Kids (and dogs) of all ages visiting Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley are drawn like magnets to the Redwood Valley Railway, a miniature train that has been looping around the park since 1952.
The railroad's five-inch scale model live steam locomotives are perfectly detailed and as fun to watch as they are to ride behind. Twelve-minute rides cover 1.25 miles of narrow-gauge track on a scenic route that offers the occasional ocean view.
The park reports that the charming little railroad, which operates daily in summer and weekends the rest of the year, attracts about 160,000 passengers a year. No word on how many of them are canines, but the tradition of allowing dogs to hop aboard the eight-passenger gondola cars persists, and many a DogTrekker has snapped a photo of Fido enjoying the ride.
Photo courtesy Carl R. Grant, CC
