Dog Mountain
143 Parks Rd
St. Johnsbury, VT
A 150-acre hilltop where dogs run free, a chapel welcomes all creeds and no leashes, and its walls are papered floor to ceiling with notes remembering beloved dogs who have died.
Dog Mountain is the creation of Stephen Huneck, a woodcarver and artist who built a small chapel on a hilltop outside St. Johnsbury and opened it to anyone, of any faith, on one condition: dogs are always welcome. The sign at the door reads Welcome All Creeds, All Breeds, No Dogmas Allowed. Around the chapel spread 150 acres of meadow and woods where dogs run off-leash.
What visitors rarely expect is the emotional force of the place. The chapel's walls are covered, layer upon layer, with thousands of handwritten notes and photographs left in memory of dogs who have died. It has quietly become one of the most moving spots in Vermont, a place people drive hours to reach.
What Guests Love
- Letting dogs run leash-free across open hilltop meadows and trails
- The Dog Chapel and its overwhelming, tender walls of remembrance
- Stephen Huneck's whimsical dog-themed woodcut art in the gallery
- A place that turns out to be as much about grief and love as about dogs
Worth Knowing
- Admission is free, kept going by donations and the gallery, and dogs are welcome off-leash
- The remembrance walls are deeply emotional; many visitors are moved to tears
- Bring water and clean up after your dog to keep the meadows welcoming
- The grounds are open year-round, while gallery hours are seasonal, so check ahead
Details
St. Johnsbury, VT
Learn about Dog Mountain
Stephen Huneck's vision
Huneck was a self-taught artist known for bold, joyful woodcut prints and carved furniture celebrating dogs. After a near-fatal illness and a long recovery, in which he credited his dogs with pulling him through, he set out to build a chapel that honored the bond between people and their animals.
The Dog Chapel opened in 2000, styled like a classic white Vermont church but with winged-dog weathervanes and stained-glass windows of dogs. Huneck died in 2010 and his wife Gwen soon after, and the nonprofit Friends of Dog Mountain has kept the place open and free ever since.
The walls of remembrance
Inside the chapel, grief and gratitude have taken over every surface. Visitors began leaving notes to dogs they had lost, and others followed, until the walls, the pews, and the entry became a dense collage of remembrances, some funny, many heartbreaking, all handwritten.
There is no organizing hand to it; the memorial simply grew and keeps growing, note pinned over note. It gives the small building an emotional weight out of all proportion to its size, and it is why so many visitors describe the chapel as sacred, whatever their beliefs.
The mountain and the art
Beyond the chapel, the property is a genuine outdoor space: mowed hilltop trails, ponds, and forest paths where dogs bound freely and their people take in long Northeast Kingdom views. Seasonal Dog Parties bring hundreds of dogs and owners together on the hill.
A gallery on the grounds shows Huneck's prints, carvings, and books, whose warm, graphic style captures the humor and devotion of life with dogs. Sales help keep the mountain free and open.
Season by season
Summer and fall are ideal for the trails and the views, with foliage season turning the surrounding Kingdom hills to color. The seasonal Dog Parties are highlights of the warm months.
The grounds stay open in winter for snowy walks, though the gallery keeps reduced hours. Any season, the chapel and its walls remain the heart of a visit.
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St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
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Northeast Kingdom back roads
Surrounding area
A landscape of hill farms, forests, and glacial lakes across Vermont's remote northeast corner.