Dog-friendly holiday home in the Eifel: fenced terrace, no fee

What “dog friendly" actually means with us

Plenty of places advertise “Dogs welcome" and mean this: your dog may come along, but costs ten euros a night, has to stay on the lead indoors and in the garden anyway. That helps nobody, neither you nor your dog.

With us it works like this: up to two dogs come along, at no extra charge and with no dog fee. They are allowed in the house, they are allowed on the terrace, and they do not have to sleep in a separate room. We are just as clear about what we do not provide: please bring your own bowls, blankets and towels for wet paws, so that your dog has its own familiar things around it.

We let directly, with no portal in between. For guests with a dog that is a practical advantage, because special cases do not have to go through a form: if you are arriving with an old dog who can no longer manage stairs, give us a ring and we will tell you which of the three houses suits you.

The fenced terrace: the point where most dog-friendly offers fall down

“Fenced" is a stretchy term in the holiday home market. Sometimes it means a low fence with an open side towards the road, sometimes a garden gate that does not shut.

At each of our three houses the fence completely encloses the terrace and the area next to it. You reach the terrace from the living and dining area and by a separate way out as well, which means you can open the door in the morning, your dog goes out, and you stay indoors. For dogs who are unsettled in unfamiliar surroundings, that is exactly the difference between a relaxed holiday and a tiring one.

On the terrace there is a seating area, a barbecue and a hooded beach chair. The surface is part timber decking, part artificial grass, so nothing that heats up in summer the way a stone slab does.

What you can and cannot do with a dog at the Riedener Waldsee

We have deliberately put this section near the top, because it is the most common reason for disappointment once guests are here.

The bathing water portal of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate lists the Riedener Waldsee with the pictogram “No dogs allowed". This ban applies all year round and covers not only the water but the lawn of the designated bathing area as well. On top of that comes the state-wide rule: dogs are not allowed to swim in bathing waters in Rhineland-Palatinate.

What you can do:

• the path around the lake, on the lead
• all the walking trails round about, on the lead
• the restaurants by the lake: at the Eifeler Seehütte dogs are welcome indoors too, at the Al Lago on the terrace
• our houses, each with a fenced terrace

So if you are arriving with a picture in your head of your dog swimming in the lake, it is better to know beforehand. If you are looking for a place where your dog can head off into the woods from the breakfast table, you have come to the right one.

Where your dog can get into the water in the area

The honest answer: in none of the designated bathing lakes. The streams running to and from the lake are not covered by that rule, so a dog can cool off there in summer, and the same goes for the little watercourses along the walking trails.

If you want a proper dog beach, you have to drive further. The Freilinger See near Blankenheim has a designated section where dogs can go into the water off the lead; along the rest of the shore they have to be kept on it. From Rieden it is around 52 kilometres, a good hour each way. That is worth it as a day out, not as an afternoon stroll.

Our advice, which may cost us bookings but which we give anyway: if your dog’s holiday revolves around swimming, a holiday home by a lake with a dog beach is the better choice. If it revolves around walking, sniffing and sitting outside, the Osteifel is hard to beat.

Walking with a dog: the rules in Rhineland-Palatinate

There is no legal requirement at state level in Rhineland-Palatinate to keep dogs on the lead in the forest, but there is a clear expectation: Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz, the state forestry service, expressly asks you to keep your dog on the lead at all times and to take its mess away with you.

In four situations it becomes binding:

In practice that means: take a lead, use it consistently between March and July, and when in doubt stay on the path. The deer around Rieden are used to people, but not to dogs running free.

The walks from the front door

The advantage of this location is that you do not have to get into the car for the first walk of the day. About two minutes on foot and you are in the woods.

Traumpfädchen Riedener Seeblick, around 5 kilometres, easy. The short circuit for arrival day or for the morning before you leave. It stays close to the lake and has several points where the view opens up.

Waldseepfad Rieden, 14.2 kilometres, 464 metres of ascent, around four and a half hours, moderate. This premium trail starts at the car park by the lake, around 100 metres from the house. For a fit dog it makes a good day’s walk; for a small or older dog it is too much, and the Seeblick circuit twice is the better plan.

Traumpfad Vulkanpfad from Ettringen, around 8 kilometres from Rieden. It leads over the Bellberg and the Kottenheimer Büden through old basalt quarries. Shady, which counts in summer if your dog has a dark coat.

A practical note on the ground underfoot: the basalt tracks in this area are coarser than forest floor. Dogs with sensitive pads should do shorter walks for the first few days, otherwise their paws will be sore by day three.

Getting here with a dog

The route here runs along the A61, exit 33 Wehr/Nürburgring, then the B412 and the K19 to Rieden. The last few kilometres are country road, which means no stop-start traffic for a dog in the boot to suffer through.

Worked out with OpenStreetMap, correct as of August 2026. If you are coming from the Netherlands or from Luxembourg, plan a break at a service area with some grass; over the last thirty kilometres there is hardly a good opportunity left.

Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out by 10:00. If you get here earlier, that is no problem: you can join the path around the lake from any car park, and after the drive your dog will need a stretch anyway.

Holiday home or hotel: what makes the difference with a dog

Hotels and guest houses in the area often take dogs, usually for a fee. Three things make a holiday home different in practice:

• No corridor, no breakfast room, no strange dog round the corner. For nervous or reactive dogs that is the whole difference.
• Your dog can stay in the house alone if you want to go out without them for once. In hotels that is forbidden almost everywhere.
• Your own terrace instead of a shared garden. You decide when the door opens.

What you will not get is room service or a breakfast buffet. If you need both, a hotel will suit you better.

With a dog through the seasons

Spring. From about March to July it is the breeding and rearing season. That means keeping to the paths with your dog on the lead. The woods around Rieden are full of young animals at that time of year.

Summer. The basalt tracks heat up. Walk before nine in the morning and after seven in the evening, and stay in the shade of the terrace at midday. The lake is off limits for dogs, the streams are not.

Autumn. The best season here, for dogs and people alike: cool, dry, empty trails. One note from Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz matters particularly in autumn and winter: paths can be closed for forestry work or shooting, at weekends too. Barriers are meant seriously, and they are there for your safety.

Winter. Snow rarely lies for long, but it is often wet. A wood-burning stove in the living area and a towel by the door are worth more then than any list of facilities.

Where to eat with a dog

Two places are within walking distance and take dogs:

At both, the same applies as everywhere: the terrace is more relaxed than indoors, and on a busy summer Sunday your dog should have learned to lie under the table.

Vets and out-of-hours cover

The address you will hopefully not need, but should know beforehand:

As of August 2026. In an emergency, always ring first rather than driving straight there: out of hours the practice is not necessarily staffed, and the practice on duty changes.

Days out that welcome dogs

Not every day out in the area works with a dog. What has proved itself:

• Laacher See, around 13 kilometres: the path around the shore is 8.4 kilometres and largely level. On the lead, because the lake lies in the largest nature reserve in Rhineland-Palatinate.
• Monreal, around 24 kilometres: a half-timbered village with two ruined castles, easily walked in a morning.
• The Traumpfade of the area: 27 premium trails plus 14 shorter Traumpfädchen, and nearly all of them work with a dog.

Less suitable are museums, mines and most castles: at the Mayen slate mine and at the Lava-Dome your dog stays outside, and at Eltz Castle only the grounds are open to you.

What to bring with you

• A blanket or basket for the terrace, so your dog has a place of its own
• A towel for wet paws, the forest floor here holds moisture for a long time
• A lead for the path around the lake, even if your dog is usually off the lead
• Tick protection: this is wooded country and the season now runs from March into November
• A bowl and the food your dog is used to, we provide neither

FAQs

Who this house suits

For guests whose dog shapes the day: a circuit by the lake before breakfast, a walk on one of the Traumpfade during the day, and a spot on the fenced terrace in the evening while you barbecue. If what you want from a holiday is a dog beach and splashing about, you will not find it here and will be better off at another lake.

Which of the three houses suits your dog

We let three houses side by side on the Sonnenterrasse, around 150 metres from the shore. Susi has 82 square metres and room for two to four guests; Annika and Tommy each have 100 square metres for up to six, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. What counts with a dog is the same in all three: the fence around the terrace and the area next to it, the separate way out, and up to two dogs at no extra charge. The living area, kitchen and one bathroom are on one level; at Annika and Tommy a wooden staircase leads up to another bedroom under the roof.

Two things so that nothing surprises you on arrival: what is fenced is the terrace and the area next to it. That is enough for your morning coffee with the door open, but not for a dog who needs a meadow to run in. And the ban at the bathing area applies to guests staying 150 metres away too. You can see which house suits you and your dog, with photos and facilities, under Holiday Homes. From 195 euros per night, per house rather than per person, from three nights, arrival Monday to Saturday.