OVERVIEW
At the edge of Wine Country, home to world-famous Sonoma County vineyards and wineries, in the city of Healdsburg, resides Riverfront Regional Park. This park is known for its 360-degree lakefront views. If you’re looking for a pet-friendly activity at the gateway of Wine Country, you can do the CANGO at Riverfront Regional Park.
HOW PET-FRIENDLY IS IT?
Our brunch server, Shannon, at the Flamingo Resort’s Terrace Grill suggested the Riverfront Regional Park as a popular dog-friendly place to walk around and visit in the Sonoma County area. The drive from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg included going through scenic downtown Windsor that was all decked out for the holidays when we visited.
Located at the Russian River’s edge, Riverfront Regional Park hosts a 2-mile trail loop that goes around Lake Benoist with ample shade from redwood trees. Although the trail is a supposed “loop” it is not intuitive about what path to stay on to make your way around the lake in the most efficient manner and not get lost on one of the many off-shoots. I had to ask more than one fellow walker which way to go as I tend to get lost and was fighting to beat sunset when the park closed and it would have been impossible to see.
Given the fact that Riverfront Regional Park runs along the water, the surrounding area is not very polluted or congested, in fact, the path is rather refreshing and I would think a welcome retreat on a hot day. It is not located on a major thoroughfare but rather offset from a two-lane country road, Eastside Road. It is fairly close to Highway 101, about five miles from the Central Windsor exit.
On the plus side, you can enjoy the lakefront views in proximity to the Russian River. On the negative side, your dog must be on-lead and you have to pay to enter the park. It may also worth mentioning for those who are sensitive to the disabled (and as a former caregiver, I am), it is not an easy place to walk, with rocky terrain in certain sections.
IS IT CONVENIENT OR A PAIN IN THE —?
Parking was fairly easy in a dedicated lot set back from the main roadway but there is an entrance fee. We went about an hour before closing in the month of November, so I am not sure how competitive parking would be at noon on a summer day.
Even though the Riverfront Regional Park is not an official dog park, it is easy to dispose of waste, with trash cans and doody bag dispensers located in a few locations along the lakefront pathways. The doody bag dispensers were well stocked and the trash cans were not over-flowing during our visit.
The two closest 24/7 emergency vets that I could find are (1) Pet Care Veterinary Hospital located just over 10 miles away on Fulton Road in Santa Rosa, approximately a 20-minute drive and (2) VCA PetCare East Veterinary Hospital located just over 12 miles away on Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa or a 20-minute drive. *[Please note: We provide the veterinary locations as a reference and resource, not a referral or endorsement].
