Orange County, California Running Hotspot Directory

just run baby

I run Fullerton trails a lot. Also Chino Hills is always nice.

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Once you've run the Fullerton trails enough (trust me--60mpw of 80 mile weeks for 4 years can do this), finding different places to start and do various loops can be fun. Laguna Lake can be a good place to start and also has bathroom facilities available. Pars Middle School has a (oversized) track nearby and Sunny Hills HS is also close. Trails will lead you to and from there, and tons of variations exist.

Also, in Yorba Linda are the El Cajon trails. Flat and fast, so they're good for tempos and recovery runs. You can start at Rose Drive Elementary and hop on the trail and go right past the Nixon Library. I like it b/c it's 2 minutes from my driveway :D. Hey, i gotta plug the local spots.

For the daring, there are a few public golf courses, where if you run early enough in the morning, you can hop on and have a good run into the fullerton trails (i'm speaking of the brea golf course near aerovista park).

Whiting Ranch: 100% dirt trails. Many to chose from. Dreaded Hill rises 700 feet in just over 1 mile. Ocean views from about 20 miles inland.

http://www.ocparks.com/uploadgraphics/2008_Whiting_Map%281%29.pdf

corbin canyon!

lalalalasnurfsnurf wrote:

corbin canyon!

Do you mean Carbon Canyon?

oh and I like the El Cajon trails too. From Carbon Canyon park, I've went down Rose, to the entrance all the way till the trail ends. Then I just take Kellogg to Yorba Linda to Fairmont. Up Fairmont all the way to Rimcrest to Telegraph Canyon back to Carbon Canyon. Oh man that's a fun run.

Found a map for Irvine Park

http://www.ocparks.com/uploadgraphics/lbirvbrocv8.pdf

And Peter's Canyon

http://www.ocparks.com/uploadgraphics/lbpetersv8.pdf

-Crystal Cove. Very tough and challenging trails. Enter right off PCH. Very fun to run. Afterwards, you can just go right across the street for a day at the beach.

http://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/pdf/ElMoroMap2.pdf

swifty McKay wrote:

-Crystal Cove. Very tough and challenging trails. Enter right off PCH. Very fun to run. Afterwards, you can just go right across the street for a day at the beach.

http://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/pdf/ElMoroMap2.pdf

I ran the El Moro trail last week for the first time and you're right, it is a VERY tough/challenging trail. I did the full loop.

We vacation in OC just about every summer and will eventually look into getting a condo out there. I love Crystal Cove area. I've run all along PCH and the park area.

Good to know there are other trails out there in OC for future running. Thanks for the info!

Lots more trails

James Diley Park

Laguna Wilderness Preserve

Aliso and Woods Canyon

Shorter Trails that connect up to Laguna Wilderness Area include

Bommer Canyon Reserve

Quail Hill

Turtle Rock Trails

Turtle Ridge Neighborhood Trails

Then there is

San Joaquin aka Ducks Ponds

Irvine Coast Trail to the Back Bay

On the other side of the Reserve, the Northern Sphere you got Harding Truck Trail, Maple Springs, Black Star Canyon, Limestone Canyon, Modjeska Grade, Trabuco, and tons of other trails over there.

You have to remember that something like 50,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch are not preserved land with tons of trails and that is just one section of Orange County.

my best guess wrote:

Lots more trails

James Diley Park

Laguna Wilderness Preserve

Aliso and Woods Canyon

Shorter Trails that connect up to Laguna Wilderness Area include

Bommer Canyon Reserve

Quail Hill

Turtle Rock Trails

Turtle Ridge Neighborhood Trails

Then there is

San Joaquin aka Ducks Ponds

Irvine Coast Trail to the Back Bay

On the other side of the Reserve, the Northern Sphere you got Harding Truck Trail, Maple Springs, Black Star Canyon, Limestone Canyon, Modjeska Grade, Trabuco, and tons of other trails over there.

You have to remember that something like 50,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch are not preserved land with tons of trails and that is just one section of Orange County.

do you have a map? I have heard of black star canyon and want to run it sometime.

I have a map.

People hear Black Star Canyon and get freaked out by a terrible rape that went down there a few years back.

http://www.irlandmarks.org/

Pick up a Franko's map of the area. REI and other places on the Internet have them.

There are tons of great trails that many people (other than ultra guys) don't ever run on in the area.

Last night, I went for a run, and took Bastanchury towards Yorba Linda HS. The new developments out there have a lot of trails that connect with the existing horse trails. You can probably park at Yorba Linda HS, and go cruise around those rolling trails for a change of scenery.

btw, I walked around YLHS for the first time last night; it looks better than most universities.

Bump because I want a new place to run.

Grijalva Community Park: Orange, CA. Prospect and Spring St.

Great 1/2 mile loop for a recovery run. you can do barefoot on grass if that's your thing, or jog the trail that goes around the park. I used to do 3-4 mile recovery runs there a few years ago, and finish it up with barefoot strides. Parking is easy, and most days there are limited people. However, it can get hectic during soccer season.

Oil Fields: Brea, CA. Berry and Northwood.

I used to run to there from my old apartment. Gotta hop a fence or 2--just go straight up Berry. I don't think you'll get arrested, but be careful. Miles of trails that go on forever. Watch out for raging cattle. If the cows come charging down a hill (and they do!) jump into the nearby trees--cows will not run into a tree. Bobcats also can be found, but are not dangerous.

Oil Fields: Fullerton, CA. Behind the fences of Fullerton Trail System. Gilbert (which becomes Idaho at Imperial) and Castlewood.

After starting your run at Laguna Lake, cruise up the Jaunita Cooke Trail and run along Castlewood. After crossing Gilbert, you can hop the fence near the residential area. Cruise around there if it's your thing. I like the west side of Gilbert better than the east side (both sides require fence hopping). Probably illegal, but i've run in there about a dozen times and never got caught.

Good suggestions so far.

If you're in north OC, check out Powder Canyon (technically La Habra Heights / Rowland Heights). North on Harbor from La Habra Blvd, over the hill into La Habra Heights/Rowland Heights, then turn left on Fullerton Road near the bottom of the hill (not the first Fullerton road you hit on the south side of the hill). There's some water district building on that corner. About 1/4 mile in on Fullerton Road, there's a dirt road on the right that leads to an equestrian ring, with parking and several trails leading from there. If you use runningmap or mapmyrun, you can zoom in on the area and see the trails pretty clearly in hybrid view. VERY HILLY any way you go. You can go over the hill and into Schabarum Park, and out of Schabarum, up to the top of another hill with microwave towers and antennae near Hacienda Blvd. I'd advise mapping out a route using one of those sites beforehand. There's lots of diversions that can send you in circles. I like heading out west (away from the road you came in on), then taking the first right about 1/2 mile in. It's uphill and switchbacky, and when at that peak, I head left at the fork, north on the single-track towards the water tower. From the tower, head north 50 yards and pick up the trail on your left, which is a wicked downhill switchback, and head north when you can to get to the horse stables at Schabarum Park. Follow the trail in the park north until it branches off up the hill. Take that, and head for the microwave towers on the top of the hill. From there, you can take the access road down the south side of the hills, and back to the parking lot. Very draining run. There are no maps or trail markers anywhere. Go prepared. I've run there a half-dozen times this year, and outside of Schabarum Park, I've yet to see another soul out there. Hidden gem.

Chino Hills State Park is the best place in north county. Park in Carbon Canyon Park ($5 weekends), park past the tennis courts in the farthest lot. Run into Chino Hills State Park from there. The main, flattest trail (Telegraph Canyon) is slightly uphill out of Carbon Canyon Park, so running an out-and-back is great. I can run 30 minutes out, 22 minutes back due to the sneaky elevation gain. Miles marked every 1/2 mile.

Any other route is hilly. From the main trailhead, taking the first trail on your left, that you can plainly see is uphill, is definitely uphill. It's North Ridge Trail. Usual run is what we call 4-Mile Hill - ~ 4 miles (8 total), 95% uphill, to Gilman Peak. If you head out on Telegraph, about 1 1/2 miles in you'll see Diemer Trail on your right. Switchbacky uphill to South Ridge Trail. Turn left and head out several good climbs, descending to the Rim Crest Drive trailhead. This is also a place to park, but it's crowded and there's no lot - just side-street parking. And no bathrooms or water. From there, take the single-track Easy Street trail down to Telegraph Canyon, turn left, and head back to the start. ~ 6 miles.

If you park at Rim Crest or on the Chino Hills side, there are many, many more trails to explore. Here's a link to the park map:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/648/files/ChinoHillsMap.pdf

Fullerton Loop is good. You'll see a number of local schools running the trails there, particularly between the court house and Laguna Lake. Downside is a lot of red lights and traffic to deal with.

It's always fun to run at the beach, though it can be crowded on weekends. Taking the bike trail / boardwalk in Huntington Beach and Newport is always a good time. I'm sure there are lots of good trails near the coast in CdM and Laguna, but don't know any personally.

for Carbon Canyon,

you can park at the park accross the street where there are Soccer courts

FOR FREE