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Best Riverside Hikes near San Francisco

The directory currently contains 7 quality-checked routes matching this guide near San Francisco. Their average mapped distance is 15.3 km and average recorded ascent is 276 m (906 ft); the longest route in the set is 77.4 km.

This subset represents 6% of the 111 quality-checked routes near San Francisco. Its average distance is 15.3 km, compared with 12.6 km across the full local set. Average recorded ascent is 276 m (906 ft), versus 390 m (1,280 ft) for all quality-checked routes in the same area.

These routes carry the river tag. The tag does not establish how much of the mapped line follows water or whether crossings are safe. Within this set, 1 routes (14%) are rated easy, 2 (29%) are rated hard or expert, and 0 (0%) are recorded as loops. Ratings are computed from available distance and elevation data and do not establish current terrain or access.

Data refreshed September 2026

Choose by the details

How do these routes differ?

A closer look at the first 6 routes in this page’s default ordering. These comparisons describe this sample, not the entire destination or a field-tested recommendation.

Shortest mapped distance in this sample

0.6 km

Corte Madera Creek Trail

Compare the climbing too; shortest does not necessarily mean easiest.

Lowest recorded ascent in this sample

9 m

Corte Madera Creek Trail

6 of 6 have ascent data. Missing measurements are excluded.

Return logistics

0 recorded loops

Check start and finish for every option. An unknown shape does not mean a loop, and a loop does not establish access to its start.

Plan the return journey →

Distances follow stored route lines; ascent and time are estimates. Current access, surface and technical difficulty need separate checks. How to turn a comparison into a shortlist.

Trails

Looking West over the San Francisco Bay from the University of California.
Expert

California · United States

Distance
77.4 km
/ 48.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,020 m
Typical duration
19 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Moderate

California · United States

Distance
1.1 km
/ 0.7 mi
Elevation gain
240 m
Typical duration
36 min
  • River
Moderate

California · United States

Distance
0.6 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
9 m
Typical duration
8 min
  • River
Moderate

California · United States

Distance
1.6 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
28 m
Typical duration
22 min
  • River
The El Cerrito Plaza (BART station) in El Cerrito, California, USA.
Easy

California · United States

Distance
1.2 km
/ 0.7 mi
Elevation gain
12 m
Typical duration
16 min
  • River
Moderate

California · United States

Distance
6.3 km
/ 3.9 mi
Elevation gain
163 m
Typical duration
1 hr 33 min
  • River

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
ADT - California - T - Seg 8California77.4 km1,020 m19 hrExpertApril to October
Briones to Mt. Diablo Regional TrailCalifornia19.2 km460 m4 hr 49 minHardApril to October
Fern Creek TrailCalifornia1.1 km240 m36 minModerateApril to October
Corte Madera Creek TrailCalifornia0.6 km9 m8 minModerateApril to October
Whispering Creek TrailCalifornia1.6 km28 m22 minModerateApril to October
Cerrito Creek TrailCalifornia1.2 km12 m16 minEasyApril to October
Sinbad Creek TrailCalifornia6.3 km163 m1 hr 33 minModerateApril to October

ADT - California - T - Seg 8, Fern Creek Trail, Briones to Mt. Diablo Regional Trail currently rank highest in this filtered set according to the directory score. Open an individual route to inspect its mapped line, elevation profile, data source and planning caveats. Check live access, conditions and local rules with an official source before travelling.

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