Mount Tamalpais East Peak

You can come to Mt. Tam 10 times and take a different trail each time. My geography's a bit fuzzy so I don't recall the trail names...but I do know we hiked out to West Point Inn (which has a pancake breakfast on Sundays in the spring/summer...yum) and then continued on to East Peak. It was roughly a 3-hour hike taking the long way to the peak, with gorgeous scenery and hillsides thick with eucalyptus, redwoods, creeks and waterfalls. Most of the time we had the trail to ourselves, until we got within the vicinity of the East Peak.

The East Peak has a parking lot that's maybe 10 minutes to the summit. There's a snack shack (hot dogs!), picnic tables, visitor center, gift shop and water fountain with a water bowl for dogs. Leashed dogs are welcome here and, given the short distance to the peak, dogs (and people) of all sizes and activity levels can make it to the top without too much trouble. It does get rocky though, and you may have to clamber over a rock or two, so you still should wear closed-toe shoes and might need to give smaller dogs a boost. The view is incredible - you can see for miles in any direction. Don't forget to pack a sandwich - it's a great place to enjoy a picnic lunch on top of the world!

Deb L. and I started out at the fire station and had a beautiful day hike out toward the East Peak. It took about 2 hours to finally get there but the view was well worth it. People brought their dogs of all sizes (including one of the smallest Chihuahuas I've ever seen) on their trek up and they all did great. Not sure I'd necessarily recommend small dogs on this rocky trail, but I think big dogs would be just fine. We met a beautiful pit bull mix named Sophie along the way who was so sweet! Just goes to show that they're darlings as long as the owners are awesome too. I can't wait to go on the hike again!