Best Trails in California

Not a loop trail. Out and back. The trail gets steep with a lot of loose rock making the climb a bit technical. Otherwise, it was a great workout and provided a fantastic view!

This is by far my favorite hiking trails. Def a hidden gem! It’s hardly ever crowded. It’s a beautiful trail w/ lots of shade. There are crossings so get ready for the possibility of wet shoes. Fairly easy trail. You do need a parking pass. Leads to a waterfall.

There are multiple little trails so perfect if you want to explore or need a quick workout. Fairly easy with a couple inclines here and there.

Very well kept trail. Parking is $5 they do not accept adventure pass but do sell their own annual parking pass which I have bought in the past so I’ve spent a lot of time here. There are multiple entry starts depending how much you want to walk. Fairly easy. There is a waterfall at the end of the trail.

One of my favorite trails! It’s a really fun trail but lost of bouldering. Leads to two beautiful waterfalls... when there’s water. There’s hardly any shade from the parking to the actual trail head.

Quick and easy trail. Just be alert of wild life I’ve had a run in w/ coyotes on different occasions just remember they are more scared of us than we are of them.

Love this local trail! It’s currently under construction last time I went was 12/17/18 Beautiful trail fairly easy a couple crossings but water isn’t high.

Love this hike. This trail takes you to Bertha Peak. Definitely worth doing if you are in the area.
the last half mile is the hardest with some tough elevation changes.

Great hike/walk. Beautiful overall. I mainly stayed on the Weir Trail Loop

Multiple ways to go on this one.
I ended up doing about 5 miles only but definitely worth it. the forest on one side and the Anzo Borrego Desert on the other - a must see.
The only caution is that some of the trails marked on the map aren't well kept. At one point it felt like i was climbing up a mountain between plans and wherever i could place my foot.

It was a great hike/walk.
There are a lot of loops so you don't have to do the full 8 miles if you don't want to.
Lots of bicyclists on this trail, but everyone was courteous.

This seems to be pretty much the same trail as El Cajon Mountain Trail. There's a large parking lot (beware: in the winter the gate closes promptly at 5pm) - the trail begins up the paved road and past some private residences and continues up someone's driveway (kind of weird) but it leads you to the rest of the trail.

We ended up taking a nice loop - up the trail but turning right at a fork when you get to a green sign that says "Parking Lot ->". Will definitely go back to do the full hike!

Beautiful hike. Can't wait to hit it up again in the Spring when the river gets flowing. The trail is mostly under canopy, well maintained, & clearly marked, making it easy to navigate between the trail & private property. There's also a place to refill your water before you start the real climb in elevation which is helpful if you go through a lot of water like I do. Early AM is the best time to start; as it gets later the trail starts to get quite crowded. In a previous comment someone mentioned bees, & they're right. If you have a severe allergy, use caution because they're unavoidable. Otherwise, the view at the top is gorgeous & completely worth the trek. Have fun!

Unfortunately, a ton of graffiti. Very rocky. Wonderful spot all year!

My first time going to this trail in my 3rd gen Tacoma 4x4 and loved the whole trail to the end! I made it through in just 2wd. I was on the main trail the whole time. I have a 3 inch lift on 33’s and made it through with no issues.

Love this trail

Similar to others, we intended to hike the North View Trail, but ended up going down this one. You head down a small valley and have to do some scrambling to head back. Good workout, good views, great rocks.

It's alright. Yea, there's a lot of side trails and whatever, but it's easy enough to figure out since the trails are shade free and you can see your way around pretty easily. The 210 is audible from most of the area you'll be hiking on, so it's not exactly a peaceful quiet walk. But there are lots of city views all the way around.

Took the ridge trail up and the Bluff trail back down. lovely views both ways, took about 3.5 hours round-trip.

Great hike with our dog in the late afternoon when the sun was shining off the bay!

Absolutely love this beach

Great trail, we drove it in December and we ran into a little snow. Must visit this place. We did it in 4x4 Jeeps.

The first part of the hike is on a road which is not so nice, but the trail is pretty good to walk on after that. The views at the top are cool!

Did it on Christmas day 2018. The ocean was blue! It was a beautiful hike with stunning views. The stream at the beginning was flowing quite fast and was cold, it was very refreshing.

Dec. 26, 2018 - everything was wide open trail-wise. Parking is indeed a challenge. Nice walk, especially up on the ridge. Not the best signage at the visitor center to start (you kind of fumble your way along until you stumble on the right path of many) but once we got going it was all good. Nice view at the top. And cows!

Great hike. A bit longer than advertised right now as you have to hike a mile or so from where you park on Aptos Creek Road (the non-paved portion was inaccessible by car, I think that opens up in the summer). Clocked it around 9 miles.

A consistent pump some spots are a hit challenging but a great workout..downhill is awesome..lots of things to jump off of..will do it again.

as expected, very beautiful and lots of people. got lucky parking and at the chip too. is paved, is moderately strenuous like it says. coming down was harder than going up. but take breaks and take in the views.

The weather definitely played into the experience I had on this trail in a good way. I hiked the trail the morning after a snow storm blew through the area. It dropped 2-3 inches in the higher elevations and dusted the lower areas enough for there to be thin ice up to 1.5 miles in.

This trail overall was in mixed conditions thanks to a hard freeze the night before with snow on the ground the afternoon before. While I managed it without crampons, poles, or grips, less agile or experienced hikers would benefit from there use if conditions are right for ice/snow.

Total time up and down via the icehouse trail head was 3 hours 44 minutes. Car to the Icehouse saddle was 1 hour 20 minutes, Saddle to summit 26 minutes. Down hike took 1 hour 37 minutes though I ran the last 1/2 mile.

Overall impressions and recommendations are positive. The trail is well maintained with the path easily seen even under snow. Good signage and mike marks help you keep track of your pace and location without needing gps or map. My major complaint is the trail starts the first 3/4 of a mile with you going through cabins and huts. They ruin the experience a bit as someone that likes to detach from the world when on a hike.

Definitely agree with the moderate rating as the grade is constant with no flat sections to get a break from the elevation change. More of a challenge for newer hikers, nice training hike for backpackers, but those looking for a challenge will have better luck elsewhere when there isn’t mixed conditions. The ice/snow changes that though as the last 1.5 miles gets technical with those conditions present.