Where to hike with a dog in the Sierra Nevadas: the Lakes Basin

If you love hikes where your dog can be off-leash and it loves jumping into water, the Lakes Basin has a beautiful trail called the Bear Lakes Loop in the Plumas National Forest you will both adore.

Just one of the gorgeous lakes.

Located in the northern Sierra Nevadas about 2.5 hours northeast of Sacramento, the trail starts just a few miles south of Graeagle on the Gold Lake Highway.

We started our hike on the trailhead near the Gold Lake Lodge, but there are other trailheads further north that also lead to the loop.

The trail is mostly dirt with a few rocky sections, and about a two weeks ago had plenty of downed trees and full creeks. Most of the creeks were much easier for the dog than the humans to cross, but one had a high and sturdy bridge that she needed to be coaxed into using.

There isn’t a lot of shade, but luckily the altitude made it cool enough for the humans, as dogs can jump in all the lakes they want.

Plenty of snow still in early July.

And the lakes are what makes this hike worth so worth the journey. Some are large and some are quite small, but all are clear and beautiful and come so frequently at the end of the loop that you almost get bored with them. Almost.

But the journey we took to get there, the winding I-70, called the Feather River Highway, was beautiful in its own right.

Words to the wise:

• If you do drive I-70, on your way be sure and stop at Quincy, a cute town that reminded me of a smaller version of Ashland, Ore., featuring a great natural foods store with plenty of tasty snacks for the road.

• Also be sure and check both the road, trail and weather conditions, as the trail had barely opened by July due to the heavy snowfall in the mountains. And even then there were still sections of the trail that were covered in slick slopes of snow that were passable but a bit nerve-wracking – at least to the humans.

Veronica Lake.

Where to take a dog in Jackson Hole, WY: Snow King

If you and your dog love hiking hills you will love Jackson Hole, because it has one of my favorite mountain climbs right behind it.

About halfway up Snow King Mountain.

Just six blocks from its famous town square (where you can’t take your dog, by the way) is Snow King Resort, which is full of snow and skiers in the winter, but is great for hiking once the snow melts.

When I visited in early October, fresh snow made the steep trek treacherous in spots, but it quickly melted and most people I met were handling the slick ground just fine in shoes with good traction.

If your dog is social, this is also a good place to let them off leash, since we met many other people with dogs that were all off-leash.

I never quite made it to the summit, but the views of the valley and mountains, including the Grand Tetons, are spectacular even if you only make it halfway up.

This is a great spot to exercise both dogs and humans, and to watch both the sunrise and sunset.

Just one set of mountains you can see on the hike.

Where to hike with a dog in Aptos (Santa Cruz County): the Forest of Nisene Marks

Continuing on one of the trails meant crossing Aptos Creek.

Hiking with your dog often means trudging up a dusty fire road. 
So a great choice for anyone wishing for some trees and shade is a hike in the Forest of Nisene Marks, located about 20 miles south of Santa Cruz.
Funny thing is, I would have been perfectly happy to stay on the fire road in this park, since it takes you deep among the towering redwoods.
But this forest also welcomes your dog on some of its lower trails, which lead you away from any vehicles and alongside Aptos Creek, which travels wide and clear through much of the park.
Words to the wise: Construction in the Aptos Village shopping center makes the park entrance harder to find these days, but making it inside is well worth the effort.

Where to take a dog near Berkeley: Point Isabel Shoreline

If you’re going to be driving near Berkeley or just want an excuse to take a doggie day trip, a great place to visit is Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, a 50-acre park that is almost entirely off-leash.

Views of San Francisco and its bay are one of the many perks.

Located right off I-580 in Richmond, it has mostly flat trails that meander through grass and along a canal your dog can explore while you are enjoying views of the San Francisco Bay or bird-watching in the tidal flats.

It is a very popular park (reportedly having well over 1 million visitors a year), and was teeming with dogs of all sizes the sunny Saturday I visited. 

Warning: If your dog doesn’t enjoy meeting a new dog every 90 seconds or you don’t trust them to be off-leash, then this likely is not the park for you. (Unless you stay in the northern section of the park where owners are asked to keep dogs on-leash).

There is also free parking, bathrooms and drinking fountains for humans and a “shower shack” where you can get the sand and mud washed off your dog, though I did not partake.

Address: 2701 Isabel Street in Richmond.

Where to take your dog in Missoula: only the best dog park ever!

Dogs enjoying the beach along the Clark Fork River.

If you are in Missoula with your dog I am very jealous, because that city has the best dog park I have visited.

Called Jacobs Island off-leash dog park, it is indeed an island in the Clark Fork River, tucked below the University of Montana campus.

At first it looks like standard fare: a fenced entrance with a small area to unleash your dog before you walk into a flat grassy area where the animals can greet and play while their owners watch and talk.

And while many people might not need more than that from their dog parks, my dog loves nothing more than to run and sniff through nature’s nooks and crannies, wet or dry. And this park has oodles of both.

It is bordered by water on both sides, so there are no fences past the entrance. If you keep walking beyond the grass, your dog is free to explore the long stretch of beach along the river to the west, or more water to the east.

Then in the middle, there is a long stretch of sandy dirt filled with those delicious nooks and crannies like bushes, trees and even logs to crawl under or jump over. My dog and I could have stayed there all day.
But if either of you still need more exercise after that, you can head down the railroad tracks and enjoy the K Williams Natural Trail Area, or meet up with the trail to the “M” overlooking the campus. The “M” trail is narrow and very popular, but the climb is a great workout and offers stunning views.

Where to walk your dog in Bozeman, MT: Peets Hill

If both you and your dog are social creatures, a very good place to take your dog for a walk in Bozeman, MT., is Peets Hill.

On the edge of the sprawling, pleasant Lindley Park and easily reached by either a short climb or a flat walk from a parking lot, Peets Hill offers acres of open space with sweeping views of the mountains and the sunset for humans, along with plenty of exploring and sniffing opportunities for dogs.

So, of course, it’s also very popular, and you will most assuredly encounter lots of other people and lots of other dogs, nearly all of whom are off-leash, though many signs advise you otherwise.

If your dog loves to have “speed dates” with other active dogs and you don’t mind chatting with lots of other dog owners, this is a great place for you.

But even if you or your dog are not-so-social, there is enough space for everyone for enjoy the park without interacting, and it’s still a great place for an on-leash walk.

The many charms of Peets Hill are best enjoyed by social butterflies.

Where to stop with a dog in Nevada: Lovelock

If you’re driving Interstate 80 through Nevada, a good place to stop and pee the dog is a small town called Lovelock, about an hour and a half east of Reno.

It’s very small, but it has a McDonald’s right off the highway. I find that chain nearly essential on road trips for its bathrooms, all-day breakfast and emergency coffee.

Even more worth a stop, however, is the city’s downtown that features interesting architecture and a park where couples come to 

“lock their love.”

A few blocks away from the McDonald’s is the handsome Pershing County Courthouse, and behind that is a nice park with plenty of grass for the dog.

The park also has several posts with chains full of locks. Given that the city’s name is Lovelock, it seems people come from all over to write their names on locks and leave them in the city park.

Couples come to Lovelock, Nev., to "lock" their love in its park.