Dog Friendly Mendocino Coast
The Mendocino coast in Northern California is beautiful year round, but autumn brings less crowds and usually less fog, making it a perfect fall road trip.
Hiking with ravens
We recently took a trip up the coast to Mendocino County staying in Manchester about 45 minutes south of Mendocino and one hour from Fort Bragg. Mendocino County is a winding, beautiful drive from the San Francisco Bay Area up the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1). With its rugged cliffs, crashing blue waves, and charming coastal towns, it’s one of our favorite drives! And escaping the sweltering heat of the East Bay, is an added bonus.
Manchester is a small quaint town that we stumbled upon and ended up loving. We were able to find a pet friendly rental in the Lake Pomo community which offers a private access road to Irish Beach. While the beach itself is open to the public, the access road and small parking area is for residents and guests. Needless to say, we visited Irish Beach daily, sometimes even a couple times a day!
Irish Beach feels like a secret beach which is very unusual for us coming from the Bay Area! We hardly ever encountered anyone else on the beach, which meant our reactive dog, Linus, could enjoy the thrill of sprinting freely along the shore. With excellent visibility in both directions, we felt comfortable letting both dogs off-leash, knowing we could easily call them back if anyone else arrived.
Other Dog Friendly Hikes
In addition to our daily trip to Irish beach, we also enjoyed a few other hikes:
Point Arena-Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument-an almost 6 mile out and back coastal hike along rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. We encountered a few other dogs and a handful of people on this hike, but much of the trail is flat and wide open, so it was easy to see dogs from far away. Parking is free in the small lot off Lighthouse Road in Point Arena or along the side of the road. The Point Arena Lighthouse is also nearby. There is a small entrance fee for the lighthouse and dogs are allowed on the grounds but not in the structures.
Gravel Pit Road-a shady 6.5 mile out and back hike through the forest along a creek in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Fort Bragg (it’s better than the name describes). On this hike we did not see any other people or dogs until the very end when we were returning to our car. Parking is free along the side of Willits Rd near the trailhead.
Finally all along the Mendocino Coast off Highway 1 are small turnouts with shorts hikes down to often secluded empty beaches. We stopped at Hearn Gulch near Gualala, and had the beach to ourselves.
Other Tips
We also spent some time shopping in Mendocino (without our dogs) and visited the Gallery Bookstore, an independent bookstore in historic downtown Mendocino where we enjoyed browsing, stocking up on some new books, and meeting their resident cat, The Great Catsby.
Some of the humans enjoyed eating at Izakaya Gama in Point Arena, great for Japanese inspired seasonal small plates.
For snacks and groceries we stopped at S & B Market and Supply in Manchester, the Arena Market and Cafe in Point Arena, and the Surf Market in Gualala.
Our Road Trip Packing List for Our Dogs
Travel Crate-Great for giving the dogs a safe place to sleep and decompress
Place Cot-A nice place for the dogs to be able to relax during the day
Water Proof Blanket-For wet and dirty dogs
Steve’s Freeze Dried Raw-Easy to pack freeze dried food that’s easy on our dogs’ sensitive stomachs
Treats, treats & more treats-We bring these hiking
Chews & more chews-We use these as a distraction or as a reward
Pet Wrap-In case of injuries, good for the humans too
Deer walking through the neighborhood. Photographed on a Sony 6400 with a 70-350mm Telephoto Lens
Exploring the coastal towns of Mendocino County feels like stepping back in time. We loved our stay in Manchester, where we were greeted by the "locals" every morning and evening—deer, a bobcat, quail, and a family of foxes. Linus and Luna had a blast, too with their daily hikes, ocean dips, and beach runs!
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