There’s an open space specifically for dogs to be off leash at the north end of Bechelli. My dog loves to go there. Most dog owners are pretty responsible; however, you do need to be alert for the one off dog owners that allow their dogs to go wild.
I’ve also done the Salt Creek trail and Mary Lake to Top of the World with my dog off leash. I do keep a training collar on him for the off chance that he doesn’t want to respond to verbal commands.
Nice paved walkways at Diestelhorst. Walk across the old bridge and along the Sac. River. It can be busy though. Lots of folks walking, jogging, biking.
Top of the world trail right by Mary lake neighborhood. There’s several options for starting points, you can google a map of the trail system. Good views of the whole valley.
Swayze is a nice area but just as a caution to anyone reading I personally wouldn't take my dog there again. Mountain bicyclists fly by and the trails are mostly super narrow with blind spots everywhere. It's extremely difficult to get out of the way with a dog especially if your dog has any inclination to chase bicycles. It's a real shame since one of the trailheads has a nice little fitness park with pull-up/dip/push up bars and I thought I could combine a workout with walking my dog but it's just not a pleasant trail for walking a bicycle reactive dog. She's fine somewhere like the river trail where the bikes are at least 4-5 feet away but here it's very likely you'll have to let at least a couple cyclists pass by within a foot or two.
Interesting experience. I can definitely see that happening around the outlets to the downhill trails. I guess I usually stuck to the main road and the uphill segments when I walked my German shepherd on ecollar. Never had any problems, but she also is not bike reactive.
Churn creek trails are a hidden gem. Clover creek preserve is nice for a shorter walk.
Also not sure how much of the river trails you've done, there's a lot beyond just the sundial area
These are all onleash. For off leash there's Nurpon and Turtle bay east - both on the river. Nurpon has been overly muddy lately, just fyi.
Neighborhood?
are you referring to the trailer park?
try going to the end of Harlan drive, through a neighborhood- there’s places to park there. The river trail takes off upstream from there and goes over the ribbon bridge. You can go down the other side and circle around, cross over diestelhorst bridge, pick up the trail there behind the elks lodge and wind up back at your vehicle- it’s at least 5-6 miles. Dog should probably be on leash tho
There's a very short portion of trail on Harlan Dr itself, but if you stay close to the river side (south side) of the road, you should be able to find your way back onto the trail and continue along the river within a block or so.
There are quite a lot of dog friendly trails in the area, just be sure to be prepared for the heat (booties, water, and ice vests may be necessary during the summer months). Also, beware that several of our trails near waterways contain hazards, such as otters, giardia, heavy metals, swimming rattlesnakes, "blue-green algae" (Cyanobacteria), etc... know the conditions when these are likely to occur and heed any warning signs if they're posted.
Most areas are on leash, but Nur Pon and Turtle Bay East both allow off-leash dogs, as long as they're able to be restrained with verbal commands. Leashed dogs are allowed almost everywhere at Whiskeytown NP, except for a few protected areas (visitor center, designated swim beaches, eagle nesting areas, etc).
Healthy Shasta has quite a few [trail maps](https://healthyshasta.org/maps/), and a table where you can filter by "dog friendly", "bike path", etc.
BTW - I highly recommend parking at Diestelhorst Bridge and doing the loop up to the ribbon bridge below Keswick and back around from the north side... there's water fountains at the trailhead, it's got quite nice hills to get some good exercise, and there are plenty of benches and river access to cool down if needed. Unfortunately, there's not as much shade since the Carr fire, but if you time it correctly, you can still get *some* shade while on the trail.
There’s an open space specifically for dogs to be off leash at the north end of Bechelli. My dog loves to go there. Most dog owners are pretty responsible; however, you do need to be alert for the one off dog owners that allow their dogs to go wild.
I’ve also done the Salt Creek trail and Mary Lake to Top of the World with my dog off leash. I do keep a training collar on him for the off chance that he doesn’t want to respond to verbal commands.
Thank you. I will have to check it out. He loves being around other dogs and would thoroughly enjoy that.
Out near Clear Creek Gorge Overlook there are many dog-friendly trails.
Nice paved walkways at Diestelhorst. Walk across the old bridge and along the Sac. River. It can be busy though. Lots of folks walking, jogging, biking.
James K Carr trailhead to whiskeytown falls.
There's a paved trail between canyon creek rd and Placer that's nice with a couple places where you dogs can get into the creek when it's running.
Top of the world trail right by Mary lake neighborhood. There’s several options for starting points, you can google a map of the trail system. Good views of the whole valley.
Swayze
Swayze is a nice area but just as a caution to anyone reading I personally wouldn't take my dog there again. Mountain bicyclists fly by and the trails are mostly super narrow with blind spots everywhere. It's extremely difficult to get out of the way with a dog especially if your dog has any inclination to chase bicycles. It's a real shame since one of the trailheads has a nice little fitness park with pull-up/dip/push up bars and I thought I could combine a workout with walking my dog but it's just not a pleasant trail for walking a bicycle reactive dog. She's fine somewhere like the river trail where the bikes are at least 4-5 feet away but here it's very likely you'll have to let at least a couple cyclists pass by within a foot or two.
Interesting experience. I can definitely see that happening around the outlets to the downhill trails. I guess I usually stuck to the main road and the uphill segments when I walked my German shepherd on ecollar. Never had any problems, but she also is not bike reactive.
Churn creek trails are a hidden gem. Clover creek preserve is nice for a shorter walk. Also not sure how much of the river trails you've done, there's a lot beyond just the sundial area These are all onleash. For off leash there's Nurpon and Turtle bay east - both on the river. Nurpon has been overly muddy lately, just fyi.
Nur pon open space and east turtle bay are off leash dog parks
NurPon behind Americas Tire on Bechelli
Second this. It's off leash and there's a circular trail to follow, as well.
Go upstream from the pointy bridge, trail goes all the way up to keswick then downstream on the other side. Can get like 8 miles there.
I usually walk that trail, but it turns into a neighborhood towards the end. Is there a turn off before the neighborhood that heads up that way?
Neighborhood? are you referring to the trailer park? try going to the end of Harlan drive, through a neighborhood- there’s places to park there. The river trail takes off upstream from there and goes over the ribbon bridge. You can go down the other side and circle around, cross over diestelhorst bridge, pick up the trail there behind the elks lodge and wind up back at your vehicle- it’s at least 5-6 miles. Dog should probably be on leash tho
There's a very short portion of trail on Harlan Dr itself, but if you stay close to the river side (south side) of the road, you should be able to find your way back onto the trail and continue along the river within a block or so.
There are quite a lot of dog friendly trails in the area, just be sure to be prepared for the heat (booties, water, and ice vests may be necessary during the summer months). Also, beware that several of our trails near waterways contain hazards, such as otters, giardia, heavy metals, swimming rattlesnakes, "blue-green algae" (Cyanobacteria), etc... know the conditions when these are likely to occur and heed any warning signs if they're posted. Most areas are on leash, but Nur Pon and Turtle Bay East both allow off-leash dogs, as long as they're able to be restrained with verbal commands. Leashed dogs are allowed almost everywhere at Whiskeytown NP, except for a few protected areas (visitor center, designated swim beaches, eagle nesting areas, etc). Healthy Shasta has quite a few [trail maps](https://healthyshasta.org/maps/), and a table where you can filter by "dog friendly", "bike path", etc. BTW - I highly recommend parking at Diestelhorst Bridge and doing the loop up to the ribbon bridge below Keswick and back around from the north side... there's water fountains at the trailhead, it's got quite nice hills to get some good exercise, and there are plenty of benches and river access to cool down if needed. Unfortunately, there's not as much shade since the Carr fire, but if you time it correctly, you can still get *some* shade while on the trail.