Home › California › Sacramento
Running trails in Sacramento, CA
Sacramento has 25 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, 8 shaded, and 4 open 24 hours. 16 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 22,619 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.
William Land Regional Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 6,789 reviews
Sizable park offering many amenities, including a zoo, amphitheater, golf course & ball fields.
McKinley Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 4,634 reviews
Relaxing preserve featuring a rose garden, seasonal pool, playgrounds, tennis courts & trails.
California State Capitol Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,637 reviews
Scenic city green space with monuments, memorials, flower gardens & walking paths.
River Bend Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,656 reviews
444-acre riverfront park features rafting, equestrian & hiking trails, picnicking space & wildlife.
North Natomas Regional Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,480 reviews
Multi-use park with various ball fields & kids' play areas, open space & an amphitheater.
Garcia Bend Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,513 reviews
Scenic riverfront park with a playground, soccer fields, tennis court & a boat launch.
Sutter's Landing Regional Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,117 reviews
Leafy park for recreation plus a dog park, bocce ball, basketball court, skate park & bike trails.
North Laguna Creek Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 700 reviews
Public park featuring a baseball field, tennis and volleyball courts, and a playground.
Watt Avenue River Access
4.3 ★★★★☆ 475 reviews
Public area offering hiking trails, a public restroom, and a boat launch.
Harrington Way Point
4.5 ★★★★★ 131 reviews
Area for hiking, rafting, biking, fishing, and picnicking, with access to the American River.
Sara Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 134 reviews
Suburban public park featuring peaceful fishing spots scattered along the American River.
Glenbrook Park River Access
4.2 ★★★★☆ 83 reviews
Hiking area offering access to a river that's good for kids and dogs.
North Laguna Creek Wildlife Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 65 reviews
Wildlife refuge with trails for walking, jogging, and biking, plus ample scenery.
American River Parkway Trailhead
4.1 ★★★★☆ 55 reviews
Windy, outdoor recreation area with hiking paths and bike trails along the Sacramento River.
University and Guy West Bridge, Sacramento, Ca
4.7 ★★★★★ 12 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Sacramento
- Match the surface to your legs. Sacramento gives you a choice: 4 paved, 1 crushed gravel, 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Sacramento is Del Rio Trail at 4.8 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 4 trails in Sacramento are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 16 of the 25 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 16 have trailhead parking, 10 have restrooms, and 14 have a water fountain in Sacramento. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 8 shaded, 9 that runners describe as quiet, 13 dog-friendly, and 1 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 Sacramento trails by type
Running trails near Sacramento
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.