A Dog-Friendly Trip to Holbrook, Arizona

On our April 2025 road trip from Colorado to California, we stopped through Holbrook, Arizona. Holbrook might not be a typical destination for travelling dogs, but we did find enough to do while we waited for our Arizona Sake appointment.

Heward Park

Holbrook has two dog parks: Heward Park and Holbrook Dog Park. We went to both, and Heward Park was the one we preferred. 

Heward Park’s dog park was a good size, with grass, trees, and picnic tables. Certainly not the fanciest dog park we've ever been to (to be fair, we've been to some pretty fancy ones), but it definitely met our needs. 

Holbrook Dog Park is just a dog run, similar to a Love's Travel Stop. Certainly not a bad place to stop if you need it, but Heward Park had more to offer.

Colonel Mustard Hot Dogs

While we were in Holbrook, we stopped for lunch at Colonel Mustard. By “we," I mean Adam, because I was still recovering from my stomach flu/food poisoning nightmare. I was on the mend, but unfortunately not feeling up to eating.

We chose Colonel Mustard because of the outdoor seating, which was plentiful and in the shade. We grabbed a table with yellow chairs and admired the converted-gas-station aesthetic. Like quite a few places, you have to go inside to order (which does not allow dogs). If you're by yourself, this could present a problem, but with two people, we had no issues.

Arizona Sake

I'll be frank, we visited Holbrook for Arizona Sake (much like how we visited Williams almost entirely to go to Bearizona). When I was planning the trip, I found out that there's a sake distillery in the middle of Arizona. Even better, it's an extremely well-reviewed sake distillery. For the full story of Arizona Sake, I recommend this Smithsonian Magazine article.

If you are interested in visiting Arizona Sake (which you definitely should), know that you'll need to make an appointment to visit and do a tasting. The establishment doesn't keep regular hours, so you have to schedule a time with the owner, Atsuo Sakurai. While that may sound inconvenient, setting an appointment was extremely easy because Mr. Sakurai was responsive and flexible.

When the time came, we pulled up to the unassuming Arizona Sake building in a gravel lot next to the Super 8. Since I was sick, I didn't get to taste any sake that day, but Adam assured me that it absolutely lived up to all the accolades. Also, Mr. Sakurai was very informative, telling Adam how the sake is made and how his distillery functions in a small town like Holbrook (quite well, it seems!).

Showing great restraint, Adam managed to not buy one of every bottle in the building, though he did get a few. Once I was feeling better, I did eventually get to try some sake, and it was incredible.