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Running trails in Pasadena, CA
Pasadena has 12 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 3 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 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 3,419 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.
Central Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,104 reviews
Park with a playground, a picnic area, lawn bowling, croquet, a walkway & restrooms.
Eaton Canyon Trail Head
4.7 ★★★★★ 743 reviews
Easy, lush trail with waterfalls, shade, picnic areas and stream crossings.
Hahamongna Watershed Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 584 reviews
Protected area with mature trees serving as a drainage area & offering disc golf & picnic tables.
Michillinda Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 443 reviews
Small park featuring a children's playground, picnic tables, and peacocks.
Lower Arroyo Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 322 reviews
Urban park offering trails, archery, and a rose bowl, plus fly fishing.
Arroyo North Loop
4.7 ★★★★★ 55 reviews
Park offering trails that are good for running and walking, plus kid-friendly hiking.
Hon. John C. Crowley Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 6 reviews
Trailhead to arroyo
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Pasadena
- Match the surface to your legs. Pasadena gives you a choice: 3 paved and 2 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 paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Pasadena is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 of the 12 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 8 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Pasadena. 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, 5 that runners describe as quiet, and 5 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 Pasadena trails by type
Running trails near Pasadena
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.