Highway 4 in Calaveras and Alpine counties is one of our favorite routes for a summer road trip, offering way too many attractions and diversions for a mere weekend.
Paw Press Blog
Lots to wag about in tri-valley
For those who live in San Francisco, Sacramento and most points in between, the Tri-Valley region, with its rolling topography and semi-rural character, offers a refreshing change of venue for weekend explorers traveling with their dogs.
Tri-valley chow-down
Pleasanton, a community of 75,000, is the wealthiest middle-size city in the country according to the 2010 national census, and it’s as pleasant as its name suggests when it comes to the Fido factor. Unlike other communities that block off streets and ban canines at farmers’ markets and street fairs, Pleasanton welcomes patrons with four-legged companions at its 1st Wednesday Street Parties, held May through September and featuring more than 150 vendors each week. Come celebrate the Dog Days of Summer at the dedicated-to-dogs 1st Wednesday Street Party on August 5th and watch all the dogs in the neighborhood shake their stuff in the popular pooch parade down Main Street.
Gold country getaways
Kennedy Meadows in Sonora. Rachael Moore (CC)
On Highway 49 you’ll find a string of Gold Rush-era towns delightfully uncrowded at this time of year. While Sutter Creek and Jackson are well known bed-and-breakfast havens, DogTrekkers in search of cottage accommodations will strike gold with private vacation rentals such as the family-friendly Sutter Creek Cottage, situated right on Sutter Creek and just two blocks from Main Street’s half-mile-long strip of antiques stores, boutiques, tasting rooms and restaurants, many of them dog friendly.
Dog-friendly wineries in the gold country
Gold Country - Somerset wine dog
California Gold Country hugs the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and is home to hundreds of wineries. Many offer free tastings, intimate access to the winemaking process and personal welcomes from the winemakers.