Volcano Hiking with a Dog
Are you considering volcano hiking with a dog? If so, you’re in the right place! These tips are transferable to any long, overnight, or more extreme hike you’d like to go on with your furry friend.
I love taking my dog, Lily, on my adventures, so I was thrilled when she accompanied me on a hike up Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala. We’d been on many hikes together, both long-distance and steep, so I knew she could handle it physically.
Before the hike, I researched how much water my dog would need per ounce of body weight, read up on some basic dog first aid, and thought through what she would need to feel comfortable sleeping with me in the tent.
I’ll go over each of these points in more depth below so you and your canine companion can have the best experience hiking together.
I have since taken my dog up three other volcanoes, and she had a blast each time.
Physical Conditioning
Before you take your dog with you on a long hike, consider the following important points:
Some dogs are built for running and trails and love it, others prefer to lounge at home or can’t handle short walks. Be realistic about what your dog is capable of and what your dog will enjoy. Ask yourself if your dog can handle hiking for five to nine hours.
Make sure your dog is ready by training for the hike together. Go on long walks, hike up and down hills, and go on trails with varied terrain.
Tip: If you’re wondering if you’re fit enough to climb Acatenango, check out my post discussing the difficulty of the hike here.
Prep for the Hike: Tough Paws
Make sure to toughen up your dog’s paws before the hike by taking them on regular and long-distance hikes.
Getting Tent Ready
If you’re doing an overnight and your dog hasn’t slept in a tent before, it’s important to make this fun and familiar beforehand.
I set up my tent in my backyard and tried coaxing my dog inside with treats. I had to carry her in the first time, and we sat inside and I fed her treats and praised her. Feel free to do this over a period of time. I also left the tent set up for a while and left her food bowl inside.
Lily had been camping before, but not in the tent I was using for the volcano hike. I knew she would be okay sleeping inside once she got used to it.
If your dog has never slept in a tent before, you might want to spend a night or two sleeping in your tent ahead of time, even if it’s in your house.
Some Dogs Refuse to Sleep in Tents
My friend Micah enjoys hiking with his German Shepherd, Pata, and has taken her up Acatenango Volcano. But for some reason, Pata refused to sleep in the tent. Instead, she slept outside, keeping guard.
She did fine with the cold, wind and sand.
Water & Food Needs for Your Volcano Buddy
Make sure you have enough water for your dog. You can calculate how much you’ll need based on your dog’s weight.
My friend Micah takes double the amount of water he would drink himself to keep himself and his German Shepherd hydrated. Mine is smaller and needs less.
According to REI, “Larger dogs might drink 0.5 to 1.0 ounces of water per pound per day. Dogs 20 pounds and lighter will be closer to 1.5 ounces per pound per day.”
For food, keep track of how much you feed your dog in a day and then take some extra because they’ll be working hard.
Behavior Training
Brush up on training and etiquette before your trip.
I kept Lily off the leash for most of the hike. She’s decent about coming when I call or returning to check up on me when she runs ahead. However, she is extremely friendly, so I had to call her a few times to keep her from heading off with other groups.
I actually lost Lily on the way down the volcano. We stopped for a couple of seconds at a restaurant, and then kept going. There were a hundred people going up and down the trail by then, and Lily must have run off to greet a stranger.
I didn’t notice until 10-minutes later and had to back-track to find her. Fortunately, she was still at the restaurant, tail-wagging her way from patron to patron.
What to Pack for Your Dog
My dog weighs about 35 pounds, so I took:
- 50 fluid ounces for her for our two-day hike
- Dog Food for her supper and breakfast. (She eats twice a day)
- A few treats
- One piece of light foam for her to sleep on
- Tweezers in case she got a splinter in her paw (plus my first-aid kit)
- Collapsible dog bowls (I used to use the lid to a coconut oil jar)
- A towel in case she got wet
I also bought three pairs of baby socks to serve as booties in case we encountered frost or her paws got tender, but I didn’t need them.
Tip: Make your dog carry some of the weight by buying your pet a dog pack.
Additional Resources
This article about hiking with a dog was a great resource for me in preparing to take my dog up Acatenango Volcano.
My Experiences
To date, I’ve taken my dog up four volcanoes, but I hope to take her up many more in the future.
Acatenango Volcano
Acatenango is the third-highest volcano in Guatemala, with an elevation of 13,045 feet above sea level. The elevation gain from the trailhead to the summit is more than 5,000 feet over about five miles.
Lily had a blast hiking this volcano with me with a group of friends from Lake Atitlán.
Tip: If you’re considering hiking Acatenango Volcano with your dog, check ahead with your tour company. Not all tour companies allow dogs. I wanted to take Lily on my hike with Soy Tours, but they wouldn’t allow it. Hiking Acatenango without a guide is also an option.
San Pedro Volcano
I also did a day hike up San Pedro Volcano with my dog, Lily.
The hike up took only three hours at a moderate pace. Since this volcano has been dormant much longer than Acatenango, the trail was dirt rather than volcanic sand (which was easier on the paws).
Atitlán Volcano Hike
Atitlán is an 11,604-foot-high stratovolcano and one of the three volcanoes nestled around Lake Atitlán in the western highlands.
It is a challenging hike, but a rewarding one, with gorgeous views. Lily enjoyed leading the way, so she was often out front. Then she’d run back along the line of hikers to check on me, before running ahead again. Learn more about hiking Atitlán here.
Tip: Pacaya Volcano is another great hike to consider if you’re looking for volcanoes to summit in Guatemala. It’s also a less strenuous hike than many others and is perfect for a day trip.
Tolimán Volcano
In February 2025, I hike Tolimán Volcano with five friends and my dog, Lily. Since February lands in the dry season in Guatemal, we all got complacent and didn’t prepare for rain. This was a huge mistake! We forgot about “febrero loco” (crazy February), a weather phenomenon that can occur in February.
We got caught in a storm two hours from the top, got soaked through, struggled to hike in the mud, and then had one of our tents collapse. Lily was as soaked and muddy as the rest of us, and with one of our tents out of commission, all six of us had to pile into one tent, sharing two sleeping mats, an emergency blanket, and three sleeping bags between the three of us.
No one was thrilled with the idea of having a soaking wet dog in the tent overnight, since we were all freezing and wearing the few bits of dry-ish clothing we’d managed to unearth from our sodden packs. But I didn’t want Lily to sleep outside in the cold and wet. Fortunately, one of my friends had taken up a pack of napkins that was sealed in plastic, and he let me use them to dry her off.
She turned out to be a huge asset overnight as we hugged her for warmth, and even had her lie on top of us as a makeshift emergency blanket.
It was a good reminder to prepare for rain on future hikes—and to always take a means of drying off my dog if she gets soaked and muddy.
Other than the rain, it was a nice hike with alternating sections of steep climbs and more gradual rises. It begins among corn fields before rising into cloud forests populated by the rare horned guan. We saw some in the trees before the storm hit, and that was a treat!
We ended up getting a view in the morning, so our hike wasn’t a complete disaster.
This couple hiked Acatenango with two dogs
Check out their experience in this video. It includes amazing views of the terrain and Fuego volcano, and will give you an idea what to expect.
Where to go from here
Volcano hiking with a dog is a fun and rewarding experience where you can bond with your pet and make memories together. To prepare, it’s essential to toughen up your dog’s paws with regular hikes, brush up on their behavior and obedience training, and figure out how much food and water to take along.
Don’t miss my other posts on how difficult Acatenango is to hike, how to climb Acatenango on your own, and the 7 best tour companies to take up the volcano. I also have posts about Pacaya Volcano tours, hiking Atitlán Volcano, and climbing San Pedro Volcano.
