Dog Friendly City Guide: San Jose, USA

San Jose is the biggest city in Silicon Valley, and it hides its best side from anyone who only sees the freeways and the office parks. Turn south or east from downtown and the streets soon give way to golden hills of oak and dry grass, laced with long trails that are open to a dog on a lead. Closer in, the city has built a network of fenced dog parks, from a run tucked under a bridge downtown to a two acre field in a county park. A dog owner here spends the mornings in the hills and the evenings in a beer garden, and the city makes both easy.

Getting There With a Dog

A dog flying into the United States from abroad has to meet the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the first question is where it has spent the past six months. If that time has been only in countries the CDC treats as rabies-free or low risk, the dog must be microchipped, at least six months old, and travelling with a receipt for the CDC Dog Import Form, which you complete online before you fly. Time in any country on the CDC's high-risk list for dog rabies brings more paperwork and stricter checks at the port of entry, so read the CDC's guidance on bringing a dog into the United States before you book anything. Once you are here, San Jose is a spread out city and the best walks lie at its edges, so a car is the easiest way to get around with a dog.

Where to Stay

The ranked hotel inside the city limits is Aloft San Jose Cupertino, at 4241 Moorpark Avenue on the west side of town, where San Jose meets Cupertino. It holds a D, and it suits an owner who wants an easy, relaxed base. Most of its 80 rooms take dogs, up to two to a room, with a weight limit of 60 lb, and a dog bed is waiting in the room. Your dog is welcome in the lounge and on the terrace, so it can stay at your side for the evening, and a settled dog may be left in the room while you go out. The dog fee is a cleaning charge of $50 a day, capped at $150 for a stay of three days or more.

Two more of our ranked hotels sit a short drive away. The Cupertino Hotel, at 10889 North De Anza Boulevard, holds a C. Most of its 128 rooms take dogs, there is no weight limit, a dog bed comes with the room, and the staff have been trained to look after canine guests. Your dog is welcome in the lounge, on the terrace and in the garden, and the fee is $35 a night. South of the city, in the old town of Los Gatos, the Los Gatos Garden Inn holds a B, the highest grade of the three. It is a small inn of 28 rooms at 46 East Main Street, most of which take dogs, with no weight limit and a fee of $25 a night. Bowls and free treats are provided, the staff are trained for canine guests, and your dog can join you on the patio, in the lounge and in the garden, with a park across the street.

Eat and Drink

California sets the terms for dogs at the table. Under Section 114259.5 of the California Health and Safety Code, a restaurant may choose to allow pet dogs in its outdoor dining area, as long as the dog reaches it by an outside entrance without passing through the restaurant, stays on a leash or in a carrier, and keeps off the chairs and benches. Each restaurant decides for itself, so the law is a permission, not a promise.

Hapa's Brewing goes further than most. At its San Jose brewery and taproom, at 460 Lincoln Avenue, well behaved, bark free and leashed dogs are welcome indoors as well as on the patio, and the brewery asks only that you clean up after any accidents.

Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar, at 5305 Almaden Expressway in south San Jose, lives up to its name. Dogs are welcome on the patio, where a bowl of water comes free and there is a dog menu of grilled hamburger patty or grilled chicken breast with brown rice and vegetables, each at $7. The house patio rules are sensible: keep your dog off the table, the chairs and your lap, and let it eat from its own bowl rather than your plate.

For a glass of wine, the J. Lohr San Jose Wine Center, at 1000 Lenzen Avenue, is the San Jose tasting room of J. Lohr, whose other tasting room is in Paso Robles, and it offers a more urban, historic setting than the vineyard. It describes itself as a dog friendly winery, and well behaved, leashed dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating area.

Walks and Parks

The hills around San Jose are where a dog is happiest, and the people who know them best have done the sorting. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority's guide to dog friendly hikes lists the county parks where dogs are welcome, and it is honest about the one catch: the authority's own open space preserves do not allow dogs at all, apart from service animals, to protect the wildlife. Its advice is to carry a six foot lead, which most trails require, along with water, a bowl and waste bags.

Almaden Quicksilver County Park, on the southern edge of the city, is the walk to start with. All 37 miles of its trails are open to dogs on a lead, and they wind through the remains of the old quicksilver mines and, in spring, through wildflowers.

Santa Teresa County Park, in the neighbourhood of the same name, has more than 17 miles of unpaved trails across 19 routes, and the authority's staff count it among their favourite places for spring wildflowers. East of the city, Joseph D. Grant County Park has a trail system of 51 miles, with dog friendly picnic areas, though cattle graze parts of it, so keep your dog close.

Inside the city, San Jose runs a long list of fenced dog parks. Downtown, Discovery Dog Park at Park Avenue and Delmas Avenue is a fenced, double gated run of just over 17,000 square feet with drinking fountains and dog bowls, and Ryland Dog Park sits beneath the bridge at North San Pedro Street, a cool spot on a hot day, though you should bring water. Selma Olinder Dog Park, on William Street, has separate areas for large and small dogs under mature shade trees. Saratoga Creek Dog Park, at Doyle Road and Lassen Avenue, is on the west side of the city, in the same corner as the Aloft. Every city dog park allows two dogs per person, asks you to pick up after your dog, and expects it to wear proof of a licence and be properly vaccinated. The biggest run is in Hellyer County Park in south San Jose, where two acres near the Shadowbluff group area are fenced for dogs to run free, with a lawn, shade trees, benches and a drinking fountain. It is closed on Wednesdays, and while the dog area is free, the park charges a vehicle entrance fee.

A Day Out

A good San Jose day with a dog starts early in the hills, before the sun is high, with a loop through Almaden Quicksilver among the oaks and the old mine workings. Drive across for lunch on the patio at Lazy Dog, where your dog gets its own bowl. Rest through the heat of the afternoon, then head downtown for a run at Discovery Dog Park, and end the day at Hapa's, with your dog beside you indoors.

Good to Know

On the hill trails, carry water and a bowl, as the Open Space Authority advises. The authority also warns about foxtail grass, whose seeds work their way into a dog's paws and coat, so check between the toes after a walk through long grass, and it reminds walkers that snakes are about in the warmer months and that ticks wait in tall grass. Keep to the trails and keep your dog on its lead, since coyotes and mountain lions live in these parks. Before you set out for any open space, check whether it is a county park, where dogs are welcome on a lead, or an Open Space Authority preserve, where they are not.