Best Trail Running Trails near Sacramento, California

I don’t know if I’d ever run on this trail. It seemed more like a cool boardwalk to check out the river and old Sac. Fun either way though.

Cool view of the Capital and Downtown.

Nice trail around the park.

Nice park with a golf course close. Especially green this time of the year. Phone and app didn't like this one... I played the course a couple of times years ago...

Great bike trail mostly along the river. Been way too long on this one.

A good walk but not outstanding - except for a great bridge to view and walk over!!! We did this hike in the winter and it was overcast and cool.

I live down the street and I love this park.
The running track is easy on my shin splints. The rose garden is beautiful and on the weekends there are often craft shows or garden shows at the show hall.
There is a basketball and tennis court, a play ground, and a swimming pool. Lots of trees and I’ve seen that a fairy lives in one of them. (Great for kids)
I wouldn’t recommend riding your bike here, unless your a kid.
On the weekends there are yoga people and prayer circles and parties and drumming circles. It’s just amazing. In the evenings there are a lot of fitness camps and people doing boot camps.
There are tennis courts and a beautiful revamped duck pond. (Don’t feed them bread says the signs)
Lots of people like to bring their dogs and there is a gated dog park a few blocks away over the levee. Lots of benches and picnic tables!
Parking can be a pain in the butt, but there are some spaces, carpool if you can. There is also a library!

I’ve done this ride quite a bit when the weather is decent. I like to start at sac state and head up to the hatchery.
If you don’t live close by, I would recommend leaving your car at sac state. The chance of a break in isn’t bad. But remember to pay for day parking. Easier on the weekends when most of the students are off campus.
There was a time I was with a group and we used the light rail to get back to sac state.
Some of the serious riders can be rude if your just out for a little exercise but many more are happy to wave and say hello!
There are great places to stop for some picnic lunches and the views are great if you’re like me and get tired of the city.
Some of the trail can flood if we have heavy rain. This year (2017-2018) has been great.
If you decide to go in the summer, bring lots of water and reapply your sun screen. There are lots of areas that have no shade from the sun.

A near-weekly route and it’s always fantastic urban trail running. Completely flat. Safe. Meander through lovely old neighborhoods to add some miles. As other posters have said, there are several areas of the park. They are all worth exploring.

This is a good park to visit if you are already in the area, but it’s not the kind of place that you would seek out otherwise.

First of all, the trail is both short and paved. It pretty much is a giant rectangle that goes along the perimeter of Capitol Park. If you live in the area, I think this would be a good place to practice a 5K in the early morning before people start coming to work at the nearby office buildings.

It gets very busy over the lunch hour, so while you could still walk then, you will have to dodge lots of people if you want to practice running during that time.

Overall, a nice place for a walk, but nothing to seek out for people outside of the immediate area.

Love love love

Easy trail - not a lot of people . Very pretty

Well maintained crushed rock and concrete trail in the heart of the city. Full shade and a nice easy run.

Love Land Park.

Easy trail with lots of views of the river.

Lots of homeless people living here. My wife and I also encountered a big stray dog that was aggressive.

It is a nice walk from Miller Park to Old Sac but I wouldn't recommend going past the old sac part of the trail. That part of the trail takes you through about 1.5 miles of the homeless camps. Lots of garbage along the trail.

Agree with other reviews that commented that fair oaks is a better option if trying to walk near the river.

Scenic trail, but littered with state workers during the weekday.

The north side of the river is ok, but the loop around the south side is not at all pleasant. From Guy West Bridge to Howe Ave. it is only paved path with no shade, and no views of the river (only the sewage treatment plant). The section from Howe to Watt does have shade but is heavily populated by homeless people. It still doesn't afford the river views that the north part of the loop does unless you take one of the side dirt trails. But with all the people living in the bushes it's just too sketchy. I'd say just walk the American River trail.

We started at the east end near Cal Expo. Nice, well maintained trail. This part wasn't particularly scenic (we could only glimpse the river in a couple of spots), and we were mostly in full sun. But it was a great trail to get some miles in off the roads!

Did 50 miles on my hybrid on a Sunday morning. Not too crowded. Cool views.

This is a nice and easy trail that goes along the American River, looping around using a pedestrian bridge (Guy West Bridge) near the university, and a car bridge (Watt Ave. Bridge). It has partial/moderate shade so bring a hat and sunblock. The north side of the river is a little nicer, but I encountered wildlife on both sides as it was a quiet day on the trail on a very hot Friday midday in June. There are several places to access the river and cool off your feet. You can stay on the bike trail, or use the dirt/horse trail that runs alongside. There are bathrooms near the Howe Ave. Bridge and the Watt Ave. Bridge. There are also places to picnic on both sides of the river (about halfway between the bridges). There aren't really any views, but it was fun to see people floating down the river - it's fast this year from the late snowmelt.

Nice loop!

Very good

This is an excellent close to 5 mile loop trail. I usually park in La Riviera on the South Side of the American River near the Howe Avenue Bridge. It's easy to access the river trail. Run west towards the Guy West Bridge then crossover and follow the trail to the Watt Ave Bridge then cross back over. If you stick to the main trail there are dirt trails next to the main bike trail. There are a lot of Side trails you can hop on if you're feeling more adventurous. No traffic so need to stop and go, perfect for runners.

One of my go to local places for running. So there are 3 major sections to land park. The largest section alone is a little under 2 miles between Land Park, 13th, Freeport & Sutterville. The next largest section between 13th, Riverside, Land Park and 11th is about 1 mile. The final smallest section between 15th, Land Park, Park Rd is under 3/4 miles. Super shady except for Freeport section. Dirt trail all the way around the Park great on your joints. Great for running or training. Small workout stations around certain sections of Park. Zoo, Funderland and Fairytale Town located within the park. Crowded mostly weekends. Close to the Sacramento River Trail as well.

I would recommend parking near Matsui Park. You can then choose to run north through Discovery Park or head south and you'll reach Old Sac in less then a mile. Old Sac itself has asphalt, dirt, cobblestone streets and wooden deck. Relatively small area about 6 or 7 city blocks. Super duper crowded on weekends and midday weekdays. Light crowds early morning. If you run past Old Sac heading south you'll have an asphalt trail following the Sacramento River towards Land Park. Mostly sunny.

This is the very best running trail(s) that cut right through the heart of Sacramento following the American River from the confluence at the Sacramento River (Discovery Park) and reaches Folsom in 28+ miles. You will have a well paved asphalt trail used by bikers as well as some sweet dirt trails that get you away from the crowds and into some pretty scenic forested river settings. Tons of different places to start / stop runs so your potential trail possibilities are endless based on how long you plan on running. Perfect for marathon training. Mile markers on asphalt trails. Gets crowded weekends. Light crowds midday weekdays. Check for flooding closures during rainy seasons. NOTE: Vagrancy camps are scattered throughout trails. Be fully aware of your surroundings. Cell service throughout trail.

Capitol Park is a 1.10 mile loop trail around the state Capitol. Mostly concrete some places to run on grass, dirt but mostly sidewalk concrete. Best time to run early morning or late evenings weekdays (Work Walkers midday gets crowded). Weekends are good all day. Cool stuff in park including a Giant Sequoia, Vietnam War Memorial, and rose garden.

California has one of the best state capitol campuses I have ever seen