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Running trails in Nevada City, CA
Nevada City has 2 trails in the directory — 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 1 shaded. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 240 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.
Independence Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 141 reviews
Hike or walk along this easy-to-access trail featuring wooden bridges and river access, plus swimming holes, waterfalls and creeks.
Hiking Trails
4.7 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Canal-side trail geared towards hiking and dog-walking that's also popular among runners.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Nevada City
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is boardwalk (1 of 2). 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 boardwalk 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 Nevada City is Hiking Trails at 5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- 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.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking and 1 has restrooms in Nevada City. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Nevada City trails by type
Running trails near Nevada City
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.