Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Pleasanton, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I was excited to run on the Riverwalk Trail. Unfortunately the reviews are all from many years ago and things have definitely changed. On a beautiful Sunday morning I was the only runner, passing homeless people and their tents along the way. I couldn’t run through several of the undercrossings because there were homeless men sitting on the trail at the bottom. In one case two men were passed out with their legs sticking out on the trail. I had to backtrack and cross to the other side to avoid a large group of homeless men standing on both sides of the trail. Much of the trail is surrounded by chain link fences to keep the homeless (I’m assuming) from setting up camp under the overcrossings. I would never use this trail again. Much better to fight the crowds along the West Cliff trail.
I’ve found great pit stops, the Dragon tea house, Pho place, Mexican restaurant and O’briens awesome sandwiches. Still more to explore. Oh The yogurt Mill… yum.
We did this trail in Sept 2025. The completed portion of the trail is not very long and goes through the city of Santa Cruz. From the start and end points you have easy access to the Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk, and Natural Bridges State Park.
From the East end most of the trail was roadside but did have a paved bike lane. Several wineries to stop at including Concannon. However the main trail was closed. I posted photos.
Nice trail, flat and shady. There are a couple of big streets to cross but it is easy to pick up the trail again.
Lots of shade along the way, a few dismount areas as you make it to where the path crosses the street.
We are new to biking and still finding our way. We started at the Livermore end and don’t recommend it. There is a lot of Urban riding on streets and lights to cross, we had to turn around a few times as the trail seemed a bit disjointed. So…. Start in San Ramon. We went on a Saturday morning about 8:30. The bushes are trimmed back to allow for bike riding. People were nice a courteous. I didn’t see any urban living that would have made me feel unsafe. We will definitely try this one again, but start farther north. Once we hit San Ramon, everything was great! We stopped at a Starbucks, had breakfast and used the bathroom.
Excellent place to start this route is at Michael Faklis Park, which is a well kept and attractive public park with bathroom facilities and plenty of parking. From the park, I headed west on a wide and very well maintained paved bike path, arriving within a few miles at Paradise Marina. If you're up for an extra couple of miles, when the path ends at the marina, continue on the road that runs past the marina: auto traffic is very light, it's along water, with smooth pavement. It eventually dead ends after a couple of miles. Heading back east, you'll retrace your ride to Faklis Park, but continue onward along the path with houses on one side, waterfront on the other. The path does cross a couple of busy streets, with a stoplight at one, and one of those flashing light crosswalks (cars don't HAVE to stop, but usually do when the lights are flashing.
On the day that I rode, there were no homeless encampments, but it was clear that a recent cleanup had been done, with rows of cleaned up shopping carts neatly stacked, and minimal trash along the trail.
This path is flat, family safe (caution at the street crossings, of course). While it is along a body of water and does have some natural beauty, you won't be awed by nature. It's simply a safe, good ride along a very well maintained path, away from auto traffic, and IMHO, definitely worth a visit if you're staying in or passing through Stockton. My sole reason for rating it four stars instead of five is that I'm stingy with five star ratings, which I reserve for paths with all of the above qualities but also boast exceptional natural beauty.
Mi lugar preferido por el momento! Si quieres correr unas cinco millas es perfecto, me encanta la sombra que dan los árboles !!!
The Coyote Creek trail is great! It wanders thru fields in the valley with the hills in the near distance. The wild flowers are beautiful. This section of the trail is near Morgan Hill.
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