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Carmel, or Carmel-By-The-Sea, is a gorgeous coastal town in California that is known to be one of U.S.A.’s most dog-friendly towns. We have always wanted to take our dogs, Zooey and Kuma, on trips with us and this was the perfect opportunity to go while Crystal was visiting California with Kuma.

We drove from Los Angeles, which takes about 6 hours to drive up to Carmel. If you want to take the scenic route on the Pacific Coast Highway, it’ll take a little longer, but it’s so worth it. That’s exactly what we did so that we could drive through Big Sur and see the famous Bixby Bridge.

We left Los Angeles on Friday afternoon and arrived in Carmel at night. On Saturday, we explored Carmel with our dogs the entire day and didn’t have to leave them in the hotel once because we found so many pet-friendly things we could do.

Here’s how we spent the day in Carmel with our pups:

MORNING

Carmel Dog Beach
Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921 (MAP)

We absolutely loved this off-leash dog beach and the pups were having a blast here. When Kuma stepped onto the white sand, her tiny feet immediately started doing zoomies. We were so excited to see how happy she was. For Zooey, this was her very first beach experience and she was having a blast running through the sand and occasionally getting wet from the waves.

The beach is surrounded by gorgeous views and in the distance, you can see the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Course. The sand was soft, white, and free of debris which was similar to the sand we like on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

There are public restrooms and free parking available at the beach. You can easily find a parking spot in the mornings, but anytime after 11 a.m. will be difficult to find parking since there aren’t that many spots available. Luckily, Carmel is a small town, so you can easily walk to the beach from your hotel, which is what we did.

AFTERNOON

Wine Tasting at Galante Vineyards
Dolores St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923 (MAP)

The great thing about Carmel is the selection of tasting rooms that are dog-friendly. We got to experience wine tasting with our pups for the first time and made a reservation with Galante Vineyards. When we arrived in the afternoon, to our surprise, it was very busy. The seating indoors looked very tight, so luckily, we found a table outdoors with more room.

The server came out with our first drink and didn’t explain much about it. We were expecting a more intimate experience like the one we had in Solvang, but it felt more rushed and impersonal. We’re assuming it was because of limited staff, so we didn’t hold it against the server, but we were a bit disappointed.

Regardless, the wine was good, we were happy to have a wine tasting with our fur babies and got to meet some other cute pups as well.

Make sure to make reservations if you want to experience a wine tasting here. We saw some folks walk in, but immediately walked back out because they didn’t have a reservation.

Additional Dog-Friendly Tasting Room Options:

Albatross Ridge Tasting Room - Dolores between Ocean & 6th
Dawn’s Dream - NW corner of San Carlos & 7th
Holman Ranch Tasting Room - Hampton Court on 7th between San Carlos & Dolores
Scheid Vineyards Wine Tasting - SE corner San Carlos & 7th

EVENING

Dinner at The Forge in the Forest
SW Corner of 5th & Junipero (MAP)

There are a ton of pet-friendly restaurants in Carmel and we were initially going to dine at Hanagasa Japanese Restaurant; however, the staff at the hotel we were staying at recommended The Forge in the Forest because he heard this restaurant had a dog menu. Well, that rumor wasn’t true. They can serve your dog food, but it’s basically one of their entrees cut up into tiny pieces. We were expecting a menu specifically for dogs, so again, we were a bit disappointed, but decided to eat here anyway.

The outdoor seating is a spectacular setting with a very lush garden, fire pits, and heated patio seating. The manager and servers were super friendly and they were especially friendly to our dogs, which we appreciated.

There is so much potential here, but the food was VERY bland and disappointing considering the price tag.

We thought we were in for some fine dining when we ordered the $26.00 Carbonara but it was a huge disappointment. There was no flavor in the sauce, it was not creamy at all, and for some reason, there was a ton of peas thrown in it.

Candy had a Turkey Sandwich and that too lacked flavor. The romaine lettuce did not look fresh and there was no spread on the sandwich, which was a little odd. For a sandwich that cost $14.00, I was expecting a lot more. We also ordered a side of fries and had to send it back because it was drenched in oil.

After every dish being a huge disappointment, Crystal was brave enough to order the Homemade Bread Pudding dessert. To our surprise, the Bread Pudding was fantastic. We suggest having dinner elsewhere and to save this place just for the dessert.

Additional Dog-Friendly Dining Options:

Grasing’s - NW corner of MIssion & 6th
Carmel Craft Brewing Company - 3777 The Barnyard
Village Corner - NE Corner of Dolores & 6th
Portabella - Ocean between Lincoln & Monte Verde

WHERE WE STAYED

We stayed at the Hofsas House Hotel, which was in a great location and known to be very pet-friendly. Upon check-in, we received a portable dog bowl, dog shampoo and a dog towel to keep. Our room was also very spacious and the pups were thrilled with all the room they had to run around in. Definitely a great hotel at a fair price (for Carmel) if you have pets.

Check their current rates HERE

FINAL THOUGHTS

When it comes to four-legged travelers, Carmel knows that pups are part of the family too. We didn’t do any shopping, but pets are welcome nearly everywhere, with water bowls, biscuits, and biodegradable bags throughout the town. We definitely would have preferred a better dining and wine tasting experience, but overall, the dogs enjoyed it, so we enjoyed it.

Our favorite place was definitely Carmel Beach. The dogs loved it so much that we took them again on Sunday morning before we made the drive back to Los Angeles.