Explore the best rated trails in Stanford, CA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Lincoln Hill Pathway and NWP Railroad Trail. With more than 94 trails covering 697 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 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...
Marsh Creek Trail follows the sinuous course of Marsh Creek through the outskirts of suburbia and among the rich farmland of Contra Costa County. The 8.5-mile paved extends between Concord Road in...
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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...
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 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 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 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 Ygnacio Canal Trail begins at a junction with the Contra Costa Canal Trail. Most of the trail runs along the Ygnacio Canal, a narrow irrigation channel where ducks live. The trail is paved, except...
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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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 Great Meadow Bike Path provides an important 1.5-mile transportation route from the main entrance of the University of California at Santa Cruz to the busy campus core. The trail is surrounded by...
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...
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...
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The spectacular Sir Francis Drake Bikeway (also known as the Cross Marin Trail) sits on the recycled roadbed of the former North Pacific Coast Railroad, which used to run from Larkspur to Cazadero....
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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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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 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 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...
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,...
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This segment of the California Coastal Trail (also known as 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...
The spectacular Sir Francis Drake Bikeway (also known as the Cross Marin Trail) sits on the recycled roadbed of the former North Pacific Coast Railroad, which used to run from Larkspur to Cazadero....
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 Yerba Buena Creek Trail follows its namesake creek through Evergreen Park behind the community center, paralleling Yerba Buena Road and Park Estates Way.
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...
Marsh Creek Trail follows the sinuous course of Marsh Creek through the outskirts of suburbia and among the rich farmland of Contra Costa County. The 8.5-mile paved extends between Concord Road in...
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 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 West Cliff Drive Bicycle Path is just over 3 miles long, but, with its gorgeous backdrop of ocean waves and dramatic cliffs, you'll wish it was longer. The fairly flat, paved trail winds its way...
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 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 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...
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 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...
Riding high on the cliffs at North America's western edge, this San Francisco-area trail offers unbeatable views of Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean at San Francisco Bay. Add to that a chance...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 Great Meadow Bike Path provides an important 1.5-mile transportation route from the main entrance of the University of California at Santa Cruz to the busy campus core. The trail is surrounded by...
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 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...
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...
For years, only one of the four bridges across San Francisco Bay, Dumbarton Bridge, accommodated bikes and pedestrians. Now Bay residents can celebrate the opening of another cross-bay connection,...
The Montgomery Hill Trail is a short dirt trail traversing Montgomery Hill Park, an undeveloped green space in San Jose. The trail offers nice views of the surrounding area and links Yerba Buena Creek...
The Stanford Perimeter Trail is a multiuse path ideal for walkers, joggers and cyclists. The construction of the trail was paid for by Stanford University, and it is used by both campus residents and...
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 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...
My husband and I began our bike ride at Pillar Point Harbor and we were lucky to find parking since it was Labor Day weekend. It’s such a beautiful trail along the coast. Lots great picture opportunities. The trail ends at the Ritz Carlton, but we continued on a little further which connects to the Cowell Purisma Trail. It’s an easy bike ride.
This is one of the best trails to roller skate in the Berkeley area, but lord if it isn’t tough the first half of the trail before you get to Albany—the pavement leaves a LOT to be desired, particularly by the westbrae nursery, and there’s ADA bumps/crosswalks every few hundred feet. However, I’ve found the last 3 miles or so are good for roller skating if you can endure the first part, and it’s easy to skate over/around the ADA bumps in the road.
One end of the trail is near our house. We have the tree lined area, which is nice in summer. We have done other parts of the trail which are more open. Different parts of the year you can see Salmon spawning, after Halloween around Delta Road part of the trail.
Tried this trail, but ended in disaster. Starting at the "Heather Park" end, after crossing Marchbanks Rd, I encountered Diablo Hills Golf Course. Map routes through the golf course to Kinross Dr, but once I entered the green, I was "politely" chased away by a lady in a golf cart yelling, "You can't be here... this is private property... you could be killed" (assume she meant by a line-drive).
When you get to Marchbanks Dr, turn left, go down to Ygnacio, hang a right, then pick up the trail.
Lots of families, bike riders and people on parts of the trail through out the day. Lots of places to stop for restroom, food, etc. Safe for single riders.
O for trail from Virginia St to San Fernando very poorly marked and in some cases dead ends forcing you to take bike up stairs. North to Alviso was great. Spots with lots of homeless encampments but only filthy areas were south. Will never ride it again south of San Fernando
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