CALIFORNIA

When it came time to select an image for the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program, California had to sort through so many choices that could shout “California.” In the end John Muir, who did more than anyone else in the 19th century to introduce America to the idea of nature, and his beloved Yosemite were selected as the quintessential symbol of the Golden State. When Muir spent his first summer in the Sierra Mountains Carlo, his St. Bernard, was by his side. The star of Muir’s most beloved wilderness adventure - on an Alaskan glacier - was a little black dog named Stickeen. Today, dogs are permitted on the trails at Muir’s Martinez, California home, now a national historic site. Just like his own dogs. But if our most famous naturalist wanted to explore his adopted state with his dogs today where he went then? No chance. For canine hikers the Golden State struggles to earn even a bronze medal. The nine iconic national parks in California do not allow dogs on the trails and many of its national monuments - including the Muir Woods, follow suit. In the ultimate canine indignity, dogs can climb Mt. Whitney in a national forest but can not actually complete the journey to the roof of the Lower 48 since the summit is in Sequoia National Park. California is an arboreal wonderland with more trees here than in any of the 48 contiguous states - from the palm trees of Southern California to the giant sequoias that are the largest living things on earth. California also has the tallest trees on earth, the redwoods in parks along its North Shore, and the oldest trees, the bristlecone pines growing on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. More varieties of pines grow in California than anywhere in America and the state's Joshua Trees warrant their own national park. Your dog can hike through the shade of all these trees but work has to be done since so many are protected in national parks. California’s 270 state parks offer little relief for canine adventurers with bans on dogs from trails and beaches as well. What would John Muir say about this state of affairs for dogs?

The Best Day Hike You Can Take With Your Dog In California

Canyon Drive Trail
Griffith Park • Los Angeles

If there was one essential canine hike of Americana it would have to be the hike to the Hollywood sign, wouldn’t it? What was erected in 1923 as a billboard for selling houses and intended to stand for only 18 months is now the most recognizable icon of American culture to the rest of the world.

There are several choices to hike tothe Hollywood sign atop Mt. Lee but the Canyon Drive Trail is special because at its beginning Seaman can pay homage to another Hollywood legend - the campy 1960s Batman television series. A short hike from the trailhead in the opposite direction leads to Bronson Caves, best known to Adam West fans as the entrance to the Batcave.

The trip to the Hollywood sign will cover 3.25 miles and gain nearly 1,000 feet in elevation, most on a steady climb. Canyon Drive Trail is more drive than trail, wide and level which will come in handy for all the other unleashed dogs Seaman will likely encounter on this hike. There is almost no shade as you put the City of Angels further and further beneath you.

It is illegal to hike to the sign, perched safely behind restrictive fences, with or without your dog. Instead, the final steps to the summit wind be- hind the 50-foot high letters to the famous DOOWYLLOH view - Hollywood spelled backwards. Even without the sign, the panorama of Los Angelesand the Pacific Ocean from 1,708-foot Mt. Lee is amazing. A true American classic of a canine hike.

HIKING TIME: 3-4 hours

(from the book 300 Day Hikes To Take With Your Dog Before He Tires You Out: Trails where you won’t be able to wipe the wag off your dog’s tail)