Overnight Inside a Giant Beagle

Getting sent to the doghouse can be a very good thing if you happen to be traveling through central Idaho. Because there, on a rise on the outskirts of the town of Cottonwood, is where you’ll find the Dog Bark Park Inn, an unusual bed and breakfast that’s shaped like an enormous beagle!^†

The gregarious proprietors of the Dog Bark Park, Dennis Sullivan and Frances Conklin, describe their property as “a noble and absurd undertaking.” That sounds exactly right to us.

The beagle building in which guests spend the night is 30 feet (9 meters) tall and dominates the area landscape; it’s nicknamed Sweet Willy. Next to it is Toby, a 12-foot high beagle statue that’s purely ornamental. If you find the urge to mark your territory too strong to resist, there’s an outhouse near the two giant beagles that’s shaped, logically, like a giant fire hydrant.

Inside the beagle, the stomach hosts the master bedroom area. In the dog’s snout there’s a loft hangout that doubles as a kid’s sleeping space. There’s also a full bathroom located—where else?—by the dog’s tail.

It’s all very comfortable, though not exactly luxurious. The combination of Wal-Mart furniture and an overload of dog decor makes for some bad interior fang shui (sorry). But at least paying the bill won’t be a bitch (sorry, again). For the nightly rate you need only shed (okay, last one) US$86 for a single occupant, $92 for a couple, $8 for each additional guests. And, yes, guest dogs are allowed.

Adding to the kitsch factor, Dennis (one of the proprietors) is a self-taught chainsaw artist and displays his work around the property. Between that, the odd gift shop, the dog art studio and the library and games that are free for guests to use, you can easily laze away an entire day at the Dog Bark Park Inn.

The nightly rate also includes a full breakfast. If you don’t finish it all you can always ask for the leftovers to be put in a . . . oh, never mind.

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^† The structure is often referred to as “the world’s largest beagle” but, Spot Cool Stuff apparently being old fashion in this way, we believe that title can only go to a real, live, breathing beagle.

[via Putneys S’more America]

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A Few More Unusual Bed & Breakfasts:
Kokopelli’s Cave Bed & Breakfast – New Mexico ← sleep deep inside rock
The Treehouse Point – Preston, Washington ← climb into the woods outside Seattle
Giraffe Manor – Nairobi, Kenya ← eat breakfast with a giraffe
Sidi Driss Hotel – Matmata, Tunisia ← stay in Luke Skywalker’s home