Explore the best rated trails in San Marcos, CA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Santa Gertrudis Creek Trail and Coastal Rail Trail. With more than 26 trails covering 142 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Coastal Rail Trail will one day run 44 miles from Oceanside to San Diego along the Coaster commuter rail. Short sections of the developing trail are currently open in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Solana...
The San Diego River Trail is a network of paths that lead along the San Diego River channel and mud flats and provide access to Mission/Fashion Valley shopping areas. You can walk or ride on either...
The San Juan Creek Trail starts where the creek meets the Pacific Ocean at Doheny State Beach in scenic Dana Point. From there, it runs on the levee along the western bank of San Juan Creek to its...
Make sure you bring your camera for this trail. The Fay Avenue Bike Path runs through the upscale seaside resort community of La Jolla, and opens up to the sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean,...
The Sweetwater Bikeway runs along the Sweetwater River from a parklike setting opposite the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center on the trail's east side to the yacht harbor at the mouth of the river. The...
The Robert McCollum Memorial Bicycle Trail, also known as the Trabuco Creek Trail (East Bank), is a short paved path along Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano. The trail begins at a junction with the...
The State Route 56 Bike Path provides a traffic-separated connection between inland and coastal San Diego County. The route gradually inclines traveling inland and parallels State Route 56 closely for...
The Sorrento Valley Road Trail is a paved, two-lane section of road that was closed to traffic in the 1990s when CDOT built an interchange between State Route 56 and Interstate 5. In 1998 the road was...
The Aliso Creek Riding and Hiking Trail passes through the heart of Mission Viejo from South Laguna to Rancho Santa Margarita along an 18.5-mile corridor. The trail features many parks in Orange...
The Santa Gertrudis Creek Trail is a 3-mile paved trail that serves as both a recreational amenity and an active transportation alternative for locals looking to get to nearby locations without...
The Turtle Rock Trail meanders its way through the neighborhood of the same name in southern Irvine. The path is a short—but serious—aerobic workout, as it features climbs to the trail's high point at...
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Running through downtown San Diego, Linear Park is a vibrant, palm-lined ribbon that parallels an active trolley line along Harbor Drive. The trail provides direct access to many of the city's...
The Oso Creek Trail offers just over four miles of paved pathway connecting Jeronimo Open Space Park and Oso Viejo Community Park in the suburban southern California city of Mission Viejo. Much of...
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The Salt Creek Trail, with more arms than an octopus, offers a variety of experiences for trail users of all types in Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. Featuring two sections, several branches and a mix...
Note: Escondido Creek Bike Path has closed from Hickory to East of Date due to the installation of new recycled water pipes. Please contact Mark Lewis, city of Escondido Field Engineering Inspector...
The San Luis Rey River Trail runs for 9 miles along the course of the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside. The trail, which is smooth and mostly flat, is a local favorite among cyclists, walkers and...
The short and sweet Rose Canyon Bicycle Path is a popular route because of its scenery and the important off-street connection it provides between the Mission Bay and UC San Diego areas. Tucked...
The Mission Bay Bike Path is a paved trail that loops almost completely around San Diego's Mission Bay. The trail runs through Mission Bay Park, which includes and encircles the large man-made body of...
As its name suggests, the Mission Beach-Pacific Beach Boardwalk conveniently links the two oceanfront communities north of downtown San Diego. The paved path, also known appropriately as Oceanfront...
Coastal rail-trail experiences don't get much better than this—a long, smooth, palm-tree-lined trail with stunning views of the Pacific, San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline, plus easy access to...
The San Juan Creek Trail starts where the creek meets the Pacific Ocean at Doheny State Beach in scenic Dana Point. From there, it runs on the levee along the western bank of San Juan Creek to its...
The Aliso Creek Riding and Hiking Trail passes through the heart of Mission Viejo from South Laguna to Rancho Santa Margarita along an 18.5-mile corridor. The trail features many parks in Orange...
The San Diego Creek Trail is the spine of the City of Irvine's extensive system of trails and bike lanes. It begins in Newport Beach, joining the Upper Bay Trail near where San Diego Creek empties...
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade connects a number of sites along San Diego's waterfront. The walkway runs on the northern side of an active railroad corridor parallel to the Linear Park, which...
Coastal rail-trail experiences don't get much better than this—a long, smooth, palm-tree-lined trail with stunning views of the Pacific, San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline, plus easy access to...
The Turtle Rock Trail meanders its way through the neighborhood of the same name in southern Irvine. The path is a short—but serious—aerobic workout, as it features climbs to the trail's high point at...
The Salt Creek Trail, with more arms than an octopus, offers a variety of experiences for trail users of all types in Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. Featuring two sections, several branches and a mix...
Hugging one of the most picturesque shorelines in Southern California, the San Clemente Beach Trail is one of the premier rail-trails in the area. The trail itself is technically a rail-with-trail, as...
The San Diego River Trail is a network of paths that lead along the San Diego River channel and mud flats and provide access to Mission/Fashion Valley shopping areas. You can walk or ride on either...
Running through downtown San Diego, Linear Park is a vibrant, palm-lined ribbon that parallels an active trolley line along Harbor Drive. The trail provides direct access to many of the city's...
The Shady Canyon Trail is an incredibly scenic route along Shady Canyon Drive in southern Irvine. Extending through the southern reaches of the historic Irvine Ranch and protected Irvine Ranch Natural...
Want an enjoyable loop hike through a new preserve and three parks with stunning ocean views throughout? Check out the trail system in the Dana Point Headlands, a scenic coastal area in Orange...
The Mission Bay Bike Path is a paved trail that loops almost completely around San Diego's Mission Bay. The trail runs through Mission Bay Park, which includes and encircles the large man-made body of...
Make sure you bring your camera for this trail. The Fay Avenue Bike Path runs through the upscale seaside resort community of La Jolla, and opens up to the sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean,...
The Sweetwater Bikeway runs along the Sweetwater River from a parklike setting opposite the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center on the trail's east side to the yacht harbor at the mouth of the river. The...
The Oso Creek Trail offers just over four miles of paved pathway connecting Jeronimo Open Space Park and Oso Viejo Community Park in the suburban southern California city of Mission Viejo. Much of...
The Inland Rail Trail runs alongside the Sprinter light rail service connecting Escondido to Oceanside. The 10-mile section in Escondido, San Marcos and parts of Vista is the first segment complete,...
The Coastal Rail Trail will one day run 44 miles from Oceanside to San Diego along the Coaster commuter rail. Short sections of the developing trail are currently open in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Solana...
The Robert McCollum Memorial Bicycle Trail, also known as the Trabuco Creek Trail (East Bank), is a short paved path along Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano. The trail begins at a junction with the...
The Sorrento Valley Road Trail is a paved, two-lane section of road that was closed to traffic in the 1990s when CDOT built an interchange between State Route 56 and Interstate 5. In 1998 the road was...
The Salt Creek Trail, with more arms than an octopus, offers a variety of experiences for trail users of all types in Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. Featuring two sections, several branches and a mix...
The Mission Bay Bike Path is a paved trail that loops almost completely around San Diego's Mission Bay. The trail runs through Mission Bay Park, which includes and encircles the large man-made body of...
The San Luis Rey River Trail runs for 9 miles along the course of the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside. The trail, which is smooth and mostly flat, is a local favorite among cyclists, walkers and...
Hugging one of the most picturesque shorelines in Southern California, the San Clemente Beach Trail is one of the premier rail-trails in the area. The trail itself is technically a rail-with-trail, as...
The Shady Canyon Trail is an incredibly scenic route along Shady Canyon Drive in southern Irvine. Extending through the southern reaches of the historic Irvine Ranch and protected Irvine Ranch Natural...
The Robert McCollum Memorial Bicycle Trail, also known as the Trabuco Creek Trail (East Bank), is a short paved path along Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano. The trail begins at a junction with the...
The Coastal Rail Trail will one day run 44 miles from Oceanside to San Diego along the Coaster commuter rail. Short sections of the developing trail are currently open in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Solana...
The San Diego River Trail is a network of paths that lead along the San Diego River channel and mud flats and provide access to Mission/Fashion Valley shopping areas. You can walk or ride on either...
The Aliso Creek Riding and Hiking Trail passes through the heart of Mission Viejo from South Laguna to Rancho Santa Margarita along an 18.5-mile corridor. The trail features many parks in Orange...
The State Route 56 Bike Path provides a traffic-separated connection between inland and coastal San Diego County. The route gradually inclines traveling inland and parallels State Route 56 closely for...
The Santa Gertrudis Creek Trail is a 3-mile paved trail that serves as both a recreational amenity and an active transportation alternative for locals looking to get to nearby locations without...
The short and sweet Rose Canyon Bicycle Path is a popular route because of its scenery and the important off-street connection it provides between the Mission Bay and UC San Diego areas. Tucked...
As its name suggests, the Mission Beach-Pacific Beach Boardwalk conveniently links the two oceanfront communities north of downtown San Diego. The paved path, also known appropriately as Oceanfront...
Note: Escondido Creek Bike Path has closed from Hickory to East of Date due to the installation of new recycled water pipes. Please contact Mark Lewis, city of Escondido Field Engineering Inspector...
Make sure you bring your camera for this trail. The Fay Avenue Bike Path runs through the upscale seaside resort community of La Jolla, and opens up to the sweeping vistas of the Pacific Ocean,...
The San Juan Creek Trail starts where the creek meets the Pacific Ocean at Doheny State Beach in scenic Dana Point. From there, it runs on the levee along the western bank of San Juan Creek to its...
The Sweetwater Bikeway runs along the Sweetwater River from a parklike setting opposite the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center on the trail's east side to the yacht harbor at the mouth of the river. The...
The San Diego Creek Trail is the spine of the City of Irvine's extensive system of trails and bike lanes. It begins in Newport Beach, joining the Upper Bay Trail near where San Diego Creek empties...
The Inland Rail Trail runs alongside the Sprinter light rail service connecting Escondido to Oceanside. The 10-mile section in Escondido, San Marcos and parts of Vista is the first segment complete,...
Running through downtown San Diego, Linear Park is a vibrant, palm-lined ribbon that parallels an active trolley line along Harbor Drive. The trail provides direct access to many of the city's...
Fantastic ride with the family. Some streets but mostly a beautiful ride around the bay. Jim, Caryn, Dylan
All the prior reviews are accurate. I left from Carmel Ranch Community Park and followed the path toward Del Mar. The path is signed well and there are a couple forced stops to cross freeway off/on ramps. Currently there are some bumpy asphalt areas due to elevated tree roots, which are more challenging to see because they are in shaded areas. Overall, this protected bikeway was very fun to ride!!!
We Love this trail and rode it for a second time last week. Please note, the trail is closed at the I 5 connection for a while They are doing construction. You will need to take a detour on surface streets to get across the 5. Be sure to take your GPS to maneuver safely through the detour.
Overall - this trail was a fun ride. Nice to speed down the couple of hills but remember what goes down must come back up..... Next time we will park @ the Buena creek station and start ride from there. Cant wait till they open more of the trail in Vista.
Parking: While there isn't designated parking @ the "Philips Street" trail entrance, there is side street parking. We discovered after the fact that there is more discreet parking if you drive further down to Philips street/Philips Circle. There is even a dip in the curb for easy bike entry.
Trail: I would call this stretch of the trail intermediate. There were a couple steady inclines that might be difficult for some on the way back or if your hauling a kid trailer like we do. There were 2 major lights that needed to be crossed to continue on the trail. This section of the trail from Philips to the Buena Creek station where the trail continues is a little more than 2.5 miles.
Rode from 9th street access, Imperial Beach to Coronado for late lunch. Stopped at Silver Strand Beach for break. Clean flat asphalt bike trail. Wonderful ride. Abt 20 mi RT. Do It!
My husband and I rode our electric scooters from the Civic Center, Vista train station to the end in Escondido - about 10 miles. It’s nicely paved and some of the fencing had beautiful blooming vines. The trail is positioned, at times, right to the side of a busy street but mostly it’s away from the street and runs parallel to the railroad tracks. There are a few cute wooden bridges to cross. There are many stops at street crossings (signals) and the continuation of the route is not well marked at many of those points so look at the markings on the sidewalks when you have a choice to go two directions. There was great etiquette by all users, whether walking, jogging, biking, skateboarding, or rollerblading. We had breakfast in Escondido at Delight of France and then went back to Vista. We really enjoyed it.
Started at imperial Beach stopped in Coronado Cays at the Calypso Café for lunch great bike ride
The 56 freeway is loud but the views of the hills and valleys on the south side of the bike path are great.
Parked on hotel circle place, plenty of room. The trail is a little gravely until past the ball fields, afterwards it’s good quality until you get closer to the dog beach. The asphalt is a little broken up and bumpy, plus there are many folks walking their dogs and some of them don’t know how to share the bike path. All in all, a good ride.
We went midday during the week and there was very little congestion or foot traffic to avoid. Recommend starting at northeast side, and going as far as the southwest side then return. The full round trip takes you over two bridges which provide beautiful views but traffic is heavy along the western side of the bay. Also recommend doing the fiesta island loop as part of the ride. The views of the bay, the sun, the gentle breeze on the water, what San Diego is all about.
Wow such a beautiful ride in the evening. Got here at 2 and finished by 7. We stopped at several parks, had lunch at in n out and finished off the night to a sunset on the beach and even got to see a little live jazz ¿¿
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