On California’s North Coast, it is a pet-friendly beach heaven all along Highway 101. Open sandy beaches, cliff-rimmed beaches, private hidden coves–whatever you and your pet are looking for, you’ll find it on the North Coast. Just be sure to pick up after your pet wherever you go.

Crescent City Beaches
Crescent City, CA 95531
All of Crescent City’s beaches are pet friendly—just keep your pup on a leash. These beaches include:
• Enderts Beach (2 miles south of Crescent City on Enderts Beach Road off Highway 101)
• Kellogg Beach (8 miles north of the city, off Kings Valley Road—follow “Coastal Access” signs)
• Hidden Beach (17.5 miles south on Highway 101, then take Requa Road west 2.5 miles to Klamath Overlook; look for the trailhead at south end of parking lot): Getting to this beach requires a 4-mile hike but that’s what makes it “hidden” and wonderfully isolated. It also features sea stacks that are home to thousands of shore birds as well as tidal pools.
• South Beach: The most developed of the beaches, it’s a great place to watch surfers.
• Pebble Beach (off Pebble Beach Drive): An uncrowded beach that’s alternately rocky and sandy and a good place to look for agates.
• Beachfront Park

Redwood National Park
111 Second Street
Crescent City, CA 95531
Pets on a 6-foot leash are allowed at Crescent Beach and Gold Bluffs Beach, all road-accessible picnic areas, the Freshwater Lagoon Spit, and in state park campgrounds and roads within the park. Pets are not allowed on any of the park trails or in park buildings. Please keep dogs away from any dead fish along the riverbanks; raw salmon can be toxic if eaten.

Big Lagoon County Park
Big Lagoon Park Road
Trinidad, CA 95570
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach (there is a limit of two dogs per person). Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Luffenholtz Beach Park
Scenic Drive
Trinidad, CA 95570
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach. Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Clam Beach County Park
Highway 101
McKinleyville, CA 95519
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach. Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Mad River Beach County Park
Guintoli Lane
Arcata, CA 95521
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach. Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Samoa Boat Ramp
New Navy Base Road
Samoa, CA 95564
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach (there is a limit of two dogs per person). Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Centerville County Park and Beach
Centerville Road
Ferndale, CA 95536
You and your pet are welcome to enjoy the beach. Your pet may go off leash on the wave slope/wet sand area of the beach. He must be on leash on the dry sand section of the beach.

Noyo Beach Off-Leash Dog Beach
North Harbor Drive
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Your pet is free to romp the entirety of this rocky but beautiful beach.

Seaside Beach
Highway 1
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
This rugged beach is just north of MacKerricher State Park and your pet is free to explore on leash, with the exception of the stretch south of Ten Mile River, where the snowy plover make their home.

MacKerricher State Park
Highway 1
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
This park features 10 miles of ocean shoreline. The northern 6 miles are sandy beach; the southern 4 miles have a more rugged terrain, with cliffs, coves, and little beaches. You and your pet on a 6-foot leash can explore the entire southern section of the shore together and about 1 mile into the northern section. When you get to the park, seek out a ranger; they will delineate the pet-friendly section of the shore for you on a park map.

Caspar State Beach
14441 Point Cabrillo Drive
Caspar, CA 95420
This beach borders Caspar Headlands State Natural Reserve to the north Dogs must be on a 6-foot leash.

Mendocino Headlands State Park
North Big River Road
Mendocino, CA 95460
The park comprises rugged coastline, two secluded beaches (Big River Beach and Portuguese Beach), and spectacular views of sea arches and hidden cliff grottoes. Dogs are allowed on the beaches on a 6-foot leash and throughout the rest of the park, except on the coastal trails and in park buildings.

Russian Gulch State Park
Highway 1
Mendocino, CA 95460
Located in the heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, this park features the Devil’s Punch Bowl (a collapsed sea cave), a “blow hole” (a tunnel formed by the pounding of the surf that extends inland to a spot where the earth has caved away, allowing you to see the surf 200 feet inland when it’s high tide) a 36-foot-high waterfall, and a beach that is dog friendly. Throughout the park, keep your pet on a 6-foot leash; they are not permitted in park buildings.

Van Damme State Park
Highway 1
Mendocino, CA 95460
This park features a Fern Canyon trail that winds around the Pygmy Forest where mature cypress and pine trees stand 6 inches to 8 feet tall, and a bog called the Cabbage Patch. The park also has a beach that is popular with abalone divers. Pets on a 6-foot leash are allowed on the beach and throughout the park, except on the coastal trails and in park buildings.

Point Reyes National Seashore
1 Bear Valley Road
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Pets on a 6-foot leash are permitted on these ocean-facing beaches:
• Kehoe Beach (in the area north of Kehoe Beach Trail)
• Limatour Beach (southeast of the parking lot to the beach adjacent to Coast Camp)
• Point Reyes/Great Beach (from the North Beach parking lot to the south)
Because of threatened snowy plover habitat, pets are not permitted on the beach south of Kehoe Beach Tail or the beach north of North Beach parking lot. During elephant seal pupping and mating season, from December 1 to April 30, pets AND humans are not allowed on the beach south of the South Beach parking lot.

Pets on leash are permitted on boats in Tomales Bay and on National Seashore beaches on the west side of Tomales Bay from the northern boundary of Tomales Bay State Park to Elk Fence North Beach. These beaches include:
• Kilkenny Beach
• Long Cove Beach
• Fruit Tree Beach
• Marshall Beach
• No Name Beach
• Tomales Beach
• Elk Fence South Beach
• Elk Fence North Beach

Pets on leash are permitted only on the following trails: Kehoe Beach Trail and the designated trails in neighboring Golden Gate Recreation Area.

Pets are not permitted anywhere within the Tomales Point Elk Reserve, on Hog Island, Duck Island, Pelican Point, or on any of the beaches within Tomales Bay State Park. Pets are not permitted in the Bear Valley Visitor Center parking lot and picnic area. Throughout the seashore park, pets are not permitted in park buildings or in designated swimming areas.

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