Find the top rated bike trails in Watsonville, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 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...
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...
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 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...
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 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.
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 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...
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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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 Upper Struve Slough Trail is part of a network of trails running through Watsonville's wetlands, offering a natural, outdoor experience and birding hotspot right in the heart of an urban area. The...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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 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.
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 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 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 Yerba Buena Creek Trail follows its namesake creek through Evergreen Park behind the community center, paralleling Yerba Buena Road and Park Estates Way.
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...
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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
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 Alameda Creek Regional Trail runs from the mouth of Niles Canyon in Fremont to the San Francisco Bay, allowing recreational access to the levees on both sides of Alameda Creek and its flood...
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 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 Upper Struve Slough Trail is part of a network of trails running through Watsonville's wetlands, offering a natural, outdoor experience and birding hotspot right in the heart of an urban area. The...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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!
It’s tough to go a constant speed on your bike because it’s congested on the weekends. Lovely otherwise
Someone needs to maintain the event calendar--it says no events, but there was an organised marathon last weekend. There were tons of runners--it's safe, paved, etc. It would be nice to get one or two additional locations for restroom/water. I've been using this trail for 30 years, and it's nice to see that it gets appreciated by regular use (which also keeps it safe!)
Stayed at the Hilton on the south side of the trail and went north past the airport. It's a well maintained trail that follows the tiny Guadalupe river. If you can stay north of Julian St, you'll avoid sketchy-looking tent cities. I felt the run was perfectly safe and saw plenty of people throughout my run. I'd recommend it.
Parked off of Gold Street. I didn't feel good about leaving my car there. It's a pretty rough looking area. There was trash everywhere. Broken glass, mattresses, mufflers. Went for the ride anyway. First few miles were great. Trail was well maintained and smooth. Once I got south of the airport it all went, well, south. The underpasses were all full of homeless people. Occasionally some would be sitting on the edge of the trial. No issues, but I never felt safe. It really killed what would have been an otherwise pleasant ride. I won't be back.
There is free parking with easy access to the trail at PetSmart on River Street. While you’re there, take your dogs into PetSmart for some shopping. And there are restaurants with outdoor seating as well.
This is a good trail, however unfortunately on the south end there is a short segment that is disconnected from the rest of the trail which starts again 5 miles to the north.
It's a decent connector path to get between the Bay Trail, the San Tomas Aquino Trail, and the Guadalupe River Trail.
I love this trail, as do many other bikers. Going northbound is especially fun as it's a slow descent. And at the same time, going southbound is not hard either. If you live in Los Gatos or Campbell this trail is usually the best route for going places to the north or south.
One thing that could be improved (but isn't a huge deal breaker), is that the north end of the trail is not connected to the Guadalupe River trail and requires some street riding for a short distance (1 mile or so)
This trail is great. It's well maintained for the most part, has good signage, but going under Downtown San Jose on this route, there's lots of homeless living there, and lots of trash. But overall I'd give this trail 4 stars.
It is around 1.25 miles stretch. Good for kids and for small stroll.. if looking for long distance, forget about this.
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