DogTrekker followers are continually astonished by the wealth of possibilities offered by the 64 parks in the East Bay Regional Park District, which encompasses 108,000 acres laced with 1,200 mile of trails in Contra Costa and neighboring Alameda counties. A favorite is Briones Regional Park just outside Pleasant Hill, which features 6,255 acres of rolling terrain that is especially beautiful in spring. more »
Apple at American River Parkway
Photo Credit: @thunder_tiger
Sacramento, California’s “City of Trees,” takes great pride in its shady parks. William Land Park, just south of downtown, is its largest urban oasis. The 166-acre preserve is home to a zoo, a golf course, an amusement park, duck ponds, picnic grounds and miles of canine-friendly walking paths. Among many other events, it hosts the annual Doggy Dash and Bark in the Park Festival (April 27 this year) to benefit the Sacramento SPCA. more »
Lime Ridge Open Space
The East Bay has a remarkable network of hiking trails, and Concord offers easy access from within the city limits, as well as several great hikes just a short hop away. more »
Lucy hoping for a bite at Jack Russell Brewery.
Photo Credit: @tbutcherskitchen
The El Dorado County seat was named for the alluvial deposits that drew prospectors here during the Gold Rush. It’s nickname, “Hangtown,” relates to the lawlessness of the times. Today, however, it’s one of the most picturesque, bustling and dog-friendly of Gold Country towns. more »
Meats exploring the Johnny Cash Trail - Photo Credit: @finnifsk8
History, a vibrant dining scene and outdoor recreation options galore beckon in this gateway to California Gold Country. Folsom’s nucleus is its handsomely revitalized Old Town district, centered on Sutter Street and great for an anytime stroll or sit-down with your four-legged friend. more »
Maci at Sly Park Recreation Area - Photo Credit: @maci_explores2
Once you reach Pollock Pines on Highway 50, you’re deep into Gold Country. And on a hot summer day, nothing could be more appealing than a dip in a turquoise-blue lake and a hike around it with your four-legged friend. Jenkinson Lake is the centerpiece of 650-acre Sly Park Recreation Area, and it’s gorgeous. more »
Redding calls itself California’s Trail Capital, and for good reason: about 100 miles of dog-friendly trails, both paved and natural-surface, have been developed in and around the city through private and public partnerships. Spring is a particularly nice time to take in the views from the Upper Sacramento Ditch Trail, which traces the route of a historic waterworks that once supplied miners’ sluice boxes. Three bridges along the northern part of the path span gorges that gush with waterfalls in springtime and offer arresting views of Shasta Lake and Keswick Reservoir at any time of year.
Never heard of Keswick Reservoir? This river-like body of water stretching nine miles downstream from Shasta Dam is the iconic lake’s frigid, turquoise-blue afterbay. The recently paved and very scenic Sacramento River Rail Trail follows a historic railroad alignment for almost 11 miles along its western shore, offering views aplenty, multiple points of entry and ample opportunity to branch off onto dirt paths leading into the rugged hills. more »
Photo Credit: @mrkobeandme
Follow the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) along the Santa Cruz County coastline, and you’ll be tempted by 29 miles of beaches (15 of them dog-friendly) along the way. Only one, Mitchell’s Cove, is legally leash-free, and then only before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. But no worries: there are plenty of other strands to explore provided you keep a tether stretched between you. more »
Chasing waterfalls at Uvas Canyon County Park
Photo Credit: @adventuresofbearstorch
South of San Francisco, you and your frisky pup have more velvety-green hills to wander in spring. Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve in the hills above San Carlos and Redwood City is one option that really sets tails a-waggin'. Off-leash play is allowed in a 17-acre parcel of this 366-acre San Mateo County preserve that was once the site of a tuberculosis sanitarium. All five miles of trails are dog-friendly, and on clear days you'll get a good view of the Santa Cruz Mountains. more »
South Yuba River State Park
Photo Credit: @ryno_in_california
The Sierra foothills cover hundreds of square miles, so your best bet for a wildflower-and-waterfalls weekend is to narrow down an itinerary. Our suggestion: take Highway 20 east out of Marysville (Sutter County) and spend a day or a weekend exploring several sites between there and Grass Valley/Nevada City, a distance of about 40 miles. more »