Alameda County
Alameda County—home to Berkeley, Emeryville,
Oakland, Fremont, Hayward and Pleasanton, among other communities—is blessed with more dog-friendly public lands than most counties 10 times its size. Recreational opportunities are available on public lands in the expansive
East Bay Regional Park System.
You can also enjoy off-leash privileges in the parks’ undeveloped areas.
Redwood Regional Park is a cool sanctuary of giant trees, Tilden Regional Park, in the Berkeley Hills, is a 2,078-acre escape from urban life, and in
Del Valle Regional Park, you can follow up a hike in the hills with a row in a rented boat. Designated dog parks also proliferate in this extremely dog-friendly county.
Luke at Sheraton Pleasanton Hotel
Photo Credit: @slandgirlinjourney
Sure, you could commute from the Bay Area or Sacramento, but why not make a weekend of it? After a day of hiking or touring the wine or craft-beer trails, it’s nice to stay for dinner, pull into a nearby hotel and spend the night. By our count, more than two dozen Tri-Valley hotels welcome four-legged visitors (use the handy dog-friendly check box at visittrivalley.com to filter hotels). more »
McKay's Taphouse & Beer Garden - Photo Credit: @kamperdoodle
Think of a trail, and you probably envision a path for hiking or biking, right? In the Tri-Valley, however, not all trails are made for ambulating from place to place. The region also boasts a Beer Trail, a Wine Trail and an Ice Cream Trail. Each is a collection of establishments, many of them dog-friendly, where you can indulge in your passion for brew, vino or tasty treats. more »
Sycamore Valley Open Space Preserve
Photo Credit: @mr_wigglebutt
The story behind why the Tri-Valley region has more open space than urban sprawl is long and complex, but there’s no arguing with the results! All four towns in the region are situated in close proximity to parcels within the vast East Bay Regional Park system, where dogs can hike with their people off-leash in many open-space and undeveloped areas, provided they are under strict voice control at all times. more »
The Tri-Valley region, an hour east of San Francisco, is nothing if not full of surprises, especially when it comes to wine. Production is centered in the rolling Livermore Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), where the first grapes were planted in the 1840s. More than 50 wineries, two dozen of them proudly dog-friendly, have since sprung from the rich soil, and they’re all close enough for a day trip or overnight trip from the Bay Area or Sacramento. So leash up your pup, crack a window and take off into the so-close-but-so-far-away countryside. more »
Naptime
While the Tri-Valley region is within easy commuting distance of the Bay Area and Sacramento, after a day of hiking or touring the wine or craft beer trails, it’s always nice to stay for dinner, pull into a nearby hotel and spend the night. Tri-Valley has accommodations to fit any taste or budget and by our count, over two-dozen are dog-friendly. The Hyatt House in Pleasanton even has their own resident dog who hangs out in reception. more »