--- title: Delta, Solano and Contra Costa to Rio Vista | Royal Gun Dogs url: https://royalgundogs.com/regions/delta-and-solano/ 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 # Hunting-dog owners in the Delta, Solano and Contra Costa Home-area towns in Solano, Contra Costa and the Delta are the closest to Richard Gebhart, from about 15 minutes from Isleton to under 90 minutes from the farthest towns in the table. Richard trains at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve in Rio Vista, in the middle of this region. ## Delta, Solano and Contra Costa to Rio Vista, town by town Drive times from Delta, Solano and Contra Costa to Rio Vista Town Drive to Rio Vista Miles Population County Isleton about 15 minutes 8 mi 522 Sacramento [Suisun City](https://royalgundogs.com/from/suisun-city/) about 30 minutes 19 mi 29,286 Solano [Antioch](https://royalgundogs.com/from/antioch/) about 30 minutes 19 mi 116,477 Contra Costa Oakley about 31 minutes 19 mi 45,183 Contra Costa Brentwood about 32 minutes 22 mi 65,208 Contra Costa [Fairfield](https://royalgundogs.com/from/fairfield/) about 33 minutes 21 mi 120,785 Solano Pittsburg about 35 minutes 24 mi 76,257 Contra Costa Dixon about 40 minutes 25 mi 19,683 Solano [Vacaville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/vacaville/) about 44 minutes 28 mi 102,596 Solano Martinez about 50 minutes 37 mi 36,903 Contra Costa American Canyon about 51 minutes 35 mi 21,691 Napa Galt about 54 minutes 36 mi 25,962 Sacramento Benicia about 58 minutes 43 mi 26,749 Solano Winters about 60 minutes 42 mi 7,583 Yolo Tracy about 64 minutes 43 mi 96,966 San Joaquin West Sacramento about 73 minutes 35 mi 54,927 Yolo Pleasanton about 75 minutes 53 mi 76,960 Alameda Citrus Heights about 86 minutes 63 mi 86,995 Sacramento Rancho Cordova about 87 minutes 51 mi 81,849 Sacramento Drive times: OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic, to Rio Vista. Population: American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Pulled October 2026. If you live in the Delta, Solano County or east Contra Costa County, the training ground is a local drive and a handler lesson fits into an ordinary week. The table above lists every town we have drive data for; the rest of this page covers the ground around Rio Vista, the clubs nearby and how owners plan their visits. ## The drive to Rio Vista Isleton is the nearest town at about 15 minutes, then Suisun City and Antioch at about 30 minutes each, Fairfield at about 33 minutes, Vacaville at about 44 minutes and Stockton at about 44 minutes. Davis and Walnut Creek are both about 56 minutes away. By road, even the farthest towns in the table, Roseville (about 93 minutes) and Folsom (about 95 minutes), sit in the day-trip range. Those figures come from OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic, measured to Rio Vista, so allow extra time at commute hours and when Interstate 80 or the Antioch Bridge backs up. ## Where hunters in this region hunt Suisun Marsh, next to Suisun City, is roughly 116,000 acres and the largest contiguous brackish wetland in California; state and private duck clubs manage most of it for hunting and wildlife (Water Education Foundation, Aquapedia, updated May 2024). Our [Suisun Marsh page](https://royalgundogs.com/suisun-marsh/) covers it in detail. Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, about 11 miles from Fairfield, is about 12,900 acres on 10 parcels, with about 7,900 acres open to hunting. CDFW asks that dogs be on a leash of 10 feet or less when not actively hunting, and it holds a free Junior Pheasant Hunt on the second weekend of the season. Read the [Grizzly Island page](https://royalgundogs.com/grizzly-island-wildlife-area/) before you visit with a dog. The wider Delta, from Isleton to Antioch, is waterfowl and upland country of its own; see [hunting dogs and the Delta](https://royalgundogs.com/hunting-in-the-delta/). ## Where Richard trains Richard Gebhart trains at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve in Rio Vista, Solano County, and owners bring dogs to him from all over California for board-and-train. Retrievers are sometimes trained at Denverton, near Suisun City. The [Hastings Island page](https://royalgundogs.com/hastings-island-hunting-preserve/) explains how the ground is used. Because the preserve is a short drive from Solano and Contra Costa towns, owners here have the easiest time with [handler lessons](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/lessons/), where you learn to run your own dog alongside Richard. Call before you drive out; Google lists his hours as Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, 8 AM to 2 PM. ## Clubs near Rio Vista Several retriever clubs hold hunt tests on Solano County grounds. The [California 2026 trial and hunt test calendar](https://www.bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/) (read October 27, 2026) lists Sagehen's Retriever Club and the Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Club at Denverton, the Marin Retriever Club and the Norcal Golden Retriever Club at the California Retriever Training Association property in Suisun City, and the Golden Empire Brittany Club at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve itself. Dates change every season, so use the [California hunt test calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/hunt-tests/california-calendar/) page and AKC Event Search to confirm one before you plan around it. ## Planning training from here For a first call, tell Richard your dog's breed and age, whether you hunt ducks, upland birds or both, and what you want the dog to do by season. Local owners often combine [board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) with weekend visits; Richard decides the plan for each dog, and program lengths and weekly rates are published. ### 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) - Hastings Island Hunting Preserve : [hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/](https://hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/) (checked October 27, 2026) ### 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/) ### 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) ### 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 - [From Suisun City to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/suisun-city/) - [From Antioch to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/antioch/) - [From Fairfield to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/fairfield/) - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [California hunt test calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/hunt-tests/california-calendar/) ## Questions from Delta, Solano and Contra Costa owners [All questions](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/) ### How far is Rio Vista from Fairfield? About 33 minutes and 21 miles by road with no traffic (OpenStreetMap routing). ### Where does Richard Gebhart train near Rio Vista? At Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Road, Rio Vista, with retrievers sometimes trained at Denverton near Suisun City. ### Are there hunt test clubs near Rio Vista? Yes. The 2026 California calendar lists Sagehen's Retriever Club, the Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Club, the Marin Retriever Club, the Norcal Golden Retriever Club and the Golden Empire Brittany Club on Solano County grounds.