Find the top rated trails in Novato, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Santa Rosa Creek Trail follows the meandering course of Santa Rosa Creek, beginning in downtown Santa Rosa and heading west beyond Willowside Road. From end to end, the trail is only a few miles...
The Mori Ridge Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. The natural surface path runs from a junction with both the Sweeney Ridge...
About 35 miles south of San Francisco, the Cowell-Purisima Trail offers a beautiful escape into nature which can be enjoyed by both walkers and bicyclists. Travelers in wheelchairs can also access the...
The Foss Creek Pathway offers a short, pleasant route through the small town of Healdsburg and is lined with public art and landscaping. Open in two disconnected segments, the trail follows the...
The Corte Madera Creek Path is open in two disconnected segments that can be linked via a bike ride on low-stress S. Eliseo Drive or a walk or run on its sidewalk. Both sections closely follow the...
The Aquatic Park Trail travels along a hairpin-shaped route through Aquatic Park and around a small lake narrowly separated from the San Francisco Bay. The trail runs parallel to, and across...
The trail through the Cal Park Hill Tunnel offers a quick, smooth ride through the hill that separates San Rafael from the ferry terminal in Larkspur and southern Marin County. As part of the 70-mile...
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This 4.5-mile paved trail encircles Lake Merced in southwestern San Francisco. The western leg of the loop is also referred to as the Lake Merced Measured Mile and is part of a larger, regional effort...
Named for the Ohlone Indians who once lived in the area, this trail doubles as a commuting corridor and a recreation destination for the cities of Berkeley, Albany and El Cerrito. While the Ohlone...
This innovative road-to-trail project opened for public use in March 2014. The trail, which features stunning Pacific Ocean views, makes use of a former portion of California's State Route 1, which...
The NWP Railroad Trail runs on an arrow-straight course through Larkspur and Corte Madera in ritzy Marin County. Its name is derived from the railroad that once made use of the corridor: the...
Half Moon Bay State Park's Coastside Trail runs parallel to the Pacific Coast along what used to be the Ocean Shore Railroad. The railroad itself was in operation for just 14 years before it was...
The Baquiano Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. The trail climbs 550 feet from a junction with two hiking trails in the west...
The Prince Memorial Greenway is a short urban trail on both sides of Santa Rosa Creek in the Sonoma County community of Santa Rosa. A major component of the city's efforts to clean up and restore the...
The Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
The Delta de Anza Regional Trail is 15 miles long, running between Willow Pass Road at Route 4 near Concord and Main Street (Rt. 4) at E. Cypress Road in Oakley. The eastern end in Oakley intersects...
The Mill Valley/Sausalito Multiuse Pathway is a convenient connection between neighborhoods, schools, shopping, restaurants, and both a skate and dog park. The short dirt section at the north end is...
The Baine Avenue Trail is a short rail-with-trail along an active Union Pacific Railroad corridor in the heart of Newark. The unpaved trail is most useful as a neighborhood connector or short...
The Alamo Creek Bikeway is a shaded path along Alamo Creek in Vacaville. The trail connects residents with several parks, including Nelson Park, Patwin Park and Beelard Park. The trail is not just...
The Centennial Way Trail follows the path of the BART line between San Bruno station and South San Francisco station. The BART, of course, runs underground while the trail doesn't. The 10-foot-wide...
The Creekside Loop offers a scenic, albeit short, route around Larkspur's Creekside neighborhood. Half of the trail follows Magnolia Avenue—where it is appropriately also known as the Magnolia Avenue...
About 35 miles south of San Francisco, the Cowell-Purisima Trail offers a beautiful escape into nature which can be enjoyed by both walkers and bicyclists. Travelers in wheelchairs can also access the...
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Tucked in the quiet Oakland hills neighborhood of Montclair, the Shepherd Canyon Trail (a.k.a. Montclair Railroad Trail) is a popular community rail-trail that has come to symbolize the power of...
Running from Solano Community College on the southwest edge of town and into the town of Fairfield, the Fairfield Linear Park Path provides convenient bike access to the action on campus and in the...
The Prince Memorial Greenway is a short urban trail on both sides of Santa Rosa Creek in the Sonoma County community of Santa Rosa. A major component of the city's efforts to clean up and restore the...
The Mori Ridge Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. The natural surface path runs from a junction with both the Sweeney Ridge...
A half mile of the East Bay Greenway is currently open from the Coliseum BART Station (at 75th Avenue) to 85th Avenue in Oakland. The paved trail parallels San Leandro Street with traffic signals and...
The Baquiano Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. The trail climbs 550 feet from a junction with two hiking trails in the west...
Oakland's Lake Merritt Trail closely follows the lake's shoreline for a pleasant, paved trip with beautiful views and connections to several parks and attractions right in the heart of the city. The...
Beginning in 1904, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) carried freight through the city of Richmond, reaching its height during World War II when Richmond became a national leader of...
The Alameda Creek Regional Trail runs from the mouth of Niles Canyon in Fremont to the San Francisco Bay, allowing recreational access to the levees on both sides of Alameda Creek and its flood...
The Great Highway Bike Path parallels its namesake road on the western edge of San Francisco, offering stunning views of the Pacific Ocean throughout. The trail provides direct access to the San...
The Crocker Park Recreational Trail loops around Crocker Park businesses in the town of Brisbane. The 2.5-mile, gravel trail begins and ends on Park Lane across from the dog park, although you can...
The Novato Boulevard Path is a multi-use trail that can be used recreationally, but is more useful as a commuting route. Closely following its namesake road, the path is completely separated from the...
The San Francisco Bay Trail is a colossal effort to create a 500-mile multiuse trail encircling its namesake bay. Along its course, the trail will link 47 cities through 9 counties, providing numerous...
The Centennial Way Trail follows the path of the BART line between San Bruno station and South San Francisco station. The BART, of course, runs underground while the trail doesn't. The 10-foot-wide...
The Sandra Marker Trail runs for a mile on an east-west course through Larkspur, linking the Redwood Highway/San Clemente Drive Paths in the east with the popular NWP Railroad Trail in the west. Both...
Like many trails in Santa Rosa, the Brush Creek Trail follow the path of a local waterway. Beginning at its convergence with the larger Santa Rosa Creek, the Bush Creek Trail meanders northward. With...
The Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area provides users with a wide variety of recreational activities. In addition to its several miles of biking, walking and equestrian paths, the park also...
The Golden Gate Park Bike Path winds through San Francisco's famous city park, providing both a retreat from urban life and an important link in the city's growing bike network. The paved trail passes...
The Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area provides users with a wide variety of recreational activities. In addition to its several miles of biking, walking and equestrian paths, the park also...
The Black Diamond Railroad Trail is within the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, a splendid place to visit with a fascinating and unique history. From the 1850s to the early 1900s, the region was...
Oakland's Lake Merritt Trail closely follows the lake's shoreline for a pleasant, paved trip with beautiful views and connections to several parks and attractions right in the heart of the city. The...
The Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail links its two namesake communities via a former logging railroad corridor that largely parallels St. Mary's Road. Uniquely, mules hauled lumber on the corridor...
The bulk of the High Canal Bridge Pathway runs alongside its namesake waterway, offering scenic views and a sense of serenity in the middle of the ritzy Marin County communities of Larkspur and Corte...
The Bon Air Road Sidepath, as its name suggests, closely follows Bon Air Road in scenic Larkspur and Kentfield. The main trail begins at a junction with the Creekside Loop at Magnolia Avenue and runs...
Beginning in 1904, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) carried freight through the city of Richmond, reaching its height during World War II when Richmond became a national leader of...
The Contra Costa Canal Trail forms a horseshoe shape route, traversing through the urban and neighborhood landscape of Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and Concord. The trail follows the canal of...
The Joe Rodota Trail is built along the corridor of the old Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, which carried passengers between Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Sebastopol until it was abandoned in 1984....
The West County Regional Trail is built along the corridor of the old Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, which carried passengers between Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Sebastopol until it was abandoned in...
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This 2.5-mile trail segment through San Francisco's Presidio is part of 340-mile network of multi-use trails collectively known as the Bay Area Ridge Trail that climb Bay Area mountain ridges and pass...
The Creekside Loop offers a scenic, albeit short, route around Larkspur's Creekside neighborhood. Half of the trail follows Magnolia Avenue—where it is appropriately also known as the Magnolia Avenue...
About 35 miles south of San Francisco, the Cowell-Purisima Trail offers a beautiful escape into nature which can be enjoyed by both walkers and bicyclists. Travelers in wheelchairs can also access the...
The Redwood Highway/San Clemente Drive Paths combine to parallel their connecting roadways on the edge of Corte Madera. The combined trail is more scenic than your average sidepath: to the east, views...
If you are attracted to the rolling, wine country landscapes and historical architecture of Sonoma Valley, the Sonoma Bike Path won't disappoint. Located in the heart of historic Sonoma, just over an...
The Great Highway Bike Path parallels its namesake road on the western edge of San Francisco, offering stunning views of the Pacific Ocean throughout. The trail provides direct access to the San...
As it winds up to the eastern peak of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, this picturesque trail offers an exhilarating combination of far-reaching views, history and challenge. The trail follows the...
The Golden Gate Park Bike Path winds through San Francisco's famous city park, providing both a retreat from urban life and an important link in the city's growing bike network. The paved trail passes...
The Arroyo Mocho Trail is a part of a network of multi-use trails in Livermore and which also links with the city of Pleasanton. The trail provides access to neighborhoods, schools, numerous parks,...
The Baine Avenue Trail is a short rail-with-trail along an active Union Pacific Railroad corridor in the heart of Newark. The unpaved trail is most useful as a neighborhood connector or short...
BE CAREFUL on the part of the trail that connects Antioch to Oakley. There are guys riding motorbikes on the trail sometime. They usually stick to the hills but will come down to the trail. There are some incredibly blind turns and these guys are driving really fast. They WILL hurt someone or themselves one day.
I don't really enjoy this trail. I only use it for my convenience. In fact, I use this trail to get to the Marsh Creek Trail, which is awesome!
Nice flat trail that is perfect for older dogs. Lots of garbage cans available along the way for dog poop.
The start of the trail in Berkeley leaves much to be desired. A clean up and improvements to update the trail for overall safety and as a community attraction is needed. Better signage should be mandatory. Almost gave this trail a 3 star rating but soon as you are in the Albany/El Cerrito areas the environment is different in a very good way - well maintained, clean, no vagrants ( I rode the trail midday on a Sunday) , used by pedestrians & cyclists. Evidently enjoyed by the community. Being right next to BART is a plus - helpful for commuters and cyclists wanting to explore other areas.
Had an errand to run in Richmond by bike and Bart and was directed to the trail by Google maps. At each intersection, there were signs indicating I was on the trail (I knew that!) but nothing indicating the street name; the only way to figure out where you are is to get off the trail and ride to the nearest street intersection. On the way back to the Bart station, I got lost and ended up on a dangerous road. How about some signs????????
The trail has beginnings at Shafter Bridge, just West of Lagunitas on Sir Francis Drake Blvd . A salmon viewing spot at the bridge has limited 2 hour parking. If parking here, you must cross Sir Francis Drake to the foot, bicycle bridge over the creek. Riding west for about 2 miles on well maintained dirt path, you reach Samuel P. Taylor State Park--no fee to ride through the park, where the path becomes paved. The paved section is about 3 miles long running from the park to Platform Bridge Road, where there is also parking.
Beautiful trail--Redwoods, grasslands, oaks and the entire trail runs beside Lagunitas Creek.
There is no longer a "dead end" as a bridge has been built across the creek near Shafter Bridge. Enjoy--easy flat ride for all levels.
This is a well maintained trail, great for biking and running. Although the mile points are not that clear on the trail, a gps device can give you good estimation of the distance. You will see lots of birds, and probably other wild life.
As a resident of San Francisco, I have enjoyed this trail many times because of the ocean views. Usually on foot but have done some of this trail on a bike. The paths can be steep and narrow making this trail a difficult one for some. Windy and cold most days. Must wear appropriate footwear. Spectacular sunsets!
Been riding this loop for many years as part of my route from Ocean Beach. It's an easy ride around the lake. Path can get crowded as it is shared with pedestrians and street traffic (on sections of the loop) is close by causing noise. Still a nice ride around a lake within the city.
Great trail for training long distance riding. Would take BART from SF to Dublin and start my trail ride there up to the end in Concord near Martinez. My round trip on this trail included stops for food in the very accessible markets and restaurants along the route. Riding through different towns makes the ride more interesting and gives a cyclist the feeling of safety. Well planned trail. Wish it would extend in either direction.
This bike path has been a part of my daily rides for many years. After work I'd take a long detour to get back home. Sunsets here are always beautiful. You can't beat the unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean while riding on a flat paved path dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists. No vehicle traffic to worry about. One can truly just enjoy the views.
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