Give Your Barking Dogs a Rest at the Roadside Dog Bark Park Inn

Dawn Hammon — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:00:57 +0000

If you’ve been hitting the trails all day at Yellowstone and are headed up to Glacier National Park, you may want to give your barking feet a rest at the Dog Bark Park Inn Bed and Breakfast. Located about midway between the two parks, these cozy lodgings are located in Cottonwood, Idaho — a town of less than 1,000 people in the northern part of the state.

This unique lodging only has one room, so you’ll have to plan well ahead if you hope to stay the night, but if creative architectural design is your thing, you’ll certainly find it here. Yes, Dog Bark Park is a little hard to describe in words, but just imagine the biggest beagle you’ve ever seen and it will slowly start come into focus.

The property actually hosts two much-larger-than-life beagles. “Toby” stands 12 feet tall, and even he doesn’t reach the shoulders of his buddy “Sweet Willy,” who himself boasts a modern four-person accommodation on the inside.

The apartment-style lodging houses a queen bed embellished with 26 carved dogs on the headboard. The head of the dog houses a cozy loft, while the body encapsulates the space’s common areas. Stairs climb up Sweet Willy’s back to provide access to a small outdoor deck, as well as a second-story entrance to the rooms within. A second deck can be accessed off the side of the beagle, towering high off the ground for some very scenic views of the surrounding landscape. Oh, and did we mention that the entire space is decorated in dog decor? From throw pillows to gaming options, dogs truly abound in this bed and breakfast. Even the sweet nightly cookies are shaped like dogs.

Dennis Sullivan and Frances Conklin, the artists who designed and built Dog Bark Park Inn, still own and operate it as a mom-and-pop establishment. They started out with a passion for chainsaw art and got a big break when their designs were sold on QVC. They used the proceeds from those sales to build the bed and breakfast as a sort of nod to historic roadside attractions.

Even guests who are just passing through can visit the inn’s quirky gift shop, which is chalk full of chainsaw art created by Dennis and Frances. In fact, anyone can place an order requesting a chainsaw-carved replica of their favorite dog breed. Dennis and Frances have made the folk art carvings in over 60 breeds already. Each piece is hand-carved and painted, too, so you can easily personalize one and have it shipped to a dear friend or family member.

While the lodging is one of a kind, the breakfast is both familiar and filling. Some homey baked goods are included in each guest’s daily feast, including the Prairie’s Best Fruited Granola (a family specialty). Breakfast also includes a variety of teas, coffees, juices, fresh fruits, boxed cereals, milk, yogurts, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, and bagels.

The Dog Bark Park Inn has been talked and written about in innumerable publications because of its unique design and character — which makes sense, because where else is sleeping in the dog house a good thing?

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Give Your Barking Dogs a Rest at the Roadside Dog Bark Park Inn