Featured things to do
Mitchell’s Cove Beach
Santa Cruz
Mitchell's Cove Beach, located in Santa Cruz, offers a picturesque coastal retreat for both locals and visitors. Administered by the City of Santa Cruz, this serene beach welcomes leashed dogs at all times.
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Roaring Camp Railroads
Felton
Roaring Camp Railroads is a family-friendly (dogs included, of course) railroad that operates steam excursion trains on a narrow-gauge track once used to haul giant redwood logs from the forest.
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Santa Cruz
La Selva Beach
Santa Cruz is a dog-friendly activity in La Selva Beach in California’s Central Coast.
Read moreSanta Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA
Watsonville
The Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California Coast, is a versatile and award-winning destination, located just seven miles from the coast.
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Central Coast nesting season: a dog owner’s calendar
Month-by-month guide to Central Coast beach closures for snowy plover nesting, plus dog-friendly beaches that stay open March through September.
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Ticks and Lyme disease in California dogs
California reports roughly 1/200th the Lyme cases of New York — and our tick season peaks in fall and winter, not summer. Here's what California-specific CDC data, vet research, and CDPH surveillance actually show, and what it means for protecting…
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Dog-friendly Bay Area spring getaways under 2 hours
Five spring dog-friendly escapes under two hours from San Francisco or Oakland: Half Moon Bay and Pescadero, Healdsburg and the Russian River, Calistoga and upper Napa, Bodega Bay and the Sonoma Coast, and Santa Cruz on the edge of Monterey…
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Dog-friendly breweries in California: your spring patio season guide
Spring patio season is here, and California has more than 350 dog-friendly breweries across the state. From Lagunitas in Petaluma to Firestone Walker in Paso Robles and Cool Beerwerks in Gold Country, here is where to start your paws-and-pints tour.
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Dog-friendly Santa Cruz: spring guide to beaches, trails, patios
Santa Cruz in April delivers off-leash beaches like Its Beach, greenbelt trails through Pogonip, walkable coastal paths, and dozens of dog-friendly patios and hotels. It is an easy weekend from the Bay Area before the summer crowds arrive.
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ADA accessible dog-friendly trails on the Central Coast
California’s Central Coast stretches from Santa Cruz to Ventura, encompassing some of the most dramatic coastline in the state. For travelers with mobility challenges — and their loyal four-legged companions — this region offers a surprising number of paved paths…
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