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Mt Burdell Hike
4.5 ★★★★★ 116 Google reviews · Running trail in Novato, California · Open 24 hours
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Natural surface
- Loop distance
- 5.2 mi
- Shape
- Loop
- Shade
- Tree cover
- Access
- Open 24 hours
Confirmed from Mt Burdell Hike's own listing, the park or land manager's website, and runner reviews. Blank cells mean we could not verify that fact — we would rather say "not reported" than invent one. There is no Easy / Moderate / Hard rating on this page on purpose: a one-word difficulty score tells you nothing about whether a trail suits your run. Surface, distance, shade and hours do.
Preserved space for hiking and biking, with kid-friendly options.
What runners say about Mt Burdell Hike
“Beautiful hike, well-groomed main path with great views and plenty of side trails, and COWS.”
“Some path part are narrow, no real shade, the loop back to the car was completed in just over an hour 0810-0950.”
This hike was on the more challenging side of moderate. I am sure it depends on which loop you do. We did a 5.2 mile hike that varied in both terrain and incline/decline. Our loop included the old Quarry loop which was a steep decent after having lost gradually climbed up up and up.
There’s many trails on Mt Burdell depending on the level you’re interested in and amount of time you have. Longest I’ve been on is 8.5 miles as a moderate hike. There’s a few challenging trails, if you so desire. They aren’t super long and personally I like to mix them in with some moderate ones as well.
Really nice hiking area. Beautiful views, amazing giant bay trees, challenging trails.
The day we went, it was rainy and foggy, but we still enjoyed the hike. There's a good 4 mile loop trail. It took us 2 hours because our hiking boots kept collecting about 25 lbs of mud and we had to keep stopping to scrape it off, and we were with our dogs, but otherwise it was a great hike.
Trail conditions & character
“Some great flowy stuff, bit of technical rocky stuff, no Karen's but a few cows and nice views of the bay.”
“Very dog friendly and many trail options from fairly flat to very un-flat”
“Some path part are narrow, no real shade, the loop back to the car was completed in just over an hour 0810-0950.”
“There’s many trails on Mt Burdell depending on the level you’re interested in and amount of time you have.”
“There were a couple steep areas but otherwise easy to moderate”
“Some path part are narrow, no real shade, the loop back to the car was completed in just over an hour 0810-0950.”
“5 mile round trip, but has amazing views of SF, Oakland, and even Petaluma.”
“Some great flowy stuff, bit of technical rocky stuff, no Karen's but a few cows and nice views of the bay.”
“The trailhead here is for the San Andreas Fire Road, which goes up to a really nice meadow popular for stargazing.”
Plan your run at Mt Burdell Hike
The practical stuff
- AccessOpen 24 hours — no gate to beat, so a 5am or a 10pm run both work
- SurfaceNatural surface — easiest on the joints and the most fun, but expect roots, rocks and mud after rain
- Loop distance5.2 mi back to where you parked. Long enough for a real long run.
- ShadeRunners describe real tree cover here — it makes a summer afternoon workable
- At the trailheadparking, restrooms — reported by runners
- DogsWelcome, per reviewers. Leash rules vary by park — the trailhead sign is the authority.
- Trail mapOfficial trail map
- Websitetrailspotting.com
Hours
| Monday | Open 24 hours |
| Tuesday | Open 24 hours |
| Wednesday | Open 24 hours |
| Thursday | Open 24 hours |
| Friday | Open 24 hours |
| Saturday | Open 24 hours |
| Sunday | Open 24 hours |
Running trails near Novato
Other trails within easy driving distance — useful when this one is flooded, gated, or just not the run you had in mind today.
Mount Burdell Preserve
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Miwok Park
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Ohair Park
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Olompali State Historic Park
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