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Running trails in Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz has 19 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 10 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 11,939 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.
Lighthouse Field State Beach
4.7 ★★★★★ 4,056 reviews
Iconic spot with a lighthouse offers a variety of vistas & pathways for dog walking & strolling.
Wilder Ranch State Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 2,618 reviews
Natural landscape with diverse activities including hiking trails, picnic areas & horseback riding.
Natural Bridges State Beach
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,378 reviews
Compact sandy patch with rock bridges & tidepools, popular for spotting seabirds, whales & seals.
DeLaveaga Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,125 reviews
Grassy space includes picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, bocci ball courts, trails & a creek.
Neary Lagoon Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 494 reviews
Wildlife refuge with trails & floating walkways, bird-watching areas, tennis courts & a playground.
Pogonip Open Space
4.5 ★★★★★ 462 reviews
Scenic open space offering a hiking & biking trail network amid redwood & oak forests & slopes.
Arana Gulch Open Space Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 163 reviews
Trails for walking, biking and hiking through a meadow with cows.
Wilder Beach Overlook
4.8 ★★★★★ 152 reviews
Coastal preserve offering picturesque trails for hiking and biking amid ocean and cliff views.
Enchanted Trail Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 107 reviews
Hiking area with a number of trails, some of which are suitable for families.
Spring Trail Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 90 reviews
Popular outdoor area dotted with redwood trees, featuring numerous walking paths and a koi pond.
Moore Creek Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 83 reviews
This 246-acre greenbelt offers hiking trails through grassy plains with views of the Monterey Bay.
San Vicente Redwoods Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 47 reviews
New nature area featuring trails through redwood forest that's recovering from wildfires.
Powder Mill Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 44 reviews
Kid- and dog-friendly area with trails for hiking.
U-Conn Trail Head
4.5 ★★★★★ 34 reviews
Parkway Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 9 reviews
Santa Cruz Coastal Campus Trail
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Santa Cruz
- Match the surface to your legs. Santa Cruz gives you a choice: 3 boardwalk, 2 paved, 2 natural surface, and 2 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 boardwalk 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. The longest stated distance in Santa Cruz is Wilder Ranch State Park at 35 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Santa Cruz are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 10 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. 12 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Santa Cruz. 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, 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 Santa Cruz trails by type
- Boardwalk trails
- 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 Santa Cruz
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.