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Running trails in Concord, CA
Concord has 13 trails in the directory — 3 paved, 5 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 11 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 3,342 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.
Newhall Community Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,120 reviews
Set around a creek, with trails, a dog run & picnic areas, plus bocce courts & ballfields.
Willow Pass Community Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 711 reviews
40-acre strip with 8 tennis courts, 6 softball fields & a batting cage, plus a community center.
Ygnacio Valley Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 451 reviews
Basic neighborhood park with ball fields, a jogging path, picnic facilities & a kids' play area.
Markham Nature Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 263 reviews
Compact, tree-topped park with winding trails, open lawns, gardens & an arboretum.
Ellis Lake Park
3.7 ★★★★☆ 305 reviews
Spacious park featuring a large lake surrounded by a paved path, plus the historic Keller House.
Dave Brubeck Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 140 reviews
Playground-equipped park featuring climbing structures, swings, slides and rolling grassy hills for kites.
Len Hester Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 120 reviews
Neighborhood park with play equipment, picnic tables, and BBQs, plus a ball field and a path.
Highlands Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 103 reviews
Park featuring a playground and soccer field for kids, plus a dog trail for pets.
Iron Horse Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 46 reviews
Peaceful park with a bench and picnic tables beside an airport, offering views of planes.
Start Trail Ride - Contra Costa Canal Trail
4.2 ★★★★☆ 10 reviews
California Riding & Hiking Trail Trailhead
4.3 ★★★★☆ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Concord
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (3 of 13). 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 Concord is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 11 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 8 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Concord. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 5 shaded, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 6 dog-friendly, and 1 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 Concord trails by type
Running trails near Concord
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.