Cape Ann overnight stays
Dog boarding on Cape Ann: overnight suites in Gloucester
Cape Ann has its own travel calendar: St. Peter's Fiesta, the July 3 fireworks, Schooner Festival weekend and the summer guests who arrive by train. This page covers how an overnight stay works around those dates, what each bundle costs and adds, and how a visitor without a car gets a dog to Eastern Ave.
Who stays
Cape Ann dogs stay over when their families travel, and when home gets too loud for them
The ordinary reason to book a stay is the same in Rockport as anywhere: your people are away for a wedding, a work trip or a week somewhere a dog cannot go. Rockport families are 10 to 15 minutes from Eastern Ave, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea about 20, and Gloucester households closer still. The Pup Van covers all four towns for $10 each way, so a stay can begin at your own front door rather than ours.
The local reason is noise and crowds. A dog who copes well with a quiet street may not cope with a house full of Fiesta guests, a harbor full of fireworks or a holiday weekend of visitors and traffic. For some of those dogs a night or two in a suite on Eastern Ave, away from downtown, is the calmer choice. Summer renters can use the same logic for the night of a wedding or a late event in town.
- Trips off Cape Ann a dog cannot join
- Fiesta guests, fireworks or a crowded holiday weekend at home
- Summer renters with a wedding or a late night out
- Dogs who already know Dogtown from daycare
The local calendar
Plan stays around St. Peter's Fiesta in late June, the July 3 fireworks and the Schooner Festival on Labor Day weekend
St. Peter's Fiesta fills downtown Gloucester in late June, the city's fireworks go up over the harbor on July 3, and the Schooner Festival brings parades, sails and the Mayor's Cup races to the harbor over Labor Day weekend. Those are the local dates most likely to collide with a dog's routine, and the ones to raise with the front desk early. We do not publish holiday availability ahead of time, so ask about specific nights as soon as your plans are set.
Two things help. Members of the unlimited daycare membership get priority holiday overnight-stay reservations, so a dog who comes most weekdays is first in line. And a dog new to Dogtown needs its free evaluation done before any of those nights, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, which in practice means booking it in May or early June. The AVMA's page on fireworks and pets is worth reading before July, wherever your dog spends the night.
Bundles, priced
A suite is $78 a night; the Classic adds $10 and the Deluxe $15, each with a grooming discount
The $78 nightly rate pays for the suite, the daycare playgroups by day, daily exercise and 24/7 monitoring. On top of that, the Classic bundle costs $10 more a night and brings a daily homemade pupsicle or puppy cup plus 10 percent off any groom. The Deluxe bundle costs $15 more a night and brings a gourmet stuffed Kong or Toppl, a daily session on the treadmill or in enrichment play, an upgraded orthopedic memory-foam bed and 15 percent off grooming.
Which bundle fits depends on the dog more than on the trip. An older or heavier dog with stiff joints gets the most from Deluxe for the memory-foam bed alone, and a busy young dog who comes home wired gets the most from its daily treadmill or enrichment time. A food-loving dog on a short weekend is well served by the Classic's daily treat. If you plan a bath or groom before pick-up, both bundles take something off it.
| Option | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight suite | $78 a night | Playgroups by day, exercise, 24/7 monitoring |
| Dogtown Classic | +$10 a night | Daily homemade pupsicle or puppy cup; 10 percent off grooming |
| Dogtown Deluxe | +$15 a night | Stuffed Kong or Toppl; daily treadmill or enrichment; memory-foam bed; 15 percent off grooming |
| Enrichment add-ons | $5 to $10 each | Lick mat, Kong, pupsicle, puzzle, sniff room, treadmill |
| Pup Van | $10 each way | Rockport, Gloucester, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea |
No car
Visitors without a car can ride the Rockport line off-peak, then let the Pup Van handle the local miles
Some visitors reach Cape Ann on the commuter rail. The Rockport line stops at Manchester, West Gloucester, Gloucester and Rockport, and MBTA rules allow larger dogs on a leash during off-peak hours, keep them off the trains on weekdays from 7 to 9 AM and 4 to 7 PM, and ask riders to avoid bringing pets during holidays and large events. Staff can also restrict pets because of crowds or a dog's behavior. A small dog zipped into a secure carrier can travel at any hour.
Once you are at your rental in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea, the Pup Van can collect your dog for a stay and bring it back for $10 each way, which beats a taxi ride with a wet dog. The free evaluation still happens at 210 Eastern Ave on a weekday morning, so ask the front desk how to get your dog here for it if you have no car. Sunday drop-off and pick-up for overnight guests runs 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM at the building.
- 01
Check the MBTA pet rules and travel off-peak with a leashed dog
- 02
Settle in at your rental in one of the four Pup Van towns
- 03
Arrange the evaluation for a weekday morning with the front desk
- 04
Book the nights and the van online, in the app or by phone
- 05
The van collects for $10 and brings your dog home for $10
Why Dogtown
Cape Ann families choose a suite here because the day is spent in a group close to home, with a groom before pick-up
An overnight guest at Dogtown spends the day the way our daycare dogs do, in a playgroup of 7 to 10 matched by size and temperament on the indoor floors or the turf yard, and the night in a quiet suite with the building monitored around the clock. For a sociable Cape Ann dog, a week away looks a lot like an ordinary week of daycare with a different bedtime. Bring pre-portioned food, any medications and one comfort item; bedding and enrichment are ours to provide.
Being 5 to 20 minutes from every Cape Ann town makes the rest easy. A groom can be booked before pick-up, so the salt and sand of a summer week are gone before your dog gets back in the car, and both bundles discount it. If your trip changes, you are not driving an hour to sort it out. Ask the front desk about deposit, cancellation and extension terms when you book; we confirm those with you directly.
- A matched playgroup by day, a suite by night
- 24/7 monitoring
- A bath or groom before pick-up, discounted with a bundle
- Pup Van in all four Cape Ann towns
At Dogtown
The stay, the van and the groom
Suites and playgroups first, then the grooming studio for a bath before pick-up and the Pup Van for the four Cape Ann towns.
Pick-up & drop-off
The Pup Van comes to you.
Pup Van pick-up and drop-off is available for $10 each way in the Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea area. Not in the area? Ask us for pricing.
- Rockport
- Gloucester
- Essex
- Manchester-by-the-Sea
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Can my dog stay with you over the July 3 fireworks?
Can I bring my dog to Gloucester on the train?
Which bundle suits a long weekend?
Can I pick up on the Sunday of Schooner Festival weekend?
Do summer visitors need the evaluation too?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Get the evaluation done before Fiesta week.
A free weekday-morning evaluation comes before any overnight stay. Then reserve the nights, a bundle and the Pup Van.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
