--- title: Sacramento Valley to Rio Vista | Royal Gun Dogs url: https://royalgundogs.com/regions/sacramento-valley/ 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/) - Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills # Hunting-dog owners in the Sacramento Valley and foothills Most Sacramento Valley and foothill towns are between 56 minutes and 2.9 hours from Rio Vista by road. The valley holds the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge complex and some of the heaviest duck hunting in California. ## Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills to Rio Vista, town by town Drive times from Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills to Rio Vista Town Drive to Rio Vista Miles Population County [Davis](https://royalgundogs.com/from/davis/) about 56 minutes 35 mi 66,978 Yolo [Woodland](https://royalgundogs.com/from/woodland/) about 61 minutes 43 mi 61,854 Yolo [Elk Grove](https://royalgundogs.com/from/elk-grove/) about 62 minutes 38 mi 179,155 Sacramento [Sacramento](https://royalgundogs.com/from/sacramento/) about 69 minutes 47 mi 528,706 Sacramento [Roseville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/roseville/) about 93 minutes 68 mi 155,955 Placer [Jackson](https://royalgundogs.com/from/jackson/) about 93 minutes 62 mi 5,048 Amador [Folsom](https://royalgundogs.com/from/folsom/) about 95 minutes 67 mi 83,916 Sacramento [Williams](https://royalgundogs.com/from/williams/) about 105 minutes 83 mi 5,585 Colusa [Auburn](https://royalgundogs.com/from/auburn/) about 105 minutes 81 mi 13,768 Placer [Yuba City](https://royalgundogs.com/from/yuba-city/) about 109 minutes 78 mi 69,471 Sutter [Marysville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/marysville/) about 112 minutes 86 mi 12,726 Yuba [Placerville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/placerville/) about 117 minutes 87 mi 10,762 El Dorado [Colusa](https://royalgundogs.com/from/colusa/) about 119 minutes 92 mi 6,505 Colusa [Sonora](https://royalgundogs.com/from/sonora/) about 2.2 hours 94 mi 4,919 Tuolumne [Willows](https://royalgundogs.com/from/willows/) about 2.2 hours 109 mi 6,190 Glenn [Grass Valley](https://royalgundogs.com/from/grass-valley/) about 2.3 hours 105 mi 14,113 Nevada [Oroville](https://royalgundogs.com/from/oroville/) about 2.4 hours 111 mi 19,752 Butte [Chico](https://royalgundogs.com/from/chico/) about 2.9 hours 125 mi 102,188 Butte Drive times: OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic, to Rio Vista. Population: American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Pulled October 2026. Hunters in the valley and the foothills live beside the ground that makes California a waterfowl state. The table above covers every town in the region with a drive time; below are the refuges, the clubs and the plain math of getting a dog to Rio Vista and back. ## Drive times, tier by tier Davis (about 56 minutes), Woodland (about 61 minutes), Elk Grove (about 62 minutes) and Sacramento (about 69 minutes) are within an hour or so. Roseville (about 93 minutes), Folsom (about 95 minutes) and Auburn (about 105 minutes) take under two hours, and so do Yuba City (about 109 minutes), Marysville (about 112 minutes), Placerville (about 117 minutes) and Colusa (about 119 minutes). Farther north and east the trip becomes a long drive: Willows is about 2.2 hours, Oroville about 2.4 hours, Grass Valley about 2.3 hours and Chico about 2.9 hours. For those towns, plan the drop-off and pick-up as a long day; call Richard about timing. ## The refuges in your backyard The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge complex is five refuges and three wildlife management areas, nearly 70,000 acres, and Sacramento NWR alone is 10,819 acres. Waterfowl numbers there regularly peak at over 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese from late November to December, and hunting is offered at the Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa and Sutter refuges (USFWS). Colusa NWR is 5,077 acres, one mile southwest of Colusa. CDFW wildlife areas fill in the map. Gray Lodge, near Gridley, is about 9,200 acres and reports more than a million waterfowl a year; Upper Butte Basin is roughly 9,600 acres around the Butte Sink; Oroville is about 11,800 acres; and Spenceville, in the foothills, is roughly 11,900 acres with valley quail, dove and designated dog training areas. All acreage is from each area's own page, read October 27, 2026. Two sites near Sacramento carry dog restrictions. The Yolo Bypass page lists no dogs, and Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Cosumnes River Preserve do not allow pets, so owners with dogs plan their field time elsewhere. See the full list on the [refuge data page](https://royalgundogs.com/data/waterfowl-habitat-and-refuges/). ## What the hunter survey says about the valley CDFW's 2024 Waterfowl Hunter Survey (June 2025) found that 42 percent of respondents named Sacramento Valley counties as places they hunt, and four of its top five counties are valley counties: Colusa (13.19 percent), Butte (8.71), Yolo (5.52) and Glenn (5.49). Respondents could name several counties, and the survey reports where people hunt, not where they live. ## Clubs and tests in the valley The [California 2026 trial and hunt test calendar](https://www.bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/) lists Sacramento Valley Retriever Club, Lassen Retriever Club and others at Clear Creek Sports Club in Corning and at Anderson, the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Northern Sacramento Valley at Quail Point Hunt Club in Zamora, the Northern California Brittany Club and Monterey Bay English Setter Club at Spenceville, and the Tamarin Spaniel Field Trial Club at Gray Lodge. The California Retriever Training Association is based in Cameron Park. Check the [California hunt test calendar](https://royalgundogs.com/hunt-tests/california-calendar/) page for how to confirm a date on AKC Event Search. ## Planning board-and-train from the valley Dogs come to Richard from all over California, and the valley is the closest part of the state to Rio Vista. A typical plan is a drop-off at Rio Vista, one or more [handler lessons](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/lessons/), and a pick-up when the dog is ready to hunt (ask Richard). Call Richard about drop-off and pick-up from your part of the valley, and see [board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) for how the program works. ### Sources (4) - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service : [fws.gov/refuge/sacramento](https://www.fws.gov/refuge/sacramento) (checked October 27, 2026) - California Department of Fish and Wildlife : [wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Gray-Lodge-WA](https://wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Gray-Lodge-WA) (checked October 27, 2026) - California Department of Fish and Wildlife : [nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=233037&inline](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=233037&inline) (checked October 27, 2026) - Bird Dog & Retriever News : [bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/](https://www.bdarn.com/ca/trialtests/) (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 Sacramento to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/sacramento/) - [From Chico to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/chico/) - [From Colusa to Rio Vista](https://royalgundogs.com/from/colusa/) - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [Waterfowl habitat and refuges in California](https://royalgundogs.com/data/waterfowl-habitat-and-refuges/) ## Questions from Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills owners [All questions](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/) ### How far is Rio Vista from Sacramento? About 69 minutes and 47 miles by road with no traffic (OpenStreetMap routing). ### How far is Rio Vista from Chico? About 2.9 hours and 125 miles by road with no traffic, so plan a long day each way. ### Can I train my dog at Stone Lakes or the Yolo Bypass? Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge does not allow pets, and the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area page lists no dogs, so check each property's rules or choose another site for dog work.