Visiting California’s National Parks with Your Dog

The general policy for national parks is that dogs must be on a 6 foot leash at all times, are only allowed in parking lots, in your car, or within 50 to 100 feet of the road. Most of the parks allow dogs in campgrounds and in developed areas, but there can be exceptions to these rules. The majority of national parks do not allow dogs on any hiking or walking trails, any backcountry trails, any beaches or inside buildings.

Restrictions on pets in parks are as much to protect your pet as to protect park resources. Following are some of the reasons parks give for regulating the presence of pets:
--When a loose pet chases a squirrel or raccoon, the wild animal's ability to survive is threatened, and when it is threatened, it may react aggressively.
--There is a possibility that your pet could become prey for bear, coyote, owl, or other predators.
--There is a possibility of exchange of diseases between domestic animals and wildlife.
--Dogs, the most common traveling companion, are natural predators that may harass or even kill native wildlife that is protected within the park's boundaries.
--The "scent of a predator" that dogs leave behind can disrupt or alter the behavior of native animals.
--Pets may be hard to control, even on a leash, within confines of often narrow park trails and may trample or dig up fragile vegetation.
--Dog and cat feces add excessive nutrients and bacterial pollution to water, which decreases water quality and can also cause human health problems.
--Finally, lost domestic animals sometimes turn to preying on park wildlife and must be destroyed.
Always clean up after your pet and never leave your pet unattended.