Glass Beach - Photo Credit: @take.your.dog.along
Drive north from Point Arena 31 winding miles and you come to a little town that packs a big dog-friendly punch. Book a room at the Heritage House Resort (you’ll recognize it from the 1978 movie “Same Time, Next Year”), and you won’t want to budge from the decks and verandas overlooking the sea. Another great choice is Little River Inn Resort & Spa, a family-owned, Victorian-era confection that has greeted guests for five generations. more »
Gualala River Redwoods Park - Photo Credit: @nickandkonaandkira
Gualala is a border town, but not in the usual sense of the word. Just over the Sonoma County line in Mendocino County, it’s a boho kind of place with a selection of dog-friendly lodgings and restaurants as well as quick access to shore-side refuges where you can go beachcombing with your pup. more »
MacKerricher State Park - Photo Credit: @mylittlemonchichi
The largest community on the Mendo coast has much to recommend, including the Beachcomber group of properties offering variety and value close to the sea. The Beachcomber Motel itself is a luxury motel that offers panoramic views, fire pits and “pet suites” (rooms that open onto a deck with dog house and pet shower) with direct access to the property’s leash-free dog park. more »
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 »
Photo Credit: @retired_goldenretriever
Just 15 miles north of Gualala, don’t miss the 115-foot-high Point Arena Lighthouse, perched on a narrow peninsula and dating to 1879 and rebuilt after tumbling in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. For a unique overnight experience, book accommodations in one of four lighthouse-keeper cottages converted into dog-friendly vacation rentals (be sure to reserve far in advance). 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 »
Photo Credit: - Tri-Valley Animal Rescue
Little Poco has had quite a lot to deal with lately. When this scruffy, sweet terrier mix was 6, his elderly owners surrendered him to the East County Animal Shelter in Dublin because they could no longer care for him. The poor guy was emaciated and had quite a few deferred medical issues, including seriously dire teeth. Sad as all this was, though, Poco's luck was about to change, thanks to some diligent volunteers from Tri-Valley Animal Rescue. more »