Ride the Tilden Railway with Rufus

Redwood Valley Railroad in Berkeley’s Tilden Regional Park. Photo by David McSpadden (CC).

Kids (and dogs) of all ages visiting Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley are drawn like magnets to the Tilden/Redwood Valley Railway, a miniature train that has been looping around the park since 1952. Read more.

Mushroom dangers – even in the off season

Photo by Pascal Debrunner.

The last week of May, a dog ate a dried Death Cap mushroom at the trailhead of a UC Berkeley trail on the edge of Strawberry Canyon. What's shocking about this event is that it happened well past mushroom season. Read more.

Home at last

Those spotted ears! Meet cute, snuggly Celery, a silly young thing currently in search of her BFF at Home at Last Rescue. Her vet calls this young pit bull mix "a happy, healthy mutt," which she shows by her gentle, loyal demeanor. She enjoys moderate activity like daily walks, but also thrives on scritches, belly rubs, and the comforts of domestic life. She returns the favor by having excellent housetraining skills and sleeping through the night peacefully in her crate. Find out all about her here. Read more.

View to swoon for

Residents of the Bay Area know they have it good when it comes to open space, but relatively few venture into Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, a 208-acre oasis tucked behind the historic (and dog-friendly) Claremont Hotel in the Berkeley and Oakland Hills. Read more.

East Bay treats

A chocolate-hued canine, sporting a stylish collar, amicably ambles toward the camera along a leaf-strewn forest pathway kissed by sunset's warm glow. The faint silhouette of their companion softens in the distance, their arms laden with delectable East Bay Treats - perfect nibbles for your four-legged friend on such adventure-filled outings. - Dogtrekker

If you live in the Bay Area, you don't have to go far to access some of the 1,150 miles of trails at your doorstep in the 65 parks comprising the nation's largest regional parks system. Only a small percentage of the East Bay Regional Park District's 100,000 acres is off-limits to dogs, so when it comes to places to roam with Rover, this patchwork of open space in Alameda and Contra Costa counties is your bag of treats. First time out? Give yourselves a bone by heading to Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills, where you can soak up the views along an easy, partially paved, three–mile stretch of the East Bay Skyline National Trail; or take your pooch on an enjoyable twelve minute steam train ride through woodland chaparral and views of San Pablo Bay. Read more.