Find the top rated trails in Oakland, 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 Upper Silver Creek Trail courses through Silver Creek Linear Park, offering a nice play area and picnicking at the southern end and tennis courts and a basketball court at the northern end....
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 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...
If you're looking for a gentle rail-trail in Marin County that offers stunning views of both San Francisco Bay and Mt. Tamalpais, the Tiburon Historical Trail is for you. Known alternately as the...
The Matadero Creek Trail, also known as the Page Mill-Arastradero Connector, offers beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains as it winds its way through gently rolling hills...
The Highway 87 Bikeway follows State Route 87 between Willow Street in the north and Santa Teresa Boulevard at W. Valley Freeway (SR 85) in the south. Basically, the trail forms the missing link...
The Pacheco Hill Path is a straight shot along US 101 between Marinwood and Novato. In the north, the trail ends just outside of Hamilton at the entrance to the Loma Verde Preserve. Several bus stops...
The Stevens Creek Trail is open in two disconnected segments in Mountain View and Cupertino, two of Silicon Valley's growing communities. As its name suggests, both segments closely follow Stevens...
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 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 Barberry Walkway runs parallel to Barberry Lane between Corda Drive near Meadowfair Park and Dina Lane. There are plans to extend the walkway along the outskirts of the park to Quimby Road.
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 Sweeney Ridge Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. Inaccessible by automobile, the trail must be reached by any of its...
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,...
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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...
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 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...
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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...
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...
Joe's Trail at Saratoga de Anza parallels the south side of the active Union Pacific Railroad tracks that travel through a residential area of Saratoga, a California community just south of 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 San Francisco Bay area's Charles F. McGlashan Pathway was once known as the Tennessee Valley Pathway, but was renamed to honor a former Marin County Supervisor and a passionate active...
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For most of its length, the scenic Coyote Creek Trail meanders along its namesake creek south of the city of San Jose. South of Metcalf Road, an equestrian trail parallels the paved trail. A smaller...
The Highway 87 Bikeway follows State Route 87 between Willow Street in the north and Santa Teresa Boulevard at W. Valley Freeway (SR 85) in the south. Basically, the trail forms the missing link...
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...
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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...
It is difficult to travel through suburban Santa Clara County for more than a few minutes without noticing an abundance of cyclists and runners in the area. If you are strolling to downtown Los Gatos,...
The Stevens Creek Trail is open in two disconnected segments in Mountain View and Cupertino, two of Silicon Valley's growing communities. As its name suggests, both segments closely follow Stevens...
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...
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 Miller Creek Trail is a short paved path that runs on the former alignment of Lucas Valley Road. The trail follows both its namesake creek and the newer alignment of Lucas Valley Road on the...
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 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...
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 Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
The Lower Silver Creek Trail runs in a nearly straight line between Ocala Avenue and Dobern Avenue (Abed Court). Between Foxdale Drive and Logsden Way there's a short (about 0.25 mile) on-street...
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 Albertson Parkway is located in South San Jose, just steps away from the sprawling Santa Teresa County Park, which features preserved land and unpaved trails in the rolling Santa Teresa Hills. The...
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...
The Isabel Avenue Trail runs north-south on the western boundary of Livermore in the eastern San Francisco Bay area's Tri-Valley region. As its name suggests, the path primarily serves neighborhoods...
The Lower Silver Creek Trail runs in a nearly straight line between Ocala Avenue and Dobern Avenue (Abed Court). Between Foxdale Drive and Logsden Way there's a short (about 0.25 mile) on-street...
The Petaluma Trails consist of 5 trails, each one through a unique and scenic part of historic Petaluma. There is a two-mile circular loop through Shollenberger Park and a one-mile trail that links...
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 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 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 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 Bol Park Path is a charmer that threads through a peaceful Palo Alto neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco. At its heart is Bol Park, a strip of playground and lawn laid alongside...
The Sneath Lane Trail is one trail of many in beautiful Sweeney Ridge, a prime bicycling and hiking area in San Mateo County. From a trailhead in the Crestmoor neighborhood of San Bruno, the paved...
The Miller Creek Trail is a short paved path that runs on the former alignment of Lucas Valley Road. The trail follows both its namesake creek and the newer alignment of Lucas Valley Road on the...
Nimitz Way links Tilden Regional Park and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park via the ridge between Wildcat Creek and the San Pablo Reservoir on the northern outskirts of Berkeley. The paved 4-mile trail...
The Calero Creek Trail runs between Singer Park and Santa Teresa County Park. The trail is paved between Los Alamitos Creek and Harry Road (0.7 mile) and has a gravel surface between Harry Road and...
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...
Silver Creek Valley Trail follows its namesake creek and paralleling Silver Creek Valley Road. The passes through a country club neighborhood and through open space over a steep hill. The trail offers...
Saratoga Creek Trail follows the winding course of the creek between just south of I-280 (Junipero Serra Freeway) and Saratoga Creek Park. The trail parallels the Lawrence Expressway/County Route G2...
The Permanente Creek Trail offers a linear route through the suburban city of Mountain View, beginning at Shoreline At Mountain View and heading south to Rock Street. The paved pathway includes safe...
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 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...
The Southside Bikeway connects downtown Vacaville via a former Sacramento Northern Railway corridor to the city's southern neighborhoods near Al Patch Park. The route is a nice, short path, ideal for...
The San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail offers a paved route running approximately 5 miles through Santa Clara along its namesake waterway. In the north, the trail connects to the Highway 237 Bikeway (a...
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...
I did the 11 mile round trip from the Southern Sawyer Camp trailhead to the San Andreas Lake dam and back with my nine year old daughter on a Saturday morning in June 2017. It was her third bike ride of this length and was a big hit. Parking can be tight and the first two or three (freshly paved)miles are crowded with pedestrians, but otherwise perfect for an extended and interesting trip with a child. Unlike a lot of flat paths around the Bay Area, this one has lots of interesting curves and varied scenery. The last stretch to the dam is uphill and a but of a challenge for small ones, but also brings a sense of accomplishment. Highly recommended.
+ Good parking. You'll probably have to park along the road because the Inspiration point parking lot is small.
+ Not very crowded. This trail is kind of out of the way so not too many people visit.
+ Great pavement. Perfectly smooth for strollers.
+ Not too hilly. It has some up and downs which is nice for the variety but none of them are strenuous.
I went at 10am in the morning and the fog was still heavy. Could not see any of the views. On the return stint the fog had lifted.
Around mile 1.5 you walk through a small forest of Eucalyptus tree which is really great.
I only walked half way and then turned around and came back. I am looking forward to going back and doing the full trail sometime.
The only problem with this trail is that it is too short!
Interesting look at a WWII coastal observation point is a plus.
Now named the California Coastal Trail, it has been extended through the Half Moon Bay golf links and is now almost 9 and a half miles.Overall it's in very good shape. It could use a little better signage. Great Ocean views with beach access.
I have been using the trail between Heller Park to Anderson lake for a few years now. This stretch (15 miles of it) is very safe, you can see families biking/running/walking. Trail is shaded and beautiful, you can spot deer regularly. With Coyote creek itself flowing with with lots of water - the trails is amazingly beautiful.
Stayed at Hotel near airport and took trial south on Saturday. Not very pretty and lots of homeless. Next day went north which was much nicer and felt safer. Due to rain many of the tunnels were impassable.
I had been concerned about this trail due to reviews talking about the homeless that can be seen on this trail. As an older woman running alone, safety is a key concern. Although I did see a couple of homeless, this trail was well populated and well taken care of, so I didn't feel unsafe at all. Due to heavy rains this year, the "creek" was really a river, and was very nice to run beside, although at one point we were diverted to a street as the path was under water. There were lots of runners, walkers, bikers and skaters along the path, and they all seemed to "play nicely together". I went from one trail head for about 7 miles before returning. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire path.
I headed to this trail this past weekend based on the reviews that it was the nicer and safer trail in the area. I arrived at the trail head to find police activity. They were encouraging a number of homeless to move on. I asked if it was safe to run, and they said it probably would be if I stayed alert, but they recommended another trail that they felt would be safer. They encouraged me to go to Las Gatos Creek trail instead.
I was in Sebastopol for business and discovered this trail on my morning run. I ended up staying on it for a few miles. It is fairly strait, paved, and flat. There are occasional benches and trash bins and seemed pretty clean. The city had experienced heavy rain a few days before I was there and the trail had some minor flooding in one spot, but I got past it ok. It was pretty.
I run about 5 miles up and down hills on this trail. It's always a heart-pumping workout and I love the scenery along the way.
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