If you’re going to explore all that Los Angeles has to offer, why deny your little, or big, four-legged buddy the chance to do the same. With year-round good weather, dozens of dog parks and a wide range of neighborhoods, hills and beaches to walk, hike and explore, LA provides ample opportunity for pet lovers to give their friends a chance to make their own pawmarks on the area. Here are 10 things to try:
courtesy of kagee219, Flickr
- In the hills above the San Fernando Valley, Studio City’s Laurel Canyon Dog Park provides morning and late-afternoon off-leash hours, separate areas for small and large dogs and a small pool area for some fun cool-off time.
- For less altitude and more space in the Valley, Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park has five acres of run-free space for large dogs and about a half-acre for smaller ones, as well as lots of pooper-scoopers for easy cleanup.
- Hermon Dog Park, which is northeast of Downtown Los Angeles in the historic Arroyo Seco region between Highland Park and South Pasadena, also has two fenced areas that keep the mud out and your friends in.
- Lake Hollywood Park has plenty of room for dogs to run free while giving them a chance to pose regally with the Hollywood Sign in the distance.
- Westridge-Canyonback Park provides more than 1,500 acres of open space bordered by upper Mandeville Canyon, Sullivan Canyon, Mission Canyon, and San Vicente Mountain Park, and is accessible from both the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles.
- Silverlake Recreation Area and Dog Park lets pooches scramble near the area’s reservoir while their owners catch up on their espressos.
- Culver City Dog Park, aka The Boneyard, give pups about an acre of room to roam near the city’s Jefferson Boulevard.
- In the South Bay, Redondo Beach Dog Park has a fenced, three-acre dog run and doggie drinking fountains.
- Finally, Venice’s Westiminster Off-Leash Dog Park and Santa Monica’s half-acre Pacific Street Park gives pooches a place to play with a whiff of the ocean breeze.
courtesy of artem.aleksenko, Flickr
Sometimes a dog just needs to get a jog in to work off that pent up energy, assuming his or her owner can keep up. Jogging and walking paths run most of the way up and down Los Angeles County’s beaches – including the Redondo-Hermosa-Manhattan trio and the stretch between Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades – though they can get can crowded on sunny weekends with skateboarders, walkers and baby strollers. For a little more space – but a little more noise – runners and their companions can take a jog along the grass median of San Vicente Boulevard between Santa Monica’s Ocean Avenue and Brentwood’s Bundy Drive. And for a great view of the San Gabriels as well as a body of water of the manmade variety, the two-mile path around Silver Lake reservoir will give your two legs and your pet’s four a good workout.
Sometimes, your pet just wants some of that alone time to clear his or her crowded mind, and there’s nothing like a pet suite to do the trick. The Kennel Club LAX is a resort-type kennel where your buddy can get a pet massage and enjoy “yappy hour,” not to mention pedicures, toe polish, and, yes, an optional limousine pick-up service so that your pet can roll in style. San Fernando’s Wagville’s goes more au naturel with its accommodations, complete with a 14,000-square-foot play area and field trips to local dog parks, though there’s also an in-house treadmill for the puppy workout. K9 Loft Boarding, which has locations in Sherman Oaks and Echo Park, gives worried pet-parents 24/7 Webcam access while providing a 2,000-square-foot air-conditioned indoor play area for those dog days of summer. Finally, Hollywood’s D Pet Hotels lets your pooch be the star by offering amenities that include a 375-square-foot “Uber double suite” and 42-inch flat-screen TVs.
courtesy of PhotoJenInc, Flickr
Pets are prohibited inside restaurants and in enclosed patios, but many restaurants allow for pets in unenclosed areas, so a neighborhood or shopping district with a healthy number of sidewalk cafes will give you a chance for you and yours to dine without getting hassled. Beverly Hills’ South Beverly Drive includes the Farm of Beverly Hills and Urth Café. The stretch of Ventura Boulevard through Encino has a number of eateries with open patios. And the Los Feliz/Beachwood Canyon area includes the Alcove Café and Birds, both of which offer big food portions and a pet-friendly attitude.
Griffith Park’s Travel Town Museum isn’t just for kids. The free-admission park, which chronicles rail history and includes dozens of trains for kids and kids-at-heart to explore, also has a miniature train where well-behaved pups can ride. For the ultimate Southern California, “cool wind in my fur” experience, though, few things beat a drive along Pacific Coast Highway, where furry friends can take in the ocean breeze from the South Bay all the way up to Malibu.
Danny King is a freelance reporter whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Daily Variety. King, who has been a staff reporter for Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Business Journal, currently writes about subjects ranging from the travel industry to alternative-fueled vehicles. A native Angeleno, King lives with his family in either Los Feliz or Silver Lake – he’s still not sure which.
