--- title: Gun Dog Training From Suisun City | Royal Gun Dogs url: https://royalgundogs.com/from/suisun-city/ business: Royal Gun Dogs trainer: Richard Gebhart (professional gun dog trainer since 2002) phone: (530) 341-4496 email: royalgundogs@yahoo.com trains_at: Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, Rio Vista, CA 94571 (Solano County) booking: call or text Richard directly --- - [Home](https://royalgundogs.com/) - [All of California](https://royalgundogs.com/from/) - [Delta, Solano and Contra Costa](https://royalgundogs.com/regions/delta-and-solano/) - Suisun City # From Suisun City to Rio Vista for gun dog training Rio Vista is about 30 minutes and 19 miles from Suisun City by road, the closest drive of any California city on this site. Richard Gebhart trains gun dogs at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve in Rio Vista, and sometimes trains retrievers at Denverton, right next to Suisun City. ## From Suisun City to Hastings Island - **Drive to Rio Vista:** about 30 minutes 19 miles, OpenStreetMap routing, no traffic - **County:** Solano US Census Bureau - **Population:** 29,286 ACS 5-year 2024 - **Median age:** 35.7 ACS 5-year 2024 Drive estimate from road routing between town centers (no traffic), pulled October 2026. Census figures: American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Suisun City is a Solano County town of 29,286 people with a median age of 35.7 (Census ACS 5-year 2024), built on the edge of the largest brackish marsh in California. If you hunt that marsh with a dog, you are already a few minutes from where Richard works. ## A very short drive for a dog owner At about 30 minutes each way, a Suisun City owner can drop a dog off in the morning and be home before lunch. At that distance a round trip fits easily in a day; ask Richard about visits. Hours as listed on Google run Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, 8 AM to 2 PM, with Tuesday closed. Call first; Richard sets drop-off times by phone, and Wednesday to Saturday are the days he prefers. ## Denverton is in your own backyard Richard sometimes trains retrievers at Denverton, in the Suisun City area of Solano County. The California Retriever Training Association grounds there host hunt tests that appear on the 2026 California calendar, and Sagehen's Retriever Club is listed at an address on Denverton Road in Suisun City. Hunt tests are where a trained retriever shows what it learned. The [California hunt test calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/hunt-tests/california-calendar/) explains how to check current dates on AKC Event Search before you plan a Saturday. ## Hunting the marsh next door Suisun City borders Suisun Marsh, roughly 116,000 acres of brackish wetland that CDFW and private duck clubs manage mostly for hunting and wildlife (Aquapedia). Our [Suisun Marsh page](https://royalgundogs.com/suisun-marsh/) covers what the ground is like for a working retriever. Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, about 12,900 acres with about 7,900 open to hunting, sits in the same part of Solano County. CDFW allows dogs there on a 10-foot leash when you are not hunting, so it works for exposure walks. Read the [Grizzly Island page](https://royalgundogs.com/grizzly-island-wildlife-area/) before you go. ## What board-and-train looks like from here With [board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/), your dog stays with Richard while the work happens at Hastings Island. Because you live close, the visits that matter most are easy: you can come out during training and learn the commands your dog now knows. That second half is the part many owners underrate. A finished dog still needs a handler who can run it, which is why Richard teaches handlers as well, one-on-one or in group lessons. See the [handler lessons page](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/lessons/). ## Questions to settle on the first call Richard books by phone and picks the program that fits each dog; program lengths and weekly rates are on the [board-and-train page](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/). The [how-to-book FAQ](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/how-to-book-training/) walks through the same conversation so you know what to expect. - Which breed, how old, and what the dog already knows. - Whether the dog is headed for the marsh, the uplands or the hunt test field. - Which days Richard is working, since Google shows him closed on Tuesday. - How you will stay involved: visits, progress updates and a lesson at the end. ## A note on the bigger picture Dogs come to Richard from all over California. Suisun City is the nearest end of that range, which makes it the easiest place from which to meet him in person. The other end of the range is described on the [drive-time page for every city](https://royalgundogs.com/from/). ### Sources (4) - Water Education Foundation : [watereducation.org/aquapedia/suisun-marsh](https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/suisun-marsh) (checked October 27, 2026) - California Department of Fish and Wildlife : [wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Grizzly-Island-WA](https://wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Grizzly-Island-WA) (checked October 27, 2026) - Bird Dog & Retriever News : [bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/](https://www.bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/) (checked October 27, 2026) - U.S. Census Bureau : [census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/acs-5year.html](https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/acs-5year.html) (checked October 27, 2026) ### Where Richard trains Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, near Rio Vista in Solano County. Call before you drive out. [Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Hastings+Island+Hunting+Preserve+Rio+Vista+CA&destination_place_id=ChIJA_E9R8AphYAR_4YnvcqbaAU) ### Start here - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [Private and group lessons](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/lessons/) - [Free training consult](https://royalgundogs.com/free-consult/) ### Your trainer Richard Gebhart has trained dogs professionally since 2002, learned the Rex Carr method for Retriever Basics under Billy Sargenti, and has run and qualified at an AKC Master National. [Meet Richard](https://royalgundogs.com/richard-gebhart/) ### Related - [Delta, Solano and Contra Costa](https://royalgundogs.com/regions/delta-and-solano/) - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [Suisun Marsh](https://royalgundogs.com/suisun-marsh/) - [California hunt test calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/hunt-tests/california-calendar/) - [From Fairfield to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/fairfield/) ## Other drive times [Antioch](https://royalgundogs.com/from/antioch/)[Fairfield](https://royalgundogs.com/from/fairfield/)[Lodi](https://royalgundogs.com/from/lodi/)[Vacaville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/vacaville/)[Stockton](https://royalgundogs.com/from/stockton/)[Concord](https://royalgundogs.com/from/concord/)[Vallejo](https://royalgundogs.com/from/vallejo/)[Davis](https://royalgundogs.com/from/davis/) ## Questions from Suisun City owners [All questions](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/) ### How far is Rio Vista from Suisun City? About 30 minutes and 19 miles by road, measured with OpenStreetMap routing and no traffic. ### Can I visit my dog during training? Suisun City is about 30 minutes from Rio Vista, so a round trip is short. Ask Richard about visits and handler lessons; he sets them around each dog's training. ### Does Richard train at Denverton? He sometimes trains retrievers there. Ask which location fits your dog's program when you call. ### Is there a hunt test near Suisun City? The 2026 California calendar lists several clubs holding tests on the Denverton grounds. Confirm each date on AKC Event Search.