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Running trails in Danville, CA
Danville has 14 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 4 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 9 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 1,694 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.
Sycamore Valley Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 632 reviews
Park with ball fields, bocce courts & paths, plus a playground, picnic area & BBQ pits.
Rock City Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 485 reviews
State park offering hiking trails and scenic views from atop sandstone formations.
Oak Hill Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 334 reviews
Picturesque park offering a picnic area, hiking & horseback trails, plus a summer concert series.
Elephant Rock
4.8 ★★★★★ 60 reviews
Outdoor destination featuring rock formations, trails and caves, as well as campgrounds.
Sycamore Valley Open Space Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Trailhead
5 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
Iron Horse Regional Trail, Danville Rest Area
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Danville
- Match the surface to your legs. Danville gives you a choice: 1 paved 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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. The longest stated distance in Danville is Rock City Park at 0.8 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Danville is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 14 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. 6 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Danville. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 2 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Danville trails by type
Running trails near Danville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.