Best Trails near Greenbrae, California

Some beautiful scenery but trail not well marked, a number of intersections with no clues as to what goes where. Restroom facilities gross.

This hike is a gem! It’s an easy hike, no elevation changes, with beautiful views lol the way around.

Easy and gorgeous. Takes 1.5-2 hours.

Big fan of this straightforward loop trail. Gorgeous scenery, varied terrain, sparse population, easy parking, no bikes, roughly half of the loop is shaded, and easy to follow with the perimeter of the lake as our guide.

A few important things to note:
-DO NOT MISS the ticket machine by the ranger kiosk at the entrance to the Mt Tamalpais Watershed area! It's about 2 miles from the Lake Lagunitas Parking Lot and trailhead for this loop. We were unfortunately not paying attention, missed the ticket machines, and had to drive all the way back out the windy Sky Oaks Rd to purchase the $8 parking permit (and the machines don't give change!). Worth it, as you can get slapped with a worse fine otherwise.
-Watch out for tons of red- and green-leafed poison oak in the late summer! If you stay in the middle of the trail you'll be mostly okay, but there are a lot of stray tendrils so high socks or long pants recommended.
-No bikes allowed, which is nice for pedestrians, but be alert for trail runners, horses (and horse poop), and bees.

Enjoy the loop! Lovely photo spots along the way and not too bad in terms of incline, though the whole lake perimeter felt definitely longer than 3.7 miles. Bring a hat and water bottle for the sunny days.

Nice quiet hike. It begins with a slow and steady decline through grasses, and meanders into the forest. Know that much of the path is quite narrow, and at times right against steep drop offs. The path can get quite slippery with the dry mud and exposed rock. Other than that, a great woodsy option for a steady hike with some inclines and declines.

Beautiful loop trail, easy and scenic.

Saturday June 23. Sky Oaks Road is closed due to HIGH fire warning.

Great Hike. Felt longer than 3.7 miles

Absolutely love this hike! It's easy and very little traffic. Goes through lots of different kinds of landscapes. The views of the lake are stunning.

Great easy hike for families - varied landscape - beautiful pasture hills with wildflowers and then magical redwood forest. Good for dogs too

Good for trail running...

Loved this hike/nature walk! There’s limited parking on the residential street at the trailhead. Gorgeous view of the mountains at the start, then a steep decline into the valley where it gets shadier. The trail goes along the creek and there’s a very pretty waterfall at one point. We did about 2.8 miles total which took an hour and a half. Very nice scenery, will definitely return!

Short but good

Easy fun loop that we can take the pup along. Half shady, half sun. Take the sunny side first so you're not facing the sun while walking.

Excellent, peaceful long walk around the water. Half the hike was sunny and half shaded. The breeze on the lake makes this an easy and enjoyable walk.

Bikes dusty mostly exposed, lovely views tho

Pretty flat trail looping around the lake. The trail was pretty rocky and had lots of roots sticking up in places. Well maintained and definitely quite beautiful. A few port-a-potties available along the route. Half the trail was in the shade and the other half in the sun with a nice breeze blowing. Went with two 5-year-olds, and somehow it took 6 hours! We did stop for lunch for an hour and little pit stops at some of the "beaches." It felt much longer than 4 miles. We saw wild turkeys, deer, ducks, herons, buzzards, and lizards, most with babies in tow, which were adorable. I am worn out, but I would come back again. Parked on Rocky Ridge Rd near the dam between Alpine and Bon Tempe lakes. There was a machine on the way in that took cash or credit cards for the $8 parking fee and spit out a receipt to display on your dash. Easy.

Great, easy hike. Very beautiful. As a warning - they are very strict on leash law!! Only downfall is all this beautiful water that you can't swim in. $8 to park.

awesome, beastly

So beautiful!

Good views at the start and finish. Start at Crown Road trail head. Best to expand the hike by looping around Phoenix Lake, then back up to Crown Road.

Nice run or walk. Fairly flat so I wouldn't call it a hike. Over half is in the shade. $8 to park. Very scenic lake.

Great hike. Partially shaded.