of public spaces do.

What The Milky WayFarer Offers Dogs (Specifically)

When we built The Milky WayFarer, we didn't just decide to "allow" pets. We designed for them.

A fully fenced, wraparound yard - every inch of the property is enclosed, top to bottom. Your dog can roam without a leash, and you can sip your coffee on the patio without one hand permanently on the door handle.

In-home washer and dryer for the post-hike, post-creek, post-rolled-in-something-mysterious cleanup. They have names (Spin Flavin and Donald Suds), and we wrote about them once because guests kept telling us they were the unsung MVP of the stay. Same goes for the dog who shows up dusty on day two and clean on day three.

Concrete floors throughout the entire home. We didn't lay them with dogs in mind specifically, but they couldn't be better suited to one. Cool underfoot in summer. Easy to wipe down. Forgiving of dust, paws, and the occasional desert-dirt incident. No precious rugs to ruin. No "please don't" energy.

A short walk to The Waterstop, Bordo, and Marfa Burrito, all within a few blocks. Marfa as a whole is remarkably dog-friendly: outdoor seating is the norm at most restaurants, shops will often wave you and your dog inside, and people on the street tend to ask your dog's name before yours.

The pet fee is $45 per dog, per stay. Not per night. We charge it because we're real about the cleaning that comes after, and we'd rather be honest than fold it into a "pet-free" rate that quietly punishes everyone.

A few ground rules, kept short:

- Dogs must be crated if left alone in the house. Marfa is quiet, and a barking dog carries.

- Please scoop the poop. The desert doesn't break it down the way grass does.

- No dogs on beds or furniture. (We know they ask. We know you negotiate. We trust you.)

- Cats, sadly, are not part of the program. Too many throw pillows at stake.

What to Pack for a Dog in Marfa

Some of this echoes our broader Marfa packing guide, but a dog needs their own list.

- Booties or paw wax for the hot pavement and the goatheads. Sidewalks in West Texas afternoon sun are no joke.

- A long lead for the moments you want them to feel a little freer without going full off-leash.

- More water than you think. The dry air is sneaky. Your dog will drink twice their normal amount and you'll think they're sick. They're not. They're just adjusting.

- A jacket or sweater for evenings, even in summer. Same advice we give humans. Marfa nights drop into the 60s in August, the 40s in spring and fall, and the 30s in winter. Your dog will appreciate the layer if they're short-haired.

- Their own bed or a familiar blanket. The house has plenty of soft places, but dogs settle faster when something smells like home.

If you're driving in from out of state, the stretch of I-10 between San Antonio and Marfa is long. Plan a stop in Fort Stockton or Alpine, both have grassy spots where your dog can stretch.

Dog-Friendly Things to Do in and Around Marfa

In town:

- Walk the streets. We mean this. A long, slow loop through Marfa is one of the best things you can do with a dog here. The town is walkable in about 30-40 minutes if you're moving with purpose, longer if you're letting your dog stop to investigate every fence post.

- Most restaurants with outdoor seating welcome well-behaved dogs. The Waterstop, Bordo, and others. Call ahead if you're unsure, but you'll find Marfa is more permissive than most towns.

- Goldies — a small goods and gift shop devoted entirely to dogs. Handmade leashes and collars, single-ingredient treats, and meal toppers worth the detour. Owned and operated by SK Kirk and Kendall Radkins. Find them on Instagram at @goldiesmarfa. It's the kind of place that exists because the people who built it actually care, which is the only kind of place worth recommending.

- The Marfa dog park — small but real, just up the way from Larry's Burgers. A good place to let your dog stretch the leash off after a long walk through town, and a fair excuse to grab a burger on your way back.

- Marfa Spirit Co. — a dog-friendly tasting room and bottle shop. Dogs are welcome inside, which is the kind of detail that turns a stop into a memory. (The photo at the top of this post was taken on their floor.)

- The Marfa Lights Viewing Area at night — Quiet, dark, and your dog gets to sit with you while you watch for something that may or may not show up.

A short drive:

- Davis Mountains State Park (about 45 minutes north) allows leashed dogs on most trails. The shorter loops are doable for any dog with reasonable fitness; the longer ones get rocky.

- Balmorhea State Park (about an hour northeast) doesn't allow dogs in the pool — for obvious reasons — but there's a dog-friendly day-use area and the drive itself is one of the prettier short trips out of Marfa.

- Big Bend National Park is, unfortunately, mostly off-limits to dogs. They can be on roads and in parking lots but not on trails. If Big Bend is on your list, plan to leave the dog in the (climate-controlled) house with a sitter, or save Big Bend for a trip without them. We'd rather tell you the truth here than sell you on something that won't work.

Where Dogs Don't Work in Marfa

A short, honest list:

- Galleries. Most of them are no, even Chinati. You'll need to swap off with your travel companion or leave the dog at home for a few hours.

- Some restaurants without outdoor seating. Calls ahead are appreciated.

- Inside Marfa Burrito. It's small, and Bourdain didn't bring a dog either.

We say this not to discourage you. We say it because nothing kills a vacation faster than getting somewhere and being told no at the door with a dog in tow. A little research up front saves the day.

A Final Note

The truth is, the best part of bringing your dog to Marfa isn't any single thing on this list.

It's the porch in the morning, when the light is still long and your dog is sniffing the wind from the corner of the yard, and you're holding a cup of Desert Drip, and nobody, not your dog, not you — has anywhere to be.

That's what we built this place for. The slow part of the trip. The part most rentals don't think about.

Bring the dog.

— Rob & Becca

P.S. If your dog is reading this and would like to leave a review, the bowl by the back door doubles as a comment box.