Mendocino Headlands State Park - Photo Credit: @meganevaughan
A mere five minutes from Little River, much-photographed Mendocino Village, with its wealth of lacy Victorians and colorful saltbox cottages, is loaded with places to enjoy with your four-legged friend. Our top pick is Stanford Inn by the Sea, just south of the village across Big River. Once you’ve explored the compact downtown, get your tails over to Mendocino Headlands State Park, which surrounds the town on three sides. more »
W. Bruce Cameron
Enjoy excellent food, terrific wine, silent and live auction, opportunity drawings, live entertainment and dancing at Wags N Wine. This event will be held June 16, 2019 (this Father's Day) at the Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, benefiting Waggin' Trails Rescue Foundation. more »
Float Along - Photo Credit: @whitneymock
Nine miles. Four-plus hours of water time. Countless tail wags, big smiles. A float/paddle on a secluded section of the Russian River is a DogTrekker must-do for visitors to Sonoma County. With your water-loving dog on board in a custom-made SOAR inflatable canoe from Russian River Adventures, you’ll explore a secluded section of the waterway downstream from Healdsburg and linger at swimming holes and beaches, picnicking, playing fetch and wishing the adventure would never end. If DogTrekkers act fast, the usual $10 dog fee will be waved mid-week through the end of June (use code DOG10TREK19 when booking reservations). more »
Photo Credit: Little River Inn
What’s not to like about the gorgeous Mendocino coast? Absolutely nothing, of course! And with a River Dog package at the Little River Inn Resort & Spa, perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, you’ll enjoy a two-night stay in a pet-friendly guest room, a three-hour river excursion in an ultra-stable outrigger canoe, a goodie bag with dog treats and info on where to hike and boat with dogs—plus a $100 dinner voucher good for dining in the hotel’s dog-friendly parlor (if the pinenut-crusted salmon is on the menu, give it a go), in-room or in the dining room (dogs have to wait outside). more »
Lake County is named for that big puddle of blue on the map, and there’s lots to wag tails about on its shores. But Clear Lake is hardly the only body of water in the vicinity. Blue Lakes (Upper and Lower), just five miles away, are a pair of clear, spring-fed bodies of water ideal for swimming and fishing. Only human-powered craft and electric motors are allowed (speed limit is 5 mph), but you can rent an electric “yacht” or pontoon boat from the Lodge at Blue Lakes and pile the kids and dogs on board for a great day of cruising about. more »
Catch a canoe! - Photo Credit: @wilson_in_the_city
Many say that coastal Mendocino County is not so much a place as a state of mind. And for DogTrekkers, full immersion wouldn’t be complete without a dog-friendly paddle excursion along the serene Big River estuary. Catch A Canoe & Bicycles Too, which shares ground with the extremely dog-friendly Stanford Inn by the Sea, has been putting paddlers on the 8.3-mile estuary since 1972. A decade or so ago, it introduced Canine Cruisers to its fleet of handmade redwood outrigger canoes. The dog-friendly craft feature a raised, padded deck centered in the middle of the canoe between paddler positions in bow and stern. more »
Cruiser - Photo Credit: Butte Humane Society
Here's Cruiser, a happy, playful Lab/pit mix guy who, like lots of other dogs, lost his home due to the Camp Fire. Luckily for him he landed with the good folks at Butte Humane Society in Chico, where he's waiting for his new folks to come find him. more »
Van Damme State Park - Photo Credit: @cassielue2
Whether your drive all or just some of intoxicating Highway 1 hugging the Mendocino County coast, you’re sure to find many places to pull over and get some sand between your and Buster’s toes. Go slow, stop often and be sure to check out these highlights. more »
My stick! Photo Credit: @finnbodey
Noyo Beach, Mendocino County. Legal places to romp off-leash with your dog are few and far between on Mendocino County’s gorgeous coastline, but one place you can unclip and let your pup run free is Noyo Beach Off-Leash Dog Area in Fort Bragg. more »
Big Sur, CA - Photo Credit: @karagivesback
Last winter’s heavy rains were not kind to California’s 90-mile Big Sur Coast, most of which is in Monterey County. First the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 washed out, cutting off access to all but foot or helicopter traffic south of Big Sur Station. Then one of the largest landslides in California history reshaped the southern portion of the coastline by dumping a mountain of debris 600 feet into the Pacific. The good news is that on Oct. 13, the rebuilt Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge opened 35 miles of coastline that had been cut off for eight months. more »