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Running trails in Pleasanton, CA
Pleasanton has 19 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 4 loops that return to the trailhead, 10 with a stated distance, 7 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 12 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 4,557 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.
Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,663 reviews
An 80-acre lake draws crowds to this park with areas for swimming, fishing, boating & picnicking.
Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 970 reviews
5,271-acre parkland with scenic trails for hiking, biking & horseback riding, plus local cattle.
Mission Hills Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 453 reviews
Neighborhood park featuring grassy open space, a playground, a BBQ pit & a 50-ft. slide.
Amador Valley Community Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 366 reviews
Park with a swimming pool, a toddler-friendly playground, and picnic facilities, plus soccer and volleyball fields.
Castleridge Trailhead -- Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 254 reviews
Uphill hiking trail featuring views of the surrounding area, along with a lush landscape.
Bernal Community Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 219 reviews
Well-maintained park featuring play areas, picnic tables, baseball fields and more.
Augustin Bernal Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 192 reviews
Preserve with trails, native plants, views & a staging area accessible through a gated community.
Moller Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 133 reviews
Leafy neighborhood park & historical gold-panning site with a playground, BBQ pit & picnic tables.
The Preserve Staging Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Hiking area featuring varied trails that are good for kids.
Kottinger Community Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 57 reviews
Park with picnic facilities and a trail for running.
Moller Ranch Bench
4.8 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Arroyo Mocho Trail
3.6 ★★★★☆ 5 reviews
Callippe Preserve Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Pleasanton
- Match the surface to your legs. Pleasanton gives you a choice: 6 paved, 2 natural surface, and 1 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 paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 4 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 Pleasanton is Mission Hills Park at 60 mi. 10 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Pleasanton are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 12 of the 19 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 13 have trailhead parking, 12 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Pleasanton. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 7 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 8 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Pleasanton trails by type
- Paved trails
- Natural surface 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
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Pleasanton
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.