Running trails in Huntington Beach, CA

How to pick a trail in Huntington Beach

• Match the surface to your legs. Huntington Beach gives you a choice: 3 paved, 1 crushed gravel, 1 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Huntington Beach is Overlook Park at 4 mi.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 14 of the 21 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
• Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 14 have trailhead parking, 10 have restrooms, and 7 have a water fountain in Huntington Beach. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
• The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 9 that runners describe as quiet, 11 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 Huntington Beach trails by type

• Paved trails (3 in Huntington Beach)
• Crushed gravel trails (1 in Huntington Beach)
• Natural surface trails (1 in Huntington Beach)
• Mixed trails (1 in Huntington Beach)
• Shaded trails (2 in Huntington Beach)
• Flat & fast (3 in Huntington Beach)
• Hilly trails (1 in Huntington Beach)
• Scenic trails (14 in Huntington Beach)
• Trails with restrooms (10 in Huntington Beach)
• Trails with water fountains (7 in Huntington Beach)
• Trailhead parking (14 in Huntington Beach)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (9 in Huntington Beach)
• Dog-friendly (11 in Huntington Beach)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (5 in Huntington Beach)

Running trails near Huntington Beach

Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.

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