Archive for the ‘SoCal Adventures’ Category

The days are getting longer and the weather’s warming up,
Are you fully equipped to take a hike with your pup?
Whether walking, jogging, swimming or play,
Outward Hound Pet Gear will get you on your way!

Huntington Beach, CA also known as Surf City USA (our home city here at Kyjen, and the city where I grew up)  is a great place to visit with dogs. The city was named “DogTown USA” by Dog Fancy Magazine in 2009 for its canine friendliness. In this video I show you the two best dog-friendly hotels in Huntington Beach, or where I suggest you stay when you visit:

• The Shore Break hotel even has special packages for visitors with dogs, including pet sitting and some cool pet amenities.
• The Hilton Waterfront Resort also has a dog package, where they waive the $75 pet fee along with some good dog amenities.

A quick internet search will pull up other less expensive dog firendly hotels in Huntington Beach, but in my opinion these are the two best choices and they have by far the best locations.

See my other post about Dog-friendly places in Southern California for many other things to do and places to go with your dog in the surrounding areas. Also see our google map of Dog-Friendly places in Socal (Look for more dog-friendly additions to this map in the future.)

The Park Bench Cafe in Huntington Beach, CA has an actual menu just for dogs!  The people food is really good, I ordered a veggie omelette. It was quite tasty, especially after our morning visit to the Huntington Dog Beach. One of the great things about this place is it’s right on the way to or from the HB dog beach and also less than mile from the Huntington Dog Park. This place is quite popular with all of us dog lovers, so be prepared for a wait at peak times.  Trust me, it’s well worth the wait for the good food and the fun experience!  Watch the video for our experience there, and ”check it out” with your dog sometime!

Check out this video of a recent visit to the Huntington Beach Dog Park I made with McMoose and Kanga. You can see the location on our interactive map.

A trip to Huntington Beach with your dog is not complete without a visit to arguably one of the best dog parks around. It’s close to the ocean so it stays cool year-round with nice ocean breezes. There are large and small dog areas, lots of water, shade and plenty of room for the dogs and us owners to have a good time.

One of the reasons I enjoy going to dog parks, is that I find everyone is generally happy and in a good mood when they are with their dogs. It’s also a blast to “talk shop” about dogs with all the other dog owners.

What it’s like at the Huntington Beach’s Dog Beach on an early weekday morning?  This video shows one of my favorite times to visit the dog beach.  There’s usually more surfers than dogs in the early morning. I find it to be very peaceful and relaxing.  It’s a good way to tire the dogs out for the day. Or, in my case, a good way to tire the dog out before I hit the waves myself.

Contrast this peaceful weekday setting, to a busy summer weekend here.  You’ll hardly recognize the place.

This video shows some footage from a busy summer weekend at the dog beach in Huntington Beach.  If you enjoy people and dog watching, the crowds peak at Dog Beach during the summer on weekends.  I find it to be very entertaining and an all around blast to see so many people and dogs having a great time together. So check it out if you don’t mind a lot of people and dogs, summer is a great time to visit.

Check my other video blog posting on how different it is on an early weekday morning at the same beach.  You’d hardly recognize it as being the same place.