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Running trails in San Dimas, CA
San Dimas has 14 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 3 with a stated distance, and 7 shaded. 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 6,586 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.
Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,668 reviews
Relaxing park with playgrounds for kids and a man-made lake for water sports and fishing.
Walnut Creek Community Regional Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,615 reviews
Park open during daylight hours, offering facilities for horses & horse-trailer parking.
San Dimas Canyon Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,174 reviews
Hiking trails through oaks, pines & foothills plus an enclosed sanctuary with rescued area wildlife.
Lone Hill Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 422 reviews
Neighborhood park featuring shaded and unshaded tables for picnics, plus basketball and tennis courts, softball and baseball fields, and playgrounds with slides, swings and a ball field.
Marchant Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 393 reviews
Clean, well-kept park featuring playground equipment, shady benches, picnic tables.
Bonelli Park Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 336 reviews
Picnicking, hiking, and other outdoor activities are available at this park featuring a lake.
Via Verde Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 328 reviews
Park, with playground equipment and a grassy field, plus a walking track.
San Dimas Avenue (Michael D. Antonovich) Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 110 reviews
Shaded trail for hiking and dog-walking that crosses a creek.
Walnut Creek Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 109 reviews
Recreational open space for hiking with trails, shady paths and a creek.
Valley Center Staging Area & Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 79 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking spot featuring a creek that flows into the river, plus tree-shaded trails and rocks.
Lyman Staging Area & Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 69 reviews
Easy, shady hiking trails for exploring nature and flora, plus a picnic area.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in San Dimas
- Match the surface to your legs. San Dimas gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 2 mixed, 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 San Dimas is Valley Center Staging Area & Trailhead at 6 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. 12 of the 14 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. 13 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in San Dimas. 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, 1 with mile markers, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 10 dog-friendly, and 2 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 San Dimas trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Mixed trails
- Paved 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
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near San Dimas
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.