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Running trails in Berkeley, CA
Berkeley has 19 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 5 loops that return to the trailhead, 4 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 12 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 8,783 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
César E. Chávez Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,888 reviews
Popular, 90-acre park featuring kite flying opportunities, a dog run, bay vistas & more.
McLaughlin Eastshore State Park State Seashore
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,918 reviews
Shoreline refuge features tidal marshes, beaches & trails that provide panoramic views of the Bay.
Tilden Nature Area
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,604 reviews
Nature preserve featuring easy & challenging hiking trails with scenic views & wildlife sightings.
Codornices Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 896 reviews
Comprising the Berkeley Rose Garden plus areas for ball playing & hiking, picnicking & kids' play.
Shorebird Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 778 reviews
Scenic marina park offers picnic sites, play areas & a nature center with fish & wildlife displays.
Grizzly Peak
4.8 ★★★★★ 549 reviews
Scenic destination featuring a panoramic view of San Francisco and Oakland.
Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve
4.8 ★★★★★ 496 reviews
208-acre preserve with hiking & equestrian trails, plus views of nearby cities & San Francisco Bay.
Fire Trails
4.8 ★★★★★ 173 reviews
Popular hiking area with views, leading from Memorial Stadium to the Lawrence Discovery Store.
Stonewall-Panoramic Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 142 reviews
Hiking trails with panoramas, plus tree-lined stretches offering shade.
Garber Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 67 reviews
Recreation area with a mile-long foot trail that loops through 13 acres of forest.
Clark Kerr Fire Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 60 reviews
Scenic trail with a steep climb & panoramic views over the bay.
Grizzly Peak Trail
4.4 ★★★★☆ 62 reviews
Hiking trail boasting views of the Bay and San Francisco, plus wooded tracks and open meadows.
Nimitz Trail South Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 54 reviews
Easy paved trail providing scenic views and benches.
Woodbridge Metcalf Grove
5 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
San Francisco Bay Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Berkeley
- Match the surface to your legs. Berkeley gives you a choice: 3 paved, 2 natural surface, and 1 mixed. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 5 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Berkeley are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 12 of the 19 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 11 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Berkeley. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 10 dog-friendly, and 8 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Berkeley trails by type
Running trails near Berkeley
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.