25 Years of Exploring Bay Area Trails
Welcome to Bay Nature’s mini-guide to 25 Bay Area trails in some of our favorite places, ranging from peaks and valleys to redwoods and tidal marshes, described in 25 stories from Bay Nature‘s archives. Then use our AllTrails maps (you’ll find one on each story page) to get out exploring.
This project is part of our special Explore issue for Summer 2025.
Bay Nature is proud to partner with the AllTrails Impact Team. By partnering with AllTrails, Bay Nature is helping to keep visitors prepared, informed, and ready for the trails.
North Bay
Pacific Union College Demonstration and Experimental Forest in Napa.
Trail: 4.5 mi, 370 ft elevation gain, loop
Jenner Headlands Preserve in Jenner.
Trail: 15.5 mi, 3,690 ft elevation gain, out and back
Mount Tamalpais State Park in Mill Valley.
Trail: 14 mi, 4,107 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
Tolay Lake Regional Park in Sonoma.
Trail: 3.1 mi, 164 ft elevation gain, loop
Point Reyes National Seashore.
Trail: 2.5 mi, 95 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
San Pablo National Wildlife Refuge in Sonoma.
Trail: 8 mi, 9 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
Hendy Woods State Park in Philo.
Trail: 3.6 mi, 282 ft elevation gain, loop
Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve in Novato.
Trail: 3.4 mi, 610 ft elevation gain, loop
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park in Calistoga.
Trail: 19.7 mi, 5,177 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
East Bay
Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park in Fairfield.
Trail: 4.4 mi, 744 ft elevation gain, loop
Mount Diablo State Park in Clayton.
Trail: 7.7 mi, 2,208 ft elevation gain, loop
East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail.
Trail: 32.9 mi, 5,725 ft elevation gain, point-to-point
Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore.
Trail: 5 mi, 88 ft elevation gain, loop
Eden Landing Ecological Preserve in Union City.
Trail: 4.7 mi, 36 ft elevation gain, loop
John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.
Trail: 7.8 mi, 1,505 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland.
Trail: 33.1 mi, 524 ft elevation gain, loop
South Bay
Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve in Morgan Hill.
Trail: 5.3 mi, 971 ft elevation gain, loop
San Vicente Redwoods in Santa Cruz.
Trail: 4.4 mi, 442 ft elevation gain, loop
Guadalupe River Trail in San Jose. Trail:
9.5 mi, 137 ft elevation gain, point-to-point
Año Nuevo State Park in Pescadero.
Trail: 0.7 mi, 55 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
Ravenswood Open Space Preserve in East Palo Alto.
Trail: 2.7 mi, 9 ft elevation gain, loop
Montebello Open Space Preserve in Los Altos Hills.
Trail: 5.5 mi, 1,092 ft elevation gain, loop
San Francisco
San Francisco Presidio.
Trail: 4.2 mi, 351 ft elevation gain
San Francisco Crosstown Trail.
Trail: 17 mi, 2,043 ft elevation gain, point-to-point
San Bruno Mountain State and County Park.
Trail: 3.6 mi, 705 ft elevation gain, loop
