Since you can't hike with your dog inside Yosemite National Park, this trail offers a great alternative just outside its borders. The hike is short but super steep, and had us humans panting like crazy up the hill, wondering if we were ever going to reach Gardisky Lake.
So when water finally came into view, all the huffing and puffing felt more than worth it!
Getting there: We drove over Tioga Road (Highway 120) through Yosemite to reach Saddlebag Lake Road. We then drove about two miles on this dirt road, which was a bit bumpy, but nowhere near as bad as other roads I've taken to lesser hikes. And as always when we reach a trailhead, no matter how far out I think we've gone, there was already one car parked in the lot when we arrived: a Jeep belonging to a fisherman who had hiked up to the lake to fish. "It's short, but it's steep," he said of the trail. And boy, was he right.
It is only about a mile to the lake (the trail map says 1.3 miles) but the climb is relentless. And the whole way up you see no sign of the lake, but are rewarded with awesome views behind you until you reach the top. Words to the wise: Water: There was no human water at the trailhead, but in early October there were still streams flowing for the dog to drink from. Off-leash: This trail is "voice-control," but there are lots of chipmunks running around if your dog likes to chase things.
Celebrating reaching the lake.
How I found this hike: I never would have known about this trail, and so many others, without the great book by Linda and David Mullally, "Best Dog Hikes Northern California."
The dog and I loved this trail. For me it was a green oasis with a floor of ferns, walls of moss and a ceiling of tree branches. For her, it was off-leash roaming in a dense forest full of tantalizing new smells.
Photo by Nathan DeHart
The Elk River Trail is located in the Headwaters Forest Reserve near Eureka. And its free parking lot is reached after a few miles on Elk River Road, a lovely adventure of its own featuring barns and rolling pastures full of grazing horses and cows.
Covered bridge on Zanes Road
And if you love covered bridges, keep your eyes peeled for one on Zanes Road that is definitely worth a stop before or after your hike. I read there were two in the area, but we only found the one.
The first mile of the Elk River Trail is paved and very flat, but little spur trails can take you off the pavement and closer to the water. Dogs are allowed to hike with you and can even be off-leash, but you are asked to keep them out of the river so they don't disturb the spawning fish.
Photo by Nathan DeHart
If you like dense forest canopies, I can't recommend this hike enough, and I can't wait to return.
Bathrooms & water: There were pit toilets at the trailhead, but I didn't find any drinking water. I also never would have found this trail if it weren't for the book "Best Dog Hikes in Northern California" by Linda Mullally. Videos below of the forest and the bridge:
This hike is so short, I easily spent three times as much time driving to the trail than I spent walking on it. But the views of the Pacific Ocean you see from atop Trinidad Head immediately dissolved every minute I spent in the car to reach them.
Just one of the many spur trails leading to great views (All photos by Nathan DeHart.)
The trail begins.
And those views begin even before you park at the beach, with the pier and cove at the foot of Trinidad Head leading you to where the pavement turns to sand. The parking lot was easy to find, but the trailhead wasn't, tucked discreetly into a corner of the parking lot. The trail immediately heads uphill, but the climb is short and far from arduous, especially with the ocean beckoning at every turn.
There are many dirt spur trails leading off the pavement and I recommend heading down every one of them, as each had a better view than the last. Until, of course, you reach the one that has a rock staircase leading to a rocky cliff edge that gives you the feeling of floating above the ocean. (And can also make you very uncomfortable if you are afraid of heights.) But even without the ocean views the trail is beautiful, lined with colorful flowers and tall hedges so lush they form tunnels and made me feel as if I were in the tropics.
This trail was likely not very exciting for the dog, she cares far more about roaming off-leash than gazing at the ocean, but it is still a great trail made even greater because I could share it with my dog. How to get there: To reach the Trinidad Head Loop, take the Trinidad exit off Highway 101 (about 30 miles north of Eureka) and head west toward the water and the pier. Once the road ends you will find a cove to the left and a parking lot to the right. If you head past the lighthouse to the cove, you'll find bathrooms and a drinking fountain, as well as a restaurant that comes highly recommended by both the hiking book "Northern California Hiking" and a close friend, but I did not eat there.
The book also recommended doing the 1.5 mile loop in a counter-clockwise direction, which I did do, but I'm not sure it would make the views any less stunning if you went in the opposite direction.
Humans love to drive near beautiful places, with one of their favorites being the gorgeous and greatly accessible coast of California. But there are a few spots even along this most coveted shoreline that aren't carved by pavement: secluded stretches of wild sand guarded by mountains who laugh at roads. Mountains so formidable they can push even the prized Highway 1 away from the ocean, creating a gem in Humboldt County called The Lost Coast.
Leave civilization behind on the shores of the Lost Coast.
This extra-rugged section of the rugged north coast begins in the northern corner of Mendocino County and comes courtesy of the King Range, which demands that all humans walk into the special realm of sea, sand and fog that it protects from civilization. My introduction to the Lost Coast shore began where the pavement ends at Shelter Cove, which for most is also the southern end of an epic, 28-mile hiking trek known as the Lost Coast Trail. Even the drive to Shelter Cove and Black Sands Beach is slightly epic: a steep, winding trip that is definitely not for those prone to carsickness. And once you park, you are reminded over and over again that you've left the modern asphalt world behind to enter one ruled by nature:
Before you reach the sand you must pass several “Danger” signs warning
you of “intermittent waves of unusual size and force,” and advising you
to stay at least 100 feet away from the water. And once you see the
steep drop off between the water’s edge and the waves, you’ll want to.
The beach is often beset by winds that make it so uncomfortable
to walk north that visitors are advised to hike the Lost Coast Trail
only from north to south. And no matter which direction you choose, you can't head out until you've studied the tide charts, because a tide of higher than three feet will strand you at Punta Gorda.
Little of what you’re walking on is actually sand, and the beach should
really be called Black Rocks Beach. And while many of those rocks are
very small, some of them are baseball-sized, and the larger ones cover
more and more ground as you head north.
Most of the other people you will see look like they happily left civilization long ago: Dirty,
exhausted-yet-ecstatic souls at the end of the journey they began days
earlier at the northern end of the Lost Coast Trail.
Photo by Nathan DeHart
As for the dog, I will admit this hike was problematic for mine in the summer because of the hot, black rocks. But I still think it is worth visiting, especially if you both crave long stretches of nearly empty off-leash beaches. Since this is part of the King Range National Conservation Area managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management, dogs can be under voice control. However, my dog did not like walking on rocks or even fine gravel, and soon after hitting the hot sand she flopped on her side and stuck her feet in the air in protest until I pointed her closer to the water. I suggest you let your dog cool their paws as much as possible in the creek at the beginning of the beach. Or better yet, have them wear booties as were recommended by the helpful guidebook that pointed me to Black Sands Beach and many other great places to take my dog: Best Dog Hikes in Northern California
I'll admit, the trails at Jenner Headlands Preserve definitely have some drawbacks for dogs. First, they have to be on-leash. Second, the reason for the leashes is cows. Lots of them. And if you have a dog bred to herd livestock like mine, you'll need a lot more than a leash to keep both of you on the trail when cows are near.
Even so, I still recommend this trail because the views are tremendous. It's truly glorious to be able to climb a mountain so close to the ocean, to feel sometimes as if you're soaring above it.
So if you can't stand hiking without your dog, and you've got a strong arm and strong collar, then by all means take your dog to enjoy those views with you. The trailhead is just a few miles north of Jenner on Highway 1 and has a large parking lot that is easy to pull into and free of charge. But despite its many spaces, the parking lot was already nearly full by mid-morning on a recent Saturday visit. Since most of our fellow hikers were heading up the "Sea to Sky Trail" on our visit, we turned right to take the Raptor Ridge Trail and meet up with the Wildflower Loop. In mid-April, that route was quite muddy and detours were still in effect, and it might still be muddy in early June given the recent rains. That trail also takes you very close to the highway at points, so if you want to escape the road more quickly, head to the left, where you can immediately enjoy sweeping views of the ocean.
But again, look out for those cows. There were so many cows using the trail at one point that we took to the steep hillside for about half a mile to give them plenty of space. The trail map advises hikers to approach the cows calmly using a normal voice until they move off the trail, but we were not brave enough to do that. We also did not make the 7.5-mile hike to the top of Pole Mountain (13 miles round-trip), and instead chose about a four-mile loop that followed the Raptor Ridge trail on the way up and the Sea to Sky trail on the way down, plus a mile or so detour looking for the Wildflower Loop, which I never found the sign for. Words to the Wise:
There is no water available but there are restrooms, which were built to blend in nicely with the hillside. And once the vegetation around them builds up, they will disappear even more into the landscape. Since there is no running water, there are only pit toilets inside, but there was plenty of toilet paper and even incense during my visit.
It was also very windy during my visit, so much so there were times we felt we were going to tumble down the mountain. Luckily we were finishing our hike about the time the wind really started kicking up, because I saw many hikers begin their hike, then quickly turn around because of the wind.
Parking is free, and the lot is open 8 a.m. until sunset. The trail to the restrooms is handicapped accessible.
When you want to walk on the beach rather than above it, here's a good beach nearby that allows dogs: Blind Beach
Often you find the best things while looking for something else. That's how I discovered Blind Beach near Jenner in Sonoma County, California.
Blind Beach with Goat Rock in the background.
We were driving on Goat Rock Road and hoping to walk the dog before sunset, but the sign at the trail I was looking for said dogs weren't allowed. So we kept going until we found a sign welcoming them at Blind Beach, then stopped at the empty parking lot and I jumped out with the dog.
Heading down to the sand.
And I'm so glad I did, because that was the most beautiful beach I've visited in a long time. It's not easy to get to, so that is likely while the parking lot was empty. Not only do you have to walk down a steep hillside full of switchbacks that give you no indication you will ever reach the beach, you have to use a set of ladder stairs at the bottom to get on the sand.
Those rickety stairs gave the dog pause on the way down, and I worried that I might have to carry her a bit to get her back up. But she flew up them without hesitation, and it was me who struggled the most with them.
I don't mind, though, because those ladder stairs are likely why the beach was empty. Because if we had driven a bit further to Goat Rock Beach, we could have parked just feet from the sand. So I thank that steep hillside and ladder stairs for giving us that beach to ourselves. Especially at sunset, which is a rare treat indeed.
This dog park has it all: large, open grassy areas for your dog to chase balls by themselves. Long, fenced walking paths that make for pleasant strolls for both of you while meeting plenty of other dogs and people. And, finally, long stretches of beaches on the shores of Lake Sammamish and the Sammamish Slough. All 40 acres of the park are off-leash, and if you are staying in Seattle, you can reach it by driving only about 20 miles over Lake Washington to Redmond. Words to the wise:
If you have a small dog, they best be brave, because there are no separate areas for them. Also, if you dog isn't super friendly with all dogs, there are very narrow areas that could cause uncomfortable bottlenecks for dogs that don't like meeting strange dogs in enclosed areas.
If you are staying in or near downtown Seattle, crossing Lake Washington is no easy feat, especially Highway 520. It can be busy all day, but is especially clogged in the mornings with students and staff trying to get to the University of Washington. Be sure and check on the current traffic conditions before you head out. We definitely got stuck in traffic, but watching the dog running freely through the water after being strictly on-leash in the busy city streets, and on her best behavior in our hotel, was well worth the hassle.
