Best Trails near Oakland, California

We hike this trail in reverse and out and back so would rate it double hard. Total distance was 22.7 miles with almost 6,000’ elevation gain.

We started Las Trampas Staging Area at the Bollinger Canyon Road (37.81605, -122.04979) near Danville. Hiked up on the fire road to the Rocky Ridge Loop Trail (EBMUD). We then took the Ramage Peak Trail to the Riley Ridge Road, and the Ramage Trail all the way to the Chabot Staging Area at the Redwood Road and Miller Road in Castro Valley.

We took a short break at Chabot and traversed back to Las Trampas.

Some parts of the trail were muddy and been overgrown. This hike was hard but rewarding. It is hard not only because the elevation or the distance but the steep climb at the very end of the hike.

Make sure you have at least three litters of water and electrolytes. We were fast paced, average 20 minutes per mile, and it still took us more then 8 hours to complete.

Great hike / trail run. I would recommend taking French Trail instead of Steam Trail, which is more scenic and fun. And a bit harder.

Beautiful hike with a good balance of uphill and downhill and shaded by towering redwoods a majority of the time. From the parking lot, hike was closer to 8.4 miles. would rate as moderate with only small sections of difficult due to the steeper trail -trekking poles came in handy. I would absolutely recommend this trail.

Nice hike today with minimal muddy areas. It took us about 2 hours with several stops at a slow pace. All I can add is pick up your dog poop bag!!!

Gorgeous walk with streams and tree cover.

ALL

this is a perfect getaway from the city

really near from where i was staying in oakland
is a perfect trail for a half a day o less for those who don't have lots of time.
beautiful and green a little muddy lots of bikes but is ok for a slow walk.

Reasonable loop; not terribly trafficked so you can listen to yourself think, the birds sing, etc. pretty overlooks over the hills, and ample shade so if it’s a warm day, its a great choice. Narrow trail, so wouldn’t suggest coming with a large group unless you’re good walking all in a line.

beautiful redwoods in oakland! trail can be too busy for my taste

fairly beautiful, good views. wide and very utilized trail is my only complaint.

Trail is closed April 2019

Heavily trafficked trail. Nice quiet hike and hard to believe it’s still in Oakland. A few hills that will make you work but overall a good hike.

Go clockwise for more of a challenge. Half of the trail is shaded, quiet, with a trickling stream. The other half is wide, flat, and near the road (boooo). This trail crosses a lot of other trails so it’s easy to get off track but tracking it on the app was helpful.

Somewhere between easy and moderate. Did this hike in April so it’s lush and wet. I loved the views. Lots of mossy green tree and running creeks. This would be good for kids ages 5+ that don’t mind. A little uphill climbing. I did it with my 18 year old. It’s was a little too easy but still nice to get out into nature. It’s very peaceful and not busy. I also like that there aren’t any bikes or horses. It’s strictly hiking. FYI- No dogs allowed on parts of the trails.

Nature

A wonderful loop in my favorite local park, but I walk/shuffle/jog here at least once a month, and have been nipped at by dogs offleash often enough that I realized it was likely they were detecting evidence of my cat. Still, it happens often enough that weekends in Redwood on the ridge single tracks can be less than fun. Negative Nelly! Leash your dogs, they should not be our problem.

It’s a beautiful trail. I think it’s closer to 4 miles, based on my Fitbit. Some rocky terrain, and steady inclines and declines. Definitely a moderate hike.

Nice trail for bird sighting. There was a big group of guided tour doing just that.

I walked my dog and met many other dogs.

I enjoyed the scenery full of Golden Poppy blooming on the hill side and small creek on the other.

This was not a hard hike but rather moderate. The trail has muddy spots however given all the rain we've received it made it very beautiful as streams were flowing. Some trail paths transformed into mini streams.

I have to say this was absolutely a beautiful place to visit! just be sure to have hiking boots because there is a lot of mud right now. :-)

Lots of mountain bikers. They were friendly and courteous, but it gets old to step to the side. A few other hikers. One had her big dog off leash and he charged at me. I asked her to keep him away, but she couldn't control him. Adrenaline rush I wasn't expecting!

Took my pup on this was a gorgeous trail! Minimal traffic, very quiet, and peaceful. I would recommend going counter-clockwise of this trail as the gradual hike up was very doable.

great for a quick hike. one of my favorite dog spots.

This trail is one of my favorites. Plenty of sun and shade. The elevation changes are fairly gentle. My small dog loves the smells of the redwoods and stream.