Explore the best rated trails in Santa Clara, CA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Alameda Creek Regional Trail and Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area Trails. With more than 78 trails covering 645 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 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 Beach Range Road Multi-Use Trail runs parallel to State Route 1 along the Pacific Coast, offering a safe alternative for commuters in Sand City, Seaside and Marina, and for students attending...
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.
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...
Naomi Patridge Trail is a 2 mile coastal trail paralleling Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay, California. The trail was named for a longtime San Mateo Councilwoman, prominent volunteer and lifelong Half Moon...
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...
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...
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 Yerba Buena Creek Trail follows its namesake creek through Evergreen Park behind the community center, paralleling Yerba Buena Road and Park Estates Way.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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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...
The Watsonville Slough Trail follows its namesake waterway through a residential area of the city. It's part of a system of trails in a wetland area abundant with birds; you might see ducks,...
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 Penitencia Creek Trail follows its namesake creek through a suburban greenbelt in northeast San José. On the northeastern end, the trail passes by a series of percolation ponds, and you can take a...
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 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 area surrounding the Iron Horse Regional Trail has an important history as part of the San Ramon Valley's agricultural and ranching past. Today, the Iron Horse Trail connects two counties and...
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 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...
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 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 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...
The Sabercat Creek Trail can be found along its tree-lined namesake waterway in the Mission San Jose community of Fremont, a coastal California city off the San Francisco Bay. The 2-mile paved pathway...
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...
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 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 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...
The Visitacion Valley Greenway is a recreational gem tucked into a residential neighborhood in southern San Francisco. The paved pathway connects a series of small parks that offer a plethora of fun...
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 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...
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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...
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...
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...
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...
Winding along the Pacific coast, the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail offers breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and a great way to tour Monterey and adjacent communities while enjoying 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...
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 Umbarger Road Parkway parallels its namesake road for just over 0.5 mile between Plumas Drive and Tuers Road in a narrow strip of greenspace surrounded by suburbia. The similar Barberry Walkway is...
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 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 Three Creeks Trail will one day span 3 miles through San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. In 2018, the western leg of the trail opened, stretching nearly a mile from Coe Avenue to just south of...
The Ohlone Loop Trail offers a birder's paradise in a wetland area of Watsonville on California's central coast. Its location, bordering a residential area, provides easy access for residents to...
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 Visitacion Valley Greenway is a recreational gem tucked into a residential neighborhood in southern San Francisco. The paved pathway connects a series of small parks that offer a plethora of fun...
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 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...
This extremely scenic rail-trail is located in the majestic Forest of Nisene Marks State Park near Aptos, California. The park was the site of major logging operations by the Loma Prieta Lumber...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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 Santa Cruz Riverwalk Trail follows both sides of the river through downtown Santa Cruz, a California beach town on the shores of Monterey Bay. Multiple pedestrian bridges allow easy access to the...
Gorgeous day in Half Moon Bay - what a terrific opportunity to explore this trail! It appears that many enjoy its wonders as well...pretty remarkable, considering this is the middle of the week! There were walkers, bikers, and dogs on the path - everyone was very respectful of passing each other and sharing the width of the path.
Nice to have the ocean 'on your shoulder' as you move up and down the path, as well as seeing all the wildlife - hawks, herons, rabbits to name a few!
A challenging walk up the hills, but beautiful views! Worth the time!
It is awesome my sister and I play there all the time!! Great surrounded park area!!
Whenever we visit the Monterey Peninsula, we always make sure to ride our bikes or walk multiple times on the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail. Very few places in the world can match the beauty and splendor of this trail, especially between Lovers Point Park in Pacific Grove to the Wharf in Monterey. This portion of the trail is most certainly perfect for visitors and walking enthusiasts.
Beyond the wharf up to Castroville (the Artichoke Capital of the World) is for individuals looking for a much more intense workout.
If I lived on the peninsula, I'd be somewhere on that trail every day!
On a gray May morning in 2018, my wife and I headed north from Pacific Grove to ride the West Cliff Path. We parked on Swanton Blvd., which is pretty much right at the trailhead, and then headed down the smooth asphalt path/promenade.
The path has spectacular ocean views, plenty of benches to relax upon, restored Victorian homes, art installations, a surf museum, huge amounts of surfers, an extra long pier with a residence of sea lions, a multitude of photo ops, and even an amusement park when you reach the end.
At the trail's end consider continuing across the San Lorenzo River and navigating some quiet residential streets to get a better view of the Walton Lighthouse and look back up the coastline.
Even though we rode on a weekday morning, the path had quite a bit of use by walkers, joggers, dog walkers, amusement park goers, and surfers. It slows you down a bit, but that's OK since to ride this trail is all about the essence of the scenery!
With the exception of one hill as you descend the cliff down to sea level near the pier, it's all flat which is perfect for a couple of sixty somethings.
All in all, it's a path to be taken slowly and to be savored, an ideal experience!
Started at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond and traveled south (clockwise) along the bay to the Central Ave intersection and return. A good portion of the trail is wide and plenty of room for walkers and bikers. The last couple miles we rode is a bit narrower, still enough room for both. Trail condition is great. A number of interpretative signs are placed, discussing the history and nature of this area. Well worth the visit. Take time to see the Rosie Visitor Center. Luck was with us when we visited and were able to attend a talk by the National Park Service’s oldest park ranger (97 yrs old). Betty Reid Soskin is an articulate speaker and recounted her time living in the area and working in the ship yards during WWII. If given the opportunity don’t miss out. Noted that the trail in this area had great signage and shouldn’t have any trouble following the route. Some of the trail going north (counterclockwise) was on the street with designated bike lanes. Looking forward to doing other sections of this trail when we visit again in the future.
Only rode a short distance of this trail from Trader Joe’s parking lot down to the West Cliff Drive Bicycle Path. Some traffic on this trail but not as much as the West Cliff path. Path condition was fine, not a real wide path but ok. A number of homeless folks hanging out on and along the path. Was panhandled while in Trader Joe’s parking lot. At no time did we feel uncomfortable with environment, just unfortunate.
Started the ride at Trader Joe’s parking lot along the Santa Cruz Riverwalk, rode downstream to the intersection with the West Cliff Drive trail. Then rode up the coast to the end of this trail. Trail in good condition and nice surface but lots & lots of other folks on the trail, mostly walkers. Great scenery of Santa Cruz bay, coastline, and surfers along the trail. So much traffic on the trail made it challenging. Once at end of trail decided it would be easier to ride the road. So on return trip stayed on the parallel road and sailed along without obstruction. Consider this as the return option.
We rode this in two sections.
First section started at Casa Verde Way and rode North to the intersection of Lapis Road and Hwy 1. Missed the first left turn to go over dunes (no directional signage) and after a short distance realized we needed to back track. Then at Lapis Road & Hwy 1 the trail appeared to end at this intersection (no directional signage), could have explored down the highway at little to find remainder of trail but by then had ridden about 15 miles, so called it at that point. We did divert off of this trail to ride the parallel Beach Range Road trail in Fort Ord Dunes State Park. That road is much wider and nicer to ride. Depending how long of ride you want but recommend ending at the North end of Beach Range Road and then return.
Second Section: Started again at Casa Verde Way heading south to end of trail at Lovers Point and return. This portion of trail has many more walkers and bikers but trail is wide enough for all and in very good condition. This portion has some great scenery, a number of interpretive signs along the way, stopped to watch the Harbor Seals at a number of stops. Highly recommend this portion of trail.
Connected on to this trail from the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail at the south end and rode to north end of trail. Nice wide paved trail/road that used to be a main road for Fort Ord (no longer used for vehicle traffic). At south end of trail a number of homeless camps and trash tossed around. Nothing threatening just an eye sore. A spur trail leads down to some old military munitions storage bunkers. A few information panels are along the trail. I went through basic training at Fort Ord and the trail passed by one of the rifle ranges we used, brought back some memories. Much better, wider, trail than the parallel running Monterey Bay trail.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
My wife and I started this ride at the northern most entrance at the corner of San Bruno Avenue West and Skyline Blvd. We parked at a dirt church parking lot across from the trail head that a sign said was open to the public. TrailLinks indicates there is parking at the San Andrea Trail parking lot about a ½ mile down the trail along Skyline Blvd. It not really a parking lot but more of a wide spot on the road. I actually didn’t recognize it on the first pass as there was only one car parked there.
Heading south from the trail head (you begin on the two lane paved San Andreas Trail) you begin a rolling incline as you ride along next to Skyline Road. After about 3 miles you will top out as you head toward the San Andreas Lake and begin a long 400 foot drop over the next mile or two to the San Andreas Dam. Pedaling is optional and by this time you have passed at least one bathroom…expect to see more.
By the time you reach the dam, you will be on the Sawyer Camp Recreational Trail. The view from the dam was spectacular, particularly as it is quite green this time of year. There are plenty of tree covered sections to make you really feel you are outdoors. A pretty nice feeling for being in the “city”. There are also several historic sites marked along the trail.
After crossing the dam your drop further down into the creek. The trees provide quite a bit of shading which would be good in the summer months but got quite chilly for our ride. There are picnic tables and of course, another bathroom.
You will eventually end up along the shore of the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. Again, spectacular views and a ton of friendly deer. We also began to encounter more and more hikers as this section is easily accessible from the entrance at the Sawyer Camp trail head next to the Crystal Springs Road and is pretty flat all the way to the bottom of the San Andreas Dam. Not too much of a problem for our week day winter ride, but I expect this would get very crowded on weekends and summer.
We made our turnaround at the Sawyer Camp Trailhead (10 miles from our start) but not before making a side trip about a mile and a half north UP Hwy 35 to the Crystal Springs Golf course for lunch. The menu was typical bar food. The cheeseburger was huge and tasty. I would suggest splitting one as it came with a very large order of fries (my wife got onion rings). It was a small restaurant/bar overlooking the driving range.
My wife and I have Specialized Como electric bikes so the pedal assisted ride back up the trail was not difficult. But the incline was not that steep and was steady over a couple miles. Good gearing and little patience should not dampen your ride.
Total round trip (including the 1-1/2 mile one way side trip for lunch) was 22 miles.
This was our first ride of 2019 on a route we had never been before and we have lived in the Bay Area for 30 years. A hearty thanks to TrailLink for highlighting this on their web page!
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