About Outdoor Local

Field notes for dog people

Outdoor Local is a small publication about getting outside with a dog and making the rest of the day fit around it. We write about walks worth repeating and easy local outings. We also cover road trips with a dog in the back seat, sitter handovers and gear that fits a small apartment.

Who keeps the notebook

Jess Harlan is the field editor. Jess plans what we cover, edits each note before it goes up and returns to older notes when something in them proves wrong. Our writers publish under pen names. Each one writes from their own home, dogs and routines, so the advice starts from ordinary days with a leash hanging by the door. That also keeps the gear pieces honest about space. If a folding bowl or a crate cover only makes sense in a big house, we would rather say so.

About the pictures

The photos on Outdoor Local are licensed stock photography, and any illustration is labeled as editorial art. None of them show where our writers live. A photo of a trailhead or a packed car doesn’t mean we went there or used that gear. When a writer did walk the route or use the item, the note tells you so in plain words.