Dog-friendly lodging for solo traveler near nature in NorCal?
June 23, 2021 7:43 PM   Subscribe

Unexpectedly found myself with a week off of work and would like to take a road trip with my dog to make the most of it. Complication: this is the first week (Monday-Friday) of July and most well known places seem booked out or only with non-consecutive dates. Anything off the beaten path that welcomes dogs and might empty out during the week?

This might be a big ask and I realize I could be out of luck this close to the 4th but hoping for recommendations for lodging near hiking trails, rivers or even just a winery that welcomes dogs. Glamping, tent camping, resorts, and BnBs are all good but not looking for property rentals like AirBnB or VRBO. Stanford Inn in Mendocino (on the fancy end) and Kit Carson Lodge in tahoe (on the rustic end) both looked great but are booked out.

Anywhere in Northern California from Sonoma County and north or east towards the Sierras would be ideal as I'd like to hike and get out of the city to destress after a very intense year of work. I have a friendly, well-behaved, 7 month-old dog under 40 lbs, a comfy car for travel and want to spend time in the forest with my pup away from the buzz of anything electronic. Travel time from the Bay Area would be 7-8 hours maximum if possible.

What hidden gems have you come across in your road trip travels?
posted by JaneTheGood to Travel & Transportation around California (4 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Motel rooms at The Bridgeport Inn in Bridgeport, Ca allow pets (for a fee). Lots of hiking, etc nearby. (I spent three summers in Bridgeport as a teen, two of them working at the Inn’s restaurant.) No idea what availability is like for your calendar.
posted by notyou at 8:37 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


R3 in Guerneville is dog friendly and looks to have some availability that week. (It's mostly frequented by gay men and the pool has a club-y vibe, for what it's worth.)
posted by kylej at 9:48 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Benbow (near Redway/101, etc) is actually really cute, very car campable. King's Canyon as well. Some of the areas in NorCal are still unfortunately transient/not routinely cleaned, but if you can find a neat/clean area, it's likely safe to camp.


If for some reason you are super-super put out, you may* be able to find someone on the Wag! or Rover apps (read about these, make certain you're comfortable) to take the dog for the evening, and allow you to snag the dog during the day.
posted by firstdaffodils at 9:51 PM on June 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


There’s an inn in the town of Tomales , dead center on the corner, that allowed dogs, at least 10 years ago when I last went.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 4:25 PM on June 24, 2021


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