Which San Francisco neighborhoods work best with a dog?
San Francisco is often said to have more dogs than children, and hotels reflect it. The Marina and Cow Hollow are the best fit for most visitors: flat streets, motor-inn style hotels with parking, and a ten-minute walk to Crissy Field. Fisherman's Wharf is tourist-heavy but level and close to Aquatic Park. Union Square and Nob Hill have the most hotels, along with steep hills and little grass. Hayes Valley is central and near Alamo Square. SoMa hotels are modern and usually larger, though the surrounding blocks are short on green space.
Where can I take my dog in San Francisco?
Crissy Field is the classic outing, with a long beach and lawn below the Golden Gate Bridge where dogs can be under voice control in signed areas. Fort Funston, on the southwest bluffs, is a huge off-leash dune landscape with a path down to the sand. Ocean Beach and Baker Beach both have sections open to dogs. Within the city grid, Golden Gate Park has several dog play areas, and Alamo Square, Dolores Park and Duboce Park each set aside off-leash space. The Presidio's forest trails are leash-only and usually quiet on weekdays.
What should I know about hills, transit and car break-ins?
Leashes are required except in posted off-leash areas, and the federal parkland rules at Crissy Field and Fort Funston differ by zone, so read the signs. Muni allows leashed, muzzled dogs outside peak commute hours for a fare, and cable car operators may accept dogs at their discretion. The cliffs at Fort Funston are unstable; keep dogs back from the edge. Summer is cold and foggy near the ocean, so bring a layer. Finally, never leave bags or anything visible in a parked car, and never leave a dog in one: break-ins are common in tourist areas.
How do pet fees work at San Francisco hotels?
San Francisco was an early home of the boutique-hotel pet program, and several downtown hotels still publish policies with no fee and no weight limit, which is rare in an expensive city. Large convention hotels around Union Square and SoMa more often charge a flat per-stay fee. The motor inns along Lombard Street in the Marina are generally the cheapest rooms with parking and vary from no fee to a modest nightly charge. Hotel rates track the convention calendar closely, so prices can double in a week when a major conference fills the Moscone Center.