Chebacco Woods with your dog: leash rules, trails and parking

The committee's page is direct: the Hamilton leash law applies in Chebacco Woods, and a dog must be under strict control while it exercises there, on a leash or off it. Hamilton's animal control bylaw, Chapter XVIII of the town bylaws, says no dog may be at large in town, and that a dog off its owner's premises, and not on someone else's land with their consent, must be controlled and restrained by a leash of appropriate length.

Read together, the bylaw asks for a leash and the committee adds a control standard that applies in every case, so we would plan on the leash. The bylaw also sets a $15 pick-up fee for any dog the town picks up, on top of boarding or treatment costs, and complaints follow the state schedule in General Laws Chapter 140, Section 173A. An earlier committee notice, still on the town site, added that dogs must be leashed at all times on the abutting Gordon College land.

The committee maintains the trails and provides maps for anyone using the woods for passive recreation, and it allows hiking, biking, jogging and equestrian use. That mix shapes a dog walk. A dog on a leash will meet mountain bikes on the descents and riders on the wider paths, so a short leash on the blind corners matters more here than it would on a reserve limited to walkers.

When a horse approaches, stop, step to the side with your dog on the far side from the horse, and let the rider pass before you move on. When bikes come through, call your dog in close before they reach you. A dog that has never met a horse may bark or freeze, which is a good reason to start with a quiet weekday morning and a shorter loop.

Chebacco Woods sits on a town line, and so does the Pup Van. Manchester-by-the-Sea is one of the four Pup Van towns, with Rockport, Gloucester and Essex, where the van collects and returns a dog for $10 each way. Hamilton is outside them, so Hamilton families should ask us about pick-up or drive, by Route 22 into Essex and Route 133 to Route 128, then 128 to its end in Gloucester and Eastern Avenue.

Daycare at 210 Eastern Ave is $42 a full day or $33 a half day, in playgroups of 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, and the turf yard has pools for the dogs who miss a swim. A dog that comes back from the woods coated in trail mud can have a bath with no evaluation, from $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds. Daycare, Academy, overnight stays and walks all begin with the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM.