A cluster of winery finds in Gold Country

Wine grapes were introduced to the Sierra Nevada foothills during the Gold Rush years, when miners were thirsty for refreshment and farmers eager to provide. Today, the Sierra Foothills AVA (American Viticultural Area) stretches from Yuba County in the north to Mariposa County in the south, with five smaller AVAs under the umbrella designation. Two of them, El Dorado and Fair Play, are in El Dorado County, within easy striking distance of Sacramento, gateway to the Gold Country wine country. Read more.

Finding gold in El Dorado County

Dog in front of historic cabin in El Dorado County

Talk about diverse: El Dorado County stretches from the city of Folsom, at the beginning of the Sierra Nevada foothills, all the way up to Lake Tahoe and the High Sierra. It’s what’s in between that’s of greatest interest to DogTrekkers in fall, when the harvest is on and the Apple Hill growing region off Highway 50 near Camino, just east of Placerville, rolls out the welcome mat at more than 50 farms and ranches. Read more.

Urban rambles in San Francisco

mixed breed dog sits on hill overlooking San Francisco cityscape

Photo by jefffielding (CC).

An abundance of open space available to canines makes the City by the Bay especially enticing to four-legged visitors with humans on the other end of the leash. Read more.

Apple hill is wine country, too

Photo credit: Miss Chien (CC) California Gold Country has it all: rugged scenery, historic towns—and a booming wine industry that offers myriad opportunities for DogTrekkers. September and October, when after-harvest vines blaze orange and gold, are ideal months for venturing into the Apple Hill growing region of El Dorado County. You’ll find lots of fruit for sale at member farms and ranches, but Apple Hill isn’t all about apples; it’s a winemaking region, too, with seven wineries and a brewery on the map. Read more.

El dorado county’s adventure loop

Lola and Leroy on an adventure in Gold Country. Photo by M. Miller.

Lola and Leroy on an adventure in Gold Country. Photo: M. Miller Next time you can wrangle a weekend away in Gold Country, head east on Highway 50, exit at El Dorado Hills Boulevard and drive through 10 miles of suburbia to the intersection with Green Valley Road. Put your vehicle in explorer gear and keep going: the name changes to Salmon Falls Road and the asphalt narrows into a two-lane track traversing the rugged terrain northeast of Folsom Lake. Read more.