Adapted from The California Dog Lover's Companion by Maria Goodavage

San Bernadino County is the Texas of California. It's just plain big. In fact, it's the biggest county in the nation, weighing in at more than 20,000 square miles.

That means you'll find a lot of variety here. This is where dogs can do just about everything they ever imagined a dog could do. They can ride the rail through a ghost town, roam around off leash on millions of acres of land, herd goats in Chino, take a horse-and-buggy ride in Big Bear, and even visit Santa and his elves in a beautiful place called Skyforest.

San Bernadino winter

Try to visit the San Bernardino Mountains at sunset, when occasionally they play an optical trick. A few of the mountains will turn purplish pink, while others stay the same sandy brown and forest green. Then everything fades into a surreal orange mist. For people, it's a stunning sight. If dogs really do have black-and-white vision, they're probably not quite so thrilled.

Move on to Afton Canyon Natural Area

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