Explore the best rated trails in Stockton, CA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the UC Davis and Russell Boulevard Paths and Elk Grove Creek Trail . With more than 70 trails covering 832 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I did this ride on Sunday afternoon, September 8, 2924, in 102 degrees. No joke. Must explain why it wasn’t very busy. I started at Anderson Lake County Park in Morgan Hill and went to Tully Road, just past the golf course south of downtown San Jose, and then turned around and returned to the park—40 miles, 1,190 feet elevation gain. Well maintained, all paved, relatively flat, and interesting trail with SO many squirrels and chipmunks dashing across the trail. Probably just playing with the bikers. Saw a flock of young turkeys on the trail. A hawk zipped close by me and tried to grab a rodent (missed). Lots of waterfowl in the ponds along the way. Vegetation became greener the further north I went from Morgan Hill, and more water in Coyote Creek. Saw coyote scat on the trail but no animals (too hot for them). There are several homeless campsites near the golf course, and even a rooster and cats and dogs. Overall, a great trail to see the arid landscape of the Santa Clara Valley (I live in the Pacific Northwest). Will plan to do it again in the springtime when it’s greener and not so hot, when I visit relatives again.
Beautiful shady trail short and sweet
The Class I bike path (paved) starts, in the west end, in the town of El Dorado. It has some "rolling" sections which are short but can challenge a novice rider. From the west turn left on Oriental St, stay left for a short distance to the parking area at the El Dorado Station.
From there the paved trail starts. It crosses Blanchard Rd (uncontrolled crossing), then Forni Rd (controlled crossing with a button to trigger light). You will soon come to Missouri Flat Rd, at the point the trail ends you must get across the 4-lane road + suicide lane. You can see a parking area across the road to the right, the traffic can be heavy and 40mph+. The safest crossing is travelling along the sidewalk to the light near Walmart, then continue on the sidewalk to the parking area, which is where the paved trail continues.
In approx. 100 yards you will see a bike park with a composite track, and has a nice bathroom! After a short climb you will descend to the Weber Creek wooden bridge, hit this at 20+mph on a road bike, it's smoother as you glide over the rather rough wood (they have replaced maybe 30% with smoother wood, need to do the other 70%!!!). After the bridge crossing you will climb a steady 2% grade to a portion that parallels Forni Rd, after you cross Forni Rd you come to a section Dedicated to fallen El Dorado Co Sheriff's Deputy Brian “Ish” Ishmael, RIP!
At the end of this section you will need to ride east on Main St, travelling through downtown Placerville. The traffic is usually heavy, but speeds are low, if you keep your pace up, you can keep up with traffic (please watch for cars pulling out or opening doors!). At the first stop SIGN (not light) turn left on Bedford St, and then a quick right (maybe 30 yards) before Hwy 50 to connect with the trail again.
You will reach the "Placerville Station" bus depot. Directly across Mosquito Rd is the continuation of the trail. Nearly 2 miles on the trail you will come to Jacquier Rd, take a left on this road, then turn right to the El Dorado Trail parking lot, the trail continues from there for 3.5 miles and 580 feet to the end of the paved portion. This is a fairly steady 3% grade with not much relief, so novice bikers may find this a bit of a challenge. Directly across from the end of the paved portion is an unpaved trail for a mile that ends near Hwy 50. I have ridden it on a road bike w/o too much trouble. You can also turn left at the end of the paved portion onto Halcon Rd (10 to 11% grade!), then left on Camino Hills Dr, then left on Vista Tierra, right on Camino Heights Dr, just before 50 make a right on Pondorado Rd this Hwy 50 frontage road will take you to a fairly new round-a-bout and underpass. This will open up a lot of road riding in the Apple Hill area. Narrow roads and some steep hills (10+% grades) and moderate traffic, so ride with day flashing front and rear lights (some areas are in deep woods, so its darkish even in the day). As a local, and have ridden the area many times, I avoid the area Late Sept through Mid Nov. Traffic is really busy and people tend to get lost or frustrated.
For non-road riders (dirt) I have ridden west on the unpaved trail (single track) on a road bike. It was fun until it wasn't! The slide out and low speed fall hitting a rock with my knee wasn't worth the previous mile of fun, trust me! I chalk this up to a complete lack of judgement, especially since I had another set of wider gravel rims with mounted small knobby tires.
DO NOT plan to use this trail with inline skates. It was a disaster. Unless you own all terrain skates, these paths are better for walking, cycling.
Great views during the bike trail. My son and I went on a beautiful day. Stoped by old sac for some food on the way back from Discovery Park.
Alameda Creek Trail is one of my favorite trails which is long and mostly flat, crossing Alameda Creek, a couple of ponds, and the beautiful shoreline. If that's not enough, this trail connects to Coyote Hill, Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, and crosses the Dumbarton Bridge to Palo Alto side. You can also meet many different animals in different seasons, and hope you will enjoy the experience!
We really enjoyed this trail! Great views with lots of places to stop. And plenty of restrooms. We went during the week and there were a lot of people out there. I can imagine it gets pretty crowded on the weekends. But, we would definitely ride this one again.
Great ride for young children on their own. Keep an eye out for homeless, garbage, and the smell. Beyond that, it's a great ride. Though needs a little greenery.
Mostly this location is good to hike. MTB was tough since there’s some pretty steep hills and not a ton of room to run. me and my friend had fun but we had to walk our bikes up a couple times. We are also both almost 60 year old women so… Maybe a young 25 year old guy can write up those with no problem …¿ but we didn’t see anybody else riding bicycles there maybe one guy. a lot of the areas are not shaded or protected so don’t go when it’s over 90°. But it’s a beautiful spot with some cool areas to explore. but if I was gonna go back I would probably just go for hiking
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone
