Best hikes in the SF Bay Area
From the Point Reyes coast and the East Bay ridgelines to the Santa Cruz Mountains and the South Bay.
Best hikes
- 1
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
14.5 mi · ▲ 3,431 ft · Out & back
⚑ Olive Springs, Hinckley Ridge Viewpoint, Sand Point Overlook +3 more
trail 80%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.89judge v5 d5
2
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
15.5 mi · ▲ 3,582 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 85%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.89judge v5 d5
3
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
16 mi · ▲ 3,557 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 85%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.89judge v4 d4
Name claims 6 viewpoints but route geometry unclear if all visited.
4
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
15 mi · ▲ 3,270 ft · Out & back
⚑ Olive Springs, Hinckley Ridge Viewpoint, Sand Point Overlook +3 more
trail 79%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.88judge v4 d4
5
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
16.1 mi · ▲ 3,616 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 85%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.88judge v4 d4
6
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
13.8 mi · ▲ 3,311 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 87%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.88judge v5 d5
7
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
14 mi · ▲ 3,372 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 87%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.88judge v4 d4
8
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 5 summits
14.3 mi · ▲ 3,303 ft · Out & back
⚑ Maple Falls, Top of the Incline, Lone Tree Prairie +2 more
trail 85%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.87judge v5 d5
9
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
15.4 mi · ▲ 3,843 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 82%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.86judge v4 d4
Minor route complexity near trailhead
10
Santa Rosalia Mountain–Lone Tree Prairie, 6 viewpoints
15.6 mi · ▲ 3,798 ft · Out & back
⚑ Santa Rosalia Mountain, Santa Rosalia Viewpoint, Lone Tree Prairie +3 more
trail 82%wild 1.00sights 2.0appeal 1.86judge v5 d4
11
Eagle Peak–Twin Peaks Loop, 4 summits
10.3 mi · ▲ 2,714 ft · Loop
⚑ Burma Spring, Goldfish Pond, Eagle Peak +1 more
trail 86%wild 0.93sights 1.9appeal 1.86judge v5 d5
12
Eagle Peak–Twin Peaks Loop, 4 summits
11.1 mi · ▲ 2,953 ft · Loop
⚑ Burma Spring, Goldfish Pond, Eagle Peak +1 more
trail 86%wild 0.93sights 1.9appeal 1.85judge v3 d4
Route has minor spurs/complexity; not perfectly clean loop
Lowest-ranked hikes
Shown for quality monitoring: these score lowest on the catalog's ranking. If one looks like a genuinely good hike, that points at a ranking bug.
-
Coyote Creek Trail
2.1 mi · ▲ 0 ft · Out & back
trail 80%wild 0.02appeal -0.23judge v3 d2
Urban creek path through suburbs. No clear destination or scenic value.
Trail
2.6 mi · ▲ 0 ft · Out & back
trail 83%wild 0.04appeal -0.21judge v2 d1
Urban street walk, not a hiking trail. No destination.
John Brooks Trail
2 mi · ▲ 528 ft · Out & back
trail 93%wild 0.10appeal -0.15judge v2 d1
Suburban park loop; tangled geometry; no real hiking destination.
Horse Hill Trail
2.2 mi · ▲ 523 ft · Out & back
trail 75%wild 0.11appeal -0.14judge v4 d2
Suburban loop with no meaningful destination or scenery.
Mine Trail
2.1 mi · ▲ 541 ft · Out & back
trail 68%wild 0.12appeal -0.13judge v2 d1
Tangled suburban route; unclear destination; gain seems overstated.
Bayshore Yard
2 mi · ▲ 47 ft · Out & back
trail 69%wild 0.13appeal -0.12judge v4 d1
Urban industrial yard, not a hiking destination.
McNears Fire Trail
2 mi · ▲ 643 ft · Out & back
trail 77%wild 0.16appeal -0.09judge v4 d2
Coastal trail ending at random junction, no clear destination.
Redwood Trail
2.4 mi · ▲ 969 ft · Out & back
trail 71%wild 0.21appeal -0.04judge v4 d4
Good terrain and gain, but no named destination.
Green Ranch Road
2.1 mi · ▲ 961 ft · Out & back
trail 93%wild 0.21appeal -0.04judge v5 d2
No legitimate destination; road/trail endpoint only.
Reservoir Road
2.4 mi · ▲ 322 ft · Out & back
trail 24%wild 0.24appeal -0.01judge v4 d1
Suburban road walk, no real destination. Name misleading.
Ring Mountain Fire Road
1.9 mi · ▲ 350 ft · Out & back
trail 73%wild 0.24appeal -0.01judge v4 d2
Suburban fire road with no clear hiking objective.
Oak Manor Fire Road
2.1 mi · ▲ 615 ft · Out & back
trail 91%wild 0.25appeal 0.00judge v4 d2
Fire road ending at trail junction, no scenic destination.