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Running trails in Oakland, CA
Oakland has 25 trails in the directory — 5 paved and 7 on crushed gravel or dirt, 11 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 with a stated distance, 12 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 22 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 16,082 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.
Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,529 reviews
Sprawling forest featuring redwood groves & rare wildlife, plus trails, picnic areas & campsites.
Joaquin Miller Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,706 reviews
Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.
Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,415 reviews
The site of an ancient volcano, this park offers self-guided tours & features many hiking trails.
Temescal Regional Recreation Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,391 reviews
Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.
Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,318 reviews
Wetland shorebird preserve offering trails, fishing, picnic areas, a boathouse & rental facilities.
Dimond Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,218 reviews
Park featuring creekside hiking trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, a pool & a recreational center.
Roberts Regional Recreation Area
4.8 ★★★★★ 940 reviews
An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.
Skyline Gate Staging Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 576 reviews
Carpark & gateway to a protected area spanning over 1000 acres of redwood forest & grassland.
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 550 reviews
This 241-acre wooded preserve features a self-guided, botanic interpretive trail & restrooms.
Sequoia Bayview Trail Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 467 reviews
This flat, shaded trail through Sequoias with glimpses of the bay draws hikers & mountain bikers.
Sibley Staging Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 302 reviews
Scenic destination for walking and hiking trails, plus picnic tables.
Leona Heights Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 300 reviews
Park featuring a hiking trail with waterfalls and scenic views of Oakland.
Clyde Woolridge Staging
4.6 ★★★★★ 240 reviews
Hiking, biking, and dog walking are popular activities at this area with shaded trails.
Leona Canyon Regional Open Space Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 241 reviews
A protected, wooded canyon park covering 290 acres & offering hiking, biking & nature viewing.
Shepherd Canyon Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 184 reviews
Park with a flat area and hiking trails in the hills, plus soccer fields, restrooms, and picnic tables.
Moon Gate
4.8 ★★★★★ 168 reviews
Redwood forest, popular for hiking, biking and off-leash dog walks.
Montclair Railroad Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 97 reviews
Easy, mostly level trail leading through the woods and a canine-friendly park.
Bridgeview Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 93 reviews
Park with a family-friendly trail featuring many wooden "troll" sculptures.
Redwood Glen Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 88 reviews
Loop-hike-friendly preserve of big trees, plus hiking and bike trails, and picnic areas.
Palos Colorados Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 81 reviews
Park, plus hilly and woodsy trails through canyons, woods and a creek with waterfalls, plus gnomes.
Bridgeview Trail at Monterey Blvd
4.6 ★★★★★ 68 reviews
Redwood, tree-shaded, hilly, muddy trail with kid-pleasing swings and troll statues.
El Centro Trailhead (Dimond Canyon)
4.6 ★★★★★ 56 reviews
Park featuring a trail, a creek, and an unusual attraction: a piano under a tree.
The San Leandro Trails
4.9 ★★★★★ 19 reviews
San Francisco Bay Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 18 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Oakland
- Match the surface to your legs. Oakland gives you a choice: 7 natural surface, 5 paved, and 2 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 natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 11 trails here are loops, 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 Oakland is Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park at 40 mi. 3 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Oakland are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 22 of the 25 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. 18 have trailhead parking, 15 have restrooms, and 7 have a water fountain in Oakland. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 12 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 9 that runners describe as quiet, 20 dog-friendly, and 12 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 Oakland trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Paved trails
- Mixed trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Oakland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.