Dog Friendly City
Indy welcomes all, even if you’re a four-legged canine! Your pet will be thanking you once you take a look at all the dog-friendly adventures Indianapolis has to offer. You won’t find a better city to share with your furry friend
Puppy (and People) Chow
Here are some of our favorite places to pamper your pooch in Indy. From restaurants, breweries, and spots specifically for our four-legged friends, you're sure to find somewhere to make memories with your pup.
This craft brewery in the heart of Indianapolis that donates 5% of its profits to animal and wildlife organizations. The tap room is a large, pet-friendly space with garage doors that open onto ample patio space with picnic tables and an unbeatable skyline view. Enjoy the spacious, newly opened Puppy Park next to the brewery while you sip your craft beers.
Locally Grown Gardens
The menu changes with the seasons to offer the freshest meals possible. Don't leave without a slice of sugar cream pie to share with your tail-wagger.
With a comfortable outdoor beer garden and a seasonal farm-to-table menu, Taxman is a welcoming, family-friendly spot. If your family includes a furry member, you can enjoy the gastropub's offerings as well as inventive brews, cocktails, and wine on the patio.
Tucked into a quiet, residential neighborhood on the southeast side of Indianapolis, Fountain Square Brewing Co. has been serving an ever-changing selection of craft beer since 2011. Their industrial-style taproom with a laid-back feel combines community with local artists, musicians, and of course, craft beer – guaranteed to make your dog roll over.
Petite Chou
This ideal French-inspired neighborhood restaurant offers a champagne bar and classic bistro fare including the ever-so-popular sweet crepes or broken yolk sandwiches. The food is so good you may have to let your dog lick your plate clean! They won't have to, though, as each visiting pup gets a decadant menu with a variety of doggy treat options.
Flatwater Restaurant
With a large patio deck overlooking the peaceful Broad Ripple canal, this restaurant promises a good place to kick back and relax with a wide-selection of beers and entrees. Not to mention the prime sunbathing spots available for your furry friends.
Fire by the Monon
With an emphasis on preparing entrees over an open flame using indigenous hard woods and fruitwood, diners appreciate the unique flavors that this classic American fare menu provides. This charming red building tucked away in the Broad Ripple neighborhood opens its doors to diners for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
This Indy whiskey must-try is two miles from Monument Circle, nested in the Kennedy-King neighborhood. Bring along your dog as you experience tours, tasting flights, and a number of seasonal hand-crafted cocktails in an industrial-chic setting.
Hotel Tango is the first service-disabled, combat veteran-owned distillery in the nation and the first artisan distillery in Indianapolis since Prohibition. Located in the historic Fletcher Place neighborhood, they serve craft cocktails made exclusively with their spirits. Give your precious pooch a historic outing they’ll never forget!
City Dogs Grocery
A grocery store strictly for dogs! Their mission is to make sure all pets are cared for with the quality products and service that all furry friends deserve!
One of the best pet-friendly restaurants to grace the pulsating Mass Ave neighborhood, Ralston’s provides great outdoor patio space perfect for people watching (or as your pup would say, dog watching) and a long list of unique food and drink options.
Tequilas and mezcals are perfectly paired with large portions of Mexican burritos and enchiladas. Summer days keep La Margarita’s patio packed as diners listen to live music and dogs bathe in the sun.
Café Patachou is more than a neighborhood restaurant; it’s been a local institution since 1989. A “student union for adults,” each location of Cafe Patachou is beloved by all: students and stroller parents, hipsters and millennials, bedheads and flea-bags!
Nestled inside the historic Monon Railway Station, this ice cream shop offers over 40 hand-dipped flavors, fair trade coffee and teas, or hot chocolate during the winter. BRICS backs up to the Monon Trail, Indy's rail to trail that remains one of the busiest in the nation, therefore you'll be sharing your ice cream experience with lots of runners, dog walkers, cyclists, and rollerbladers.
The District Tap is where American bistro cuisine is served in a casually upscale setting alongside a staggering 60 beers on tap, live music, darts, shuffleboard, a pet-friendly atmosphere, and more.
The world's first bakery for dogs opened in 1989 and specializes in all-natural treats made from scratch for healthier, happier pets. With two locations: Downtown and Broad Ripple.
Playtime at the Parks
Indy is home to a plethora of dazzling parks and greenspaces. There's no shortage of local destinations to walk the dog - or have the dog walk you (we know how it usually goes).
White River State Park offers more than 250 acres of green space filled with an array of cultural attractions, public art, and entertainment. Explore the park by bike or your own two feet as you go door-to-door at some of Indy’s finest attractions including the Indianapolis Zoo, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, NCAA Hall of Champions, Indiana State Museum, and Victory Field.
Located on Indy’s near south side, Garfield Park is a relaxing retreat and every green thumb’s dream. This 136-acre park is home to gardening demonstrations, flower shows, and the Garfield Park Conservatory, which houses 10,000 square feet of plants from the world’s tropics.
Your pet will thank you for the off-leash exercise they'll get at this fenced dog park. Dog park use requires a Pooch Pass which can be purchased at the Broad Ripple Park Office at 1550 Broad Ripple Avenue. Must show proof of parvo, rabies, distemper, and bordetella vaccinations when purchasing the pass.
Explore nature at this 94-acre park as you hike the 3.5 miles of trail along the banks of the White River. Meanwhile, look down at your side to see your favorite canine experiencing it with you. A major restoration of the mystical ruins that greet visitors to the park has made an already family-friendly park more enchanting than ever.
At 3,900 acres of land and 1,400 acres of water, Eagle Creek Park is one of the nation's largest city parks. Trails beckon hikers and dog-walkers, the lake welcomes fishermen and sailors, and picnic benches encourage relaxing meals in the great outdoors. Canoes, kayaks, sailboats, pontoons, and pedal boats are available for rent.
Part of the expansive Newfields campus, this stunning public outdoor space combines two of our favorite things - art and dogs. Does you dog have a bone to pick? They will go crazy over Funky Bones, just one of the larger-than-life sculptures adorning this park. Or, head up the Canal Towpath trail to Butler University Holcomb Gardens.
