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 »
You coming? - Photo Credit: @namastenadine
The Gold Rush-era prospectors who swarmed the Sierra Nevada foothills in the 1850s made an indelible mark on Tuolumne County, dotting the map with a string of settlements—Sonora, Columbia, Jamestown, Twain Harte, Groveland—that still have a boomtown feel, as well as a relaxed attitude toward dogs. more »
Table Mountain - Photo Credit: @weims_in_crime
Tuolumne County is largely rural, with more places to hike, fish, camp and go boating with your dog than you can shake a stick at. Its scenic lakes are tucked into dramatic mountain canyons and bowls that add to the getting-away-from-it-all experience. Here’s a look at some prominent bodies of water where you and your pup can splash, hike and play. more »
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - Photo Credit: @island_dog
If you’re traveling in Gold Country with family this summer, put Columbia State Historic Park on your “must visit” list. It’s a place where lasting memories are made. On weekends, you’ll encounter rumbling (and dog-friendly) stagecoaches, itinerant musicians, bonneted ladies in sweeping skirts, and swaggering, black-hatted characters who could go mano a mano with John Wayne. For city kids, this “Gold Rush town that never died” can be as much fun as Disneyland (well, almost). 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 »