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Hiking Trails Under 5 km near San Jose

We track 139 routes that match this search near San Jose. They average 1.7 km and 84 m (276 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 4.8 km.

That is 76 percent of the 183 routes we map near San Jose. They are shorter than the local average, 1.7 km against 6.6 km, which is what makes this a practical shortlist for a half day. They also climb less than the area average, 84 m (276 ft) against 257 m (843 ft), so they suit a recovery day or a group with mixed fitness.

Short routes for a spare couple of hours, an evening walk, or a day when the weather only gives you a window. Most of these are on the gentler end, which makes the list a good starting point if you are new to the area.

Trails

Computer science researcher Neil Immerman of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst at the Open Source Quality retreat, in the Seaside View room of the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, California.
Moderate

Coastal Rail Trail

California · United States

Distance
4.7 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
45 m
Typical duration
1 hr 2 min
  • Coastal
Trees of Castle Rock (2)
Moderate

Summit Rock Loop Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
228 m
Typical duration
59 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Извержение / Outpouring
Moderate

Summit Meadows Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.7 km
/ 1.1 mi
Elevation gain
99 m
Typical duration
30 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Always together / Natural Giants - Парочка
Moderate

Berry Creek Falls Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.6 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
43 m
Typical duration
23 min
  • Waterfall
  • River
Trees of Castle Rock (2)
Moderate

Ridge Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
200 m
Typical duration
52 min
  • Mountain
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Fall Creek Unit, Ben Lomond, United States, October 2017
Moderate

Ridge Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.9 km
/ 1.8 mi
Elevation gain
230 m
Typical duration
57 min
  • Mountain
Aptos Creek
Moderate

Oak Ridge Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.4 km
/ 0.8 mi
Elevation gain
106 m
Typical duration
27 min
  • Mountain
Извержение / Outpouring
Moderate

Red Mountain Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.0 km
/ 0.6 mi
Elevation gain
97 m
Typical duration
21 min
  • Mountain
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, CA, USA
Moderate

Ridge Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
1.7 km
/ 1.1 mi
Elevation gain
61 m
Typical duration
27 min
  • Mountain
Students make their way to Porter field for the 4/20 smoke out
Easy

Long Meadow Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.6 km
/ 2.2 mi
Elevation gain
176 m
Typical duration
1 hr 1 min
  • Alpine meadow
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Fall Creek Unit, Ben Lomond, United States, October 2017
Moderate

Fall Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
4.5 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
307 m
Typical duration
1 hr 23 min
  • River
"Preserved by Samuel H. Cowell and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in cooperation with the California State Park Commission. Dedicated August 15, 1954."
Easy

Meadow Trail

California · United States

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Typical duration
10 min
  • Alpine meadow
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Moderate

Bridge Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
195 m
Typical duration
56 min
  • River
Trees of Castle Rock (7)
Moderate

Castle Rock Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
105 m
Typical duration
29 min
  • Castle and ruins
Alpina B7
Moderate

Branciforte Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.3 km
/ 0.8 mi
Elevation gain
41 m
Typical duration
20 min
  • River
Bridge over San Lorenzo River
Moderate

Eagle Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.2 km
/ 0.7 mi
Elevation gain
13 m
Typical duration
16 min
  • River
Trees of Castle Rock (2)
Moderate

Loughry Woods Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.6 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
315 m
Typical duration
1 hr
  • Forest
Bridge over San Lorenzo River
Moderate

River Trail Pedestrian

California · United States

Distance
2.6 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
85 m
Typical duration
40 min
  • River
Playground Equipment at Felton Covered Bridge Park
Moderate

Bennett Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
0.4 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
8 m
Typical duration
6 min
  • River
Playground Equipment at Felton Covered Bridge Park
Easy

Fall Creek Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
18 m
Typical duration
8 min
  • River
Aptos Creek
Moderate

Vienna Woods Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.4 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
105 m
Typical duration
27 min
  • Forest
Aerial view of Bonny Doon Village Airport in en:Bonny Doon, California photographed on 2005-04-22 by DanDawson
Moderate

Big Ben Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.1 km
/ 1.3 mi
Elevation gain
61 m
Typical duration
32 min
  • Mountain
Interstate 580 in Castro Valley , California , with a BART train at the left.
Moderate

Whispering Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.6 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
28 m
Typical duration
22 min
  • River
路遇 - panoramio
Moderate

Buckeye Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.6 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
156 m
Typical duration
47 min
路遇 - panoramio
Moderate

Rincon Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
4.1 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
370 m
Typical duration
1 hr 25 min
Trees of Castle Rock (2)
Moderate

Service Road Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
15 m
Typical duration
20 min
Извержение / Outpouring
Moderate

Travertine Springs Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.3 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
237 m
Typical duration
1 hr 2 min
The Wilder Ranch preserved farmhouse, California, USA
Easy

Coast Road

California · United States

Distance
0.7 km
/ 0.4 mi
Typical duration
9 min
  • Coastal
Rhodophana nitellina
Moderate

Corral Road

California · United States

Distance
2.8 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
7 m
Typical duration
36 min
Impossibe world. Where is top? / Где верх? (2)
Moderate

Achistaca Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.0 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
189 m
Typical duration
54 min
Aptos Creek
Moderate

Aptos Rancho Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
139 m
Typical duration
47 min
路遇 - panoramio
Moderate

Big Rock Hole Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.7 km
/ 1.1 mi
Elevation gain
147 m
Typical duration
34 min
Par Lab is a parallel computing research group at the EECS department of the University of California, Berkeley. The 2011 Par Lab Summer Retreat was held at The Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz, California from June 1 - 3, 2011. This is a pan
Moderate

Brookwood

California · United States

Distance
1.6 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
108 m
Typical duration
30 min
路遇 - panoramio
Moderate

Diversion Dam Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.0 km
/ 0.6 mi
Elevation gain
72 m
Typical duration
19 min
Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens forest, Capitola, Big Basin 122 Redwoods State Park
Moderate

Dool Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.2 km
/ 0.8 mi
Typical duration
15 min
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 60.
Moderate

Enchanted Loop

California · United States

Distance
3.4 km
/ 2.1 mi
Elevation gain
114 m
Typical duration
53 min
Branciforte Adobe
Moderate

Enchanted Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.8 km
/ 1.1 mi
Elevation gain
164 m
Typical duration
37 min
Trees of Castle Rock (2)
Moderate

Frog Flat Trail

California · United States

Distance
0.9 km
/ 0.6 mi
Elevation gain
90 m
Typical duration
19 min
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Fall Creek Unit, Ben Lomond, United States, October 2017
Moderate

Kiln Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
0.7 km
/ 0.4 mi
Elevation gain
33 m
Typical duration
12 min
Swanton Berry Farm, Davenport, United States
Moderate

Káknu (Hawk) Trail

California · United States

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
183 m
Typical duration
1 hr 10 min
Alpina B7
Moderate

La Corona Trail

California · United States

Distance
2.3 km
/ 1.4 mi
Elevation gain
163 m
Typical duration
43 min
Извержение / Outpouring
Moderate

Nutmeg Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.3 km
/ 0.8 mi
Elevation gain
80 m
Typical duration
23 min
Singer Jackie Martinez.
Easy

Old Cabin Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
47 m
Typical duration
23 min
The Bayview Hotel is a historic building in Aptos California. It was built in 1878, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in Santa Cruz County, California on March 30, 1992
Moderate

Old Growth Loop Trail

California · United States

Distance
1.2 km
/ 0.7 mi
Elevation gain
46 m
Typical duration
19 min
HC Redwoods State Park, CA
Moderate

Ox Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
79 m
Typical duration
25 min
HC Redwoods State Park, CA
Moderate

Pine Trail

California · United States

Distance
3.6 km
/ 2.3 mi
Elevation gain
126 m
Typical duration
57 min
路遇 - panoramio
Moderate

Pipeline Road

California · United States

Distance
4.8 km
/ 3.0 mi
Elevation gain
152 m
Typical duration
1 hr 14 min

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
Coastal Rail TrailCalifornia4.7 km45 m1 hr 2 minModerateApril to October
Summit Rock Loop TrailCalifornia3.1 km228 m59 minModerateApril to October
Summit Meadows TrailCalifornia1.7 km99 m30 minModerateApril to October
Berry Creek Falls TrailCalifornia1.6 km43 m23 minModerateApril to October
Ridge TrailCalifornia2.7 km200 m52 minModerateApril to October
Ridge TrailCalifornia2.9 km230 m57 minModerateApril to October
Oak Ridge TrailCalifornia1.4 km106 m27 minModerateApril to October
Red Mountain TrailCalifornia1.0 km97 m21 minModerateApril to October
Ridge Fire RoadCalifornia1.7 km61 m27 minModerateApril to October
Long Meadow TrailCalifornia3.6 km176 m1 hr 1 minEasyApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Coastal Rail Trail, Summit Rock Loop Trail, Summit Meadows Trail. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

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