My husband and I would love to find dog friendly (hopefully tick free) backpacking trails we could take our dogs for 1-2 nights. Do you have any suggestions?
tick free - try Antarctic area
I know, they’re impossible to dodge here 😂
I don't think you're going to find tick free. And most are at least must be leashed.
Don’t worry, the ticks are free.
Thank god, I’m working with a small budget
Tick free is difficult right now but not impossible. I took my dog up to Kennedy meadow last year in June and had a great time. I also recently went to Mendocino and Cache Creek and she didn't get anything, though we stuck to wider trails and cleared campgrounds.
I would try lower Shasta or Castle Crag Wilderness right now. I was up there a month ago and the lower areas were thawed and beautiful.
Cool well take a look, thanks so much :) I figured as much, but some places will have less ticks than others at least!
Search Castle Crags Dog Trailhead
Added to the list, thank you!!
Spray your dogs with permethrin to prevent ticks.
Honestly this is solid advice, for some reason ticks latch onto our Aussie like no other. I will give this a go, thank you!
Maybe I’m lucky. I hike in all parts of the Sierra mostly July through October. No ticks on me ever (40+years). And recently I’ve been taking my doodle for 4 years with me as well.
Any areas you’d recommend out that way? I’ve never gone backpacking (my husband has), but we’re both avid hikers and campers! Our dogs are high energy breeds, so we would absolutely love to make this a common family activity!
Pretty much all of the wilderness areas and some of the National forests. I prefer the wilderness areas because they are more remote and usually fewer people; and all of them are nice places to backpack. Really depends when you plan to go. It’s a bit early now and things are wet and mucky or still covered in difficult snow. I wait until mid July and continue through October for the majority of my time in the Sierra.
I don't know why, but all of my tick bites have occurred in the North Bay. I grew up hiking in the Sierra and never came across any ticks, but for some reason just going on day hikes in Sonoma County left me with ticks on more than one occasion. I remember reading a about a study that was done on the coasts north of the bay where researchers discovered that there were like two or three different kinds of ticks living in the chaparral that were carrying Lyme, when previously it was only believed to be one type of tick on the coastline that was carrying it.
Honestly that doesn’t surprise me, the ticks are AWFUL here in the north bay 😭 Have you heard of lakes basin? Is that a good area to go backpacking with dogs? We’re cool to travel a bit!
Lost Coast - if you stick to the beach and don’t go too far inland.
Thanks so much, looking into this!!
Inyo National Forest is dog-friendly and I don’t think it has too many ticks.
Thank you very much, adding this to the list :)
Tick free? The desert?