Find California dog-friendly beaches, rivers and lakes blog stories.

DogTrekker dogs LOVE going to the beach! Check out our stories about dog-friendly beaches, rivers and lakes in California. We also have tips and tricks for staying safe while enjoying the salty air and surf! So go ahead, plan that trip – your pup will thank you! Happy trekking! 🐾🐕

Dog-Friendly Brags in Fort Bragg

Dog on Glass Beach, Fort Bragg.

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. Read more.

See the Light (Or Spend A Dog-Friendly Night) at Point Arena

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). Read more.

Little River, Big Tail-Waggin’ Attractions

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, Vict Read more.

Start at the Dog-Friendly Border Town of Gualala

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. Read more.

Get Your Tail(s) to 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 boa Read more.

Living Local In Santa Cruz County

Every time we visit, Santa Cruz County gets more and more dog-friendly. And this year there are several new opportunities to bark about. Tops among them: As of a couple of years ago, dogs have a place to hike with their people at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, where they previously were confined to campsites and picnic areas. The North Escape Road isn’t a trail, exactly, but i Read more.

Things to Do in Santa Cruz County

dog on hike drinking water from water bottle

When it comes to things to do with your dog in Santa Cruz County, there’s the obvious (beaches, wineries), and the not-so-obvious—like Byrne-Milliron Forest, a 400-acre Land Trust of Santa Cruz County property managed as a working forest and laced with dog-friendly trails (off-leash hiking for dogs with reliable recall is allowed). Read more.

Cruz The California Coast

Dog and people on the Santa Cruz County coast

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. Read more.

Sacramento: A Beer-Lover’s Magnet

Dogs with people having a beer in Sacramento

Sacramento might be situated smack in the middle of the Central Valley, but its location on the Sacramento and American rivers made it a central player in the 1849 Gold Rush, when a waterfront boomtown (now preserved as Old Sacramento) sported saloons aplenty catering to thirsty prospectors headed to and from the Mother Lode. Read more.

Get Wet at a Monterey County Splash Spot

Two dogs splashing it up at Monterey County

For many visitors with dogs, the primary reason to visit the Monterey Peninsula is to share your dog’s joy in running free on Carmel City Beach, a powdery, mile-long strand that is perhaps the best known leash-free beach in the country. It’s a short drive from Cannery Row and walking distance from stylish Carmel-by-the-Sea with its wealth of dog-friendly lodging and places to eat. Read more.

Lots to do on dog-friendly Cannery Row

“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.” So wrote John Steinbeck in his famous 1945 novel. “The Row” gets its name from a string of long-defunct sardine-canning factories, some of which have been converted into dog-friendly restaurants and hotels. Read more.

Soak Up Some Coastal Scenery in Monterey County

Dog and person saking up coastal scenery

The most abiding joy to be had on the Monterey Peninsula is simply enjoying the rugged coastal scenery, and there’s no better way to soak it up than on the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail. This paved, multi-use path stretches 18 miles from Castroville in the north to Pacific Grove in the south. To get started, we suggest strolling the segment between Cannery Row and Asilomar State Beac Read more.

Family Dog Rescue 2019

"A dog can make a house a home," says SF's Family Dog Rescue, which has been helping families of all sorts and dogs of all sorts, regardless of barriers, find each other since 2010. Thousands of dogs, some strays from SF and around the Bay, and more recently, dogs rescued from the streets of Mexico, birthplace of Family Dog founder Angela Padilla. Read more.

Plowed dog-walking trails? We’ll bark for that!

Photo by Derek Sears.

Let’s say there’s been a recent snowstorm, your dog needs exercise and you want a place to walk without donning snowshoes or skis. Read more.

Second Annual Waggin’ Trails, Huntington Beach

Second Annual Waggin’ Trails, Huntington Beach – Dec. 8 Waggin’ Trails Rescue Foundation, which works with overwhelmed shelters to transport companion animals to foster care as it works to find permanent homes, sponsors its second annual Santa Paws event. Read more.

Waggin’ Trails Rescue Foundation 2018

Dogs at Waggin' Trails Rescue Foundation

Not long ago Phoebe (black) and Henry (blond) were tiny puppies, facing a bleak future in a rural California shelter with few resources and little foot traffic. Luckily for them, the shelter called on Waggin' Trails Rescue Foundation in Huntington Beach, and things were quickly looking up. With volunteers around the state, Waggin' Trails came to the rescue fast. Read more.

Summer’s last splash: Gotta lake it!

Senior golden retriever standing in Fallen Leaf Lake with boats and mountains in background.

Fallen Leaf Lake. Photo by Jennifer Barnes.

When Northern Californians mention “The Lake,” you know they’re talking Tahoe. September is “tweener” season at Big Blue, a time when locals breathe deep, tourism drops off and visitors in the know snag mega-deals on lodging. Read more.

Curl Up Off-Season in a Dog-Friendly Cabin

Brown and white dog by a dog-friendly cabin

Cabin resorts—some rustic, some luxurious—have been hosting High Sierra vacationers for a century, and many are so popular in summer they can only be booked in blocks of a week or more. Come September, however, reservations open up, minimum-stay requirements are reduced and opportunity beckons. We’re partial to those in the uncrowded Lakes Basin Recreation Area straddling Sierra Read more.

Turquoise blue persuasion in Pollock Pines

Photo by El Dorado Irrigation District.

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 Read more.

Cool Your Jets (and Your Pets) in Sacramento

Sacramento is hot, hot, hot—and we’re not talking summer weather. The restaurant and craft brewery scene here has exploded of late, and thanks to a (usually) mild climate, outdoor dining is ubiquitous, and almost every restaurant and brewery patio in town is dog-friendly. Read more.