Home › California › Orinda
Running trails in Orinda, CA
Orinda has 11 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 3 shaded. 7 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 4,712 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.
Tilden Regional Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,971 reviews
A 2,000+ acre park with a carousel, botanic garden, lake swimming, picnic areas & steam train ride.
Siesta Valley Recreation Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 193 reviews
Natural area known for hiking trails, a seasonal open-air theater & picturesque bay views.
Old Tunnel Road Staging Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 74 reviews
Hiking spot featuring multiple trails, some of which connect to Tilden Park.
Old San Pablo Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 23 reviews
Orinda Connector Staging Area
4.4 ★★★★☆ 17 reviews
Intersection of De Laveaga Trail and fire road
4 ★★★★☆ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Orinda
- Match the surface to your legs. Orinda gives you a choice: 2 mixed, 1 paved, and 1 natural surface. 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 mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 2 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 Orinda is Tilden Regional Park at 41 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. 7 of the 11 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Orinda. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 6 dog-friendly, and 4 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 Orinda trails by type
Running trails near Orinda
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.