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Running trails in Citrus Heights, CA
Citrus Heights has 14 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 6 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 13 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 6,498 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.
Rusch Community Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 2,295 reviews
Outdoor skating & biking spot with concrete surface, numerous unique features & lighting at night.
C-Bar-C Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 937 reviews
Public park with picnic and play areas, a baseball field, and separate spaces for large and small dogs.
Arcade Creek Park Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 698 reviews
Natural park on a creek with play & fitness equipment, trails & shaded picnic tables.
Madera Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 595 reviews
Playground with climbing walls, slides and swings, plus sports courts and baseball fields.
Tempo Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 595 reviews
23.92-acre park with a picnic shelter & paved path, plus playgrounds, soccer fields & tennis courts.
Brooktree Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 363 reviews
15-acre park with a playground, paved path & picnic tables, plus tennis courts & baseball fields.
Westwood Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 260 reviews
Family-friendly park offering baseball fields and a picnic area, plus basketball and tennis courts.
Van Maren Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 220 reviews
Outdoor activity area with a playground, basketball court & picnic tables, plus a creek & trails.
Greenback Wood Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 185 reviews
Relaxed place for the family featuring grassy areas, playgrounds and a basketball court.
Northwoods Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 132 reviews
Kid-friendly neighborhood park featuring playgrounds with swings and slides.
Crosswoods Community Park
3.9 ★★★★☆ 102 reviews
Park featuring tennis courts, picnic tables, a playground, and a library.
Twin Creeks Park Site
4 ★★★★☆ 57 reviews
Children will enjoy this park featuring a trail.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Citrus Heights
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (4 of 14). 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Citrus Heights is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 13 of the 14 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking, 14 have restrooms, and 6 have a water fountain in Citrus Heights. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 6 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 9 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Citrus Heights trails by type
Running trails near Citrus Heights
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.