Home › California › Pacific Palisades
Running trails in Pacific Palisades, CA
Pacific Palisades has 4 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 3 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 2,936 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.
Will Rogers State Historic Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,536 reviews
Once Will Rogers' ranch, this park features trails set in the canyon with views of LA & the ocean.
Los Leones Canyon
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,185 reviews
Starting point with parking for a canyon hiking trail across chaparral grassland for Pacific views.
Paseo Miramar Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 156 reviews
Natural area for a 5.5-mile hike (out & back) to a scenic overlook, with views along the way.
Murphy Ranch trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 59 reviews
Hiking spot known for eerie vibes and graffiti, with stairs and a creek.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Pacific Palisades
- Match the surface to your legs. Pacific Palisades gives you a choice: 2 natural surface and 1 paved. 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? 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 Pacific Palisades is Paseo Miramar Trailhead at 5.5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Pacific Palisades is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 3 of the 4 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 4 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Pacific Palisades. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, and 3 dog-friendly. 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 Pacific Palisades trails by type
Running trails near Pacific Palisades
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.