Explore the best rated trails in San Francisco, 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 102 trails covering 751 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.
The Arroyo Mocho Trail is a part of a network of multi-use trails in Livermore and which also links with the city of Pleasanton. The trail provides access to neighborhoods, schools, numerous parks,...
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 West County Regional Trail is built along the corridor of the old Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, which carried passengers between Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Sebastopol until it was abandoned in...
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 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...
Like many trails in Santa Rosa, the Brush Creek Trail follow the path of a local waterway. Beginning at its convergence with the larger Santa Rosa Creek, the Bush Creek Trail meanders northward. With...
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 Sandra Marker Trail runs for a mile on an east-west course through Larkspur, linking the Redwood Highway/San Clemente Drive Paths in the east with the popular NWP Railroad Trail in the west. Both...
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 Miller Creek Trail is a short paved path that runs on the former alignment of Lucas Valley Road. The trail follows both its namesake creek and the newer alignment of Lucas Valley Road on 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...
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 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...
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 Great Highway Bike Path parallels its namesake road on the western edge of San Francisco, offering stunning views of the Pacific Ocean throughout. The trail provides direct access to the San...
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 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 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 Santa Rosa Creek Trail follows the meandering course of Santa Rosa Creek, beginning in downtown Santa Rosa and heading west beyond Willowside Road. From end to end, the trail is only a few miles...
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 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 Creekside Loop offers a scenic, albeit short, route around Larkspur's Creekside neighborhood. Half of the trail follows Magnolia Avenue—where it is appropriately also known as the Magnolia Avenue...
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 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 Lincoln Hill Pathway provides an uninterupted alternative to busy Lincoln Avenue (and busier US 101) via an "urban canyon" between the soundwalls of US 101 and the SMART commuter rail project. The...
The Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
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...
As it winds up to the eastern peak of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, this picturesque trail offers an exhilarating combination of far-reaching views, history and challenge. The trail follows the...
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...
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 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...
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...
This 2.5-mile trail segment through San Francisco's Presidio is part of 340-mile network of multi-use trails collectively known as the Bay Area Ridge Trail that climb Bay Area mountain ridges and pass...
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 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...
The McCoy Creek Path begins near Carl E. Hall Park, which contains a playground and is next to a library and community center. The path runs through a grassy corridor along McCoy Creek. It ends at the...
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 Arroyo Mocho Trail is a part of a network of multi-use trails in Livermore and which also links with the city of Pleasanton. The trail provides access to neighborhoods, schools, numerous parks,...
As its name suggests, the Alamo Canal Trail can be found adjacent to the man-made waterway located in Dublin, in the Tri-Valley region of the Bay Area. Though short, this trail makes useful...
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...
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...
As its name suggests, the Alamo Canal Trail can be found adjacent to the man-made waterway located in Dublin, in the Tri-Valley region of the Bay Area. Though short, this trail makes useful...
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...
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 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...
If you are attracted to the rolling, wine country landscapes and historical architecture of Sonoma Valley, the Sonoma Bike Path won't disappoint. Located in the heart of historic Sonoma, just over an...
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 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 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 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 Contra Costa Canal Trail forms a horseshoe shape route, traversing through the urban and neighborhood landscape of Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and Concord. The trail follows the canal of...
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 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 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 Alamo Creek Bike Path snakes alongside its namesake stream through residential Dublin, Alameda County. The paved trail has spurs reaching into the nearby subdivisions, drawing residents onto the...
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 Southside Bikeway connects downtown Vacaville via a former Sacramento Northern Railway corridor to the city's southern neighborhoods near Al Patch Park. The route is a nice, short path, ideal for...
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 Arroyo Mocho Trail is a part of a network of multi-use trails in Livermore and which also links with the city of Pleasanton. The trail provides access to neighborhoods, schools, numerous parks,...
Riders and walkers be on ALERT!!!! Encountered two rattlesnakes on the trail but love all 44 miles of the trail. Great trail to disconnect from the urban concrete streets of San Jose. Oh yeah, nature at its BEST!!
Cool sights in wildlife. People here are snotty techies¿. No one says hello back. But ride is nice out to the bay
Super smooth , road underpasses so no stopping for traffic, not very crowded, peace in an urban setting
Being on this trail is a lovely escape from the city streetscape. In the works now is County action to close the cement plant at the end of the RR spur this trail adjoins. When that happens, there is a County adopted plan for the trail to extend all the way from Los Gatos to Rancho San Antonio Open Space!
This trail is a good length for a stroll. It is hilly and scenic. It is in a valley. The trail is asphalt with cracks sealed with tar. Except for the east end, which is concrete and very wide. I don’t recommend it for skating because it is rough and short. Also the hill at the west end near the bathrooms/parking is very steep.
I started on the north side, this is a nice walk with small children. After crossing the first road to the south there is a park on the right, pretty good for children.
In July, 2021, trail was extended south 1/3 mile to Linda Vista Park in Cupertino.
This path is very family/kid friendly (flat, playground...bonus playground a mile out...donkeys you can pet, but there are no public restrooms nearby! Would be a four star rating if there was a bathroom.
We went on this trail yesterday and really liked it! There’s a little bit of up and down, but an ambitious 9 year old and a reluctant 12 year old did it on bikes with gears. Do not park at the southern most lot, though as the path is closed a mile after starting due to a bridge being under construction. Start at the second lot going north at St. Mary’s and Moraga.
I am not sure this same bike place wondering nice wineries. A beautiful scenery and it was absolutely fantastic if anybody brings the blogs or bikes it’s a wonderful thing to do to get away from the bay area
My wife and I rode the Napa Valley Vine Trail while staying at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa near the intersection of State Route 29 and Redwood Road in Napa. We rode north 5.5 miles before turning around and heading back to the hotel. The trail was flat, paved and in good condition and only lightly traveled. If we had gone another half mile north, we would have reached the point where the Trail crosses underneath State Route 29 to the east side. From there it proceeds another 2 miles north before it ends at Madison Road in Yountville. When it ends you can proceed east on Madison in a bike lane. Overall, the continuous section of the trail from the north side of Napa to the south side of Yountville is about eight miles. Only gave the Trail four stars because in the first mile or two proceeding north from Napa there are three busy intersections that require you to wait for the crossing signal that may require 30-60 seconds each.
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