Denver

Sixty-seven hectares of lawn, mature trees and flower gardens, with a 4 km loop that is the city's default walk. Dogs are welcome on a lead of no more than 1.8 m, but may not enter Smith Lake or Grasmere Lake, nor the playgrounds and sports fields.

The red sandstone park of the Denver Mountain Parks, 25 km west, famous for its natural amphitheatre. Leashed dogs are allowed on the park trails outside event hours, but never inside the amphitheatre, the visitor centre or at a ticketed show.

The meeting of Cherry Creek and the South Platte, the city's 1858 birthplace and the crossing point of its two big greenways. Stone steps drop to the water, kayakers run the chute, and a dog walks it on the lead ten minutes from Union Station.

The greenway that follows the bed of Cherry Creek from Confluence Park out to Cherry Creek North and beyond, running below street level for much of the way. It is the best walking route in the city with a dog, traffic-free and lined with waste bins.

The 1914 Beaux-Arts station, restored in 2014, the heart of LoDo with its patios, plaza and hotels. Leashed dogs move easily around the outdoor plaza and along Wynkoop Street, though the shops and the great hall are each at the operator's discretion.

The state park at Littleton, half an hour south, whose off-leash area gives 28 fenced hectares, two ponds dogs may swim in and miles of trail. You need the park vehicle pass plus a separate dog off-leash area pass, 3 dollars for the day or 25 dollars for the year.