Find the top rated trails in San Francisco, 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....
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...
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 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 Napa Valley Vine Trail is a work in progress to connect Calistoga to the Vallejo ferry terminal, a distance of 47 miles. The trail will roughly parallel State Route 29, a popular wine route and...
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...
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...
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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 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 Crystal Springs Regional Trail is a developing network made up of three distinct portions: the San Andreas segment, Sawyer Camp segment and Crystal Springs segment. The two northern segments are...
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...
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 Los Alamitos Creek Trail runs along its namesake creek between McKean Road and Almaden Lake Park, where the trail is also known as the Lake Almaden Trail. From its southern endpoint to Camden...
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 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 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...
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 Guadalupe River Trail is the spine of San Jose's growing trail network, running north-south through much of the city. Portions of the trail run along both banks of the Guadalupe River, with signs...
The Highway 237 Bikeway parallels State Route 237 between McCarthy Boulevard in Milpitas and Calabazas Creek in Sunnyvale. The trail consists of two main segments: the first is between McCarthy...
The Evergreen Creek Trail follows its namesake creek between San Felipe Road and Yerba Buena Road. To the north of the gravel trail is suburbia (with a row of trees separating the trail from 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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 Embarcadero Bike Path is an important connector between the local commuter rail, schools, and a commercial area on Palo Alto's west side and the outskirts of Stanford University. The paved...
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 Evergreen Creek Trail follows its namesake creek between San Felipe Road and Yerba Buena Road. To the north of the gravel trail is suburbia (with a row of trees separating the trail from the...
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 Napa River Trail parallels its namesake river through the City of Napa from Kennedy Park to just south of Trancas Crossing Park. It is currently open in two disconnected segments. The southern...
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...
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...
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...
Nestled between Alum Rock Canyon and the Mt. Diablo foothills, Alum Rock Park west of San Jose is California's oldest city park. From the early to mid-1900s it was a popular resort and spa, complete...
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 Lincoln Hill Pathway provides an uninterupted alternative to busy Lincoln Avenue (and busier US 101) via an "urban canyon" between the soundwalls of US 101 and the SMART commuter rail project. The...
The Napa Valley Vine Trail is a work in progress to connect Calistoga to the Vallejo ferry terminal, a distance of 47 miles. The trail will roughly parallel State Route 29, a popular wine route and...
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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...
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,...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
The Crystal Springs Regional Trail is a developing network made up of three distinct portions: the San Andreas segment, Sawyer Camp segment and Crystal Springs segment. The two northern segments are...
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...
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 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...
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 Lincoln Hill Pathway provides an uninterupted alternative to busy Lincoln Avenue (and busier US 101) via an "urban canyon" between the soundwalls of US 101 and the SMART commuter rail project. 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.
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 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 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 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...
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...
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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