This Earth Day, DogTrekker is celebrating something worth wagging about: our community. A recent reader survey shows 99% of you pack it in and pack it out, and 95% leash up in sensitive habitats. Now, that’s a pack worth howling about!
Our Leave Only Paw Prints® program launched back in 2011, just days before DogTrekker.com itself. Fifteen years later, our network of DogTrekker-approved destinations and conscientious pet parents continue to do their part to preserve the places we love. From the peaks of Big Bear and Mammoth Lakes to Mendocino’s coastal redwoods, these are a few destinations (and an eco-lodge) that set the standard.
Cultivating care for Big Bear
Every year, three million people visit Southern California’s alpine lake escape, Big Bear Lake—and many bring their best four-legged friends. That’s a lot of paws on the ground in the San Bernardino National Forest, which is exactly why the Care For Big Bear initiative exists.
The community-wide campaign keeps tails wagging and trails pristine. Stay on marked paths, respect the wildlife, support green businesses and don’t forget to look up—the region’s dark sky initiative makes stargazing extra out-of-this-world. Dog-friendly recreation and events like the Puptopia Festival (July 25) make Big Bear an all season destination for fun and outdoor adventure.
Attune to Mother Nature at Mendocino’s seaside eco-retreat
The Conde Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice-winning Stanford Inn by the Sea has been weaving luxury and light-on-the-land living together since the early 1980s. Imagine being surrounded by sea breezes, old-growth trees and a USDA-certified organic garden supplying ingredients that show up on your plant-based dinner plate just hours after harvest.
Perched above Mendocino Bay with four state parks within two miles, this dog-passionate destination always puts planet earth and pups front and center. Rent a canoe (with specialized gear for dogs), walk the beaches and refuel at Ravens Restaurant, where the menu is as rooted in place as the redwoods themselves.
Keeping Mammoth unreal, one paw print at a time
Towering peaks, endless trails and alpine lakes that stop you in your tracks. One of the reasons Mammoth Lakes has earned its “Real Unreal” reputation is the community that protects its natural assets. Keeping a place this wildly beautiful takes work—and Mammoth Lakes is up to the task.
The effort runs deep. The Whitebark Institute tackles wildfire resilience, the Mammoth Lakes Trails & Public Access Foundation keeps the trail network thriving and Clean Up the Lake goes underwater for the cause. You, too, can do your part: pick up after your pup, support local and explore the top dog-walking spots with respect.
Bishop: Small town, big backyard, boundless room to roam
Perched at 4,000 feet in the high desert and surrounded by 98% public lands, Bishop is the rugged Eastern Sierra gateway your dog didn’t know they were dreaming about. Trailheads start steps from downtown, lodgings welcome pups warmly and the walkable downtown serves up dog-friendly dining patios and a centrally located dog park.
Bishop’s land stewards—including the LA Department of Water & Power, which manages most of the Owens Valley’s public land—ask visitors to #RecreateResponsibly. That means booties for hot pavement, a leash near fast-running spring runoff and no pups left in hot cars—Bishop summers can hit 100°.
Five tips for adventures that earn their stripes
“Earth Day is every day” may as well be our team motto, whether we are protecting Sierra streams, redwood groves or every beach in between. Embody our Leave Only Paw Prints® ethos no matter where you roam with these five tips for safe Earth Day adventures:
1. Plan ahead for paws-itive adventures; pack leashes, water, waste bags, ID tags and a first-aid kit.
2. Respect wild lands and wildlife; stay on marked trails.
3. Be courteous; not everyone’s a dog person (we know, shocking).
4. Pick up and pack out, every single time.
5. Support dog-centric businesses that walk the sustainability talk.
