Crystal Springs Cross Country Course

Oh my god, this is heaven. I jogged from sister’s place to this strange entrance that people have posted. Is this jog at your own risk? No, it’s perfectly fine but want to steer away bikers, etc. Just squeeze through if you physically fit through the gate slightly ajar doors. I would have to say that this is probably not helpful for those who are slightly wider in the waist. Anyways, I did both ends of the trail this last Thanksgiving and the views are one of a kind– gorgeous. I still miss the views from the top and jogging through all the winding trails. I hear lots of animals here from Unilocalers but haven’t seen anything besides some birds. Well, keep your eyes and ears open:) Oh yeah, they have porta-​potties so at least they provide this for you.

Deer and rabbits roam this beautiful 5K course and sometimes I wish I could live here too. Last week a guy running the other away told me he just saw a coyote but it shouldn’t worry. I was like awesome, but luckily I didn’t see him the rest of my run. I guess it makes the place more natural. I love it when it is 60 degrees around sunset in the summer and the breeze smells awesome here. The views are picturesque but will never look half as good on your phone. No complaints about this place, but I wonder how nice it’d look if California actually rained.

Great location, Beautiful view. Soft dirt which is good for the feet but on a windy day can blow around. One setback that I noticed is the entrance seemed to only be available for skinny people. Maybe I was missing something and if someone else knows of an easier way to get in, I’de love to know. Would love to have the option of taking some of my more round friends for a brisk walk and beautiful views.

Great run. Used to have some races here in my cross country and years later it not only brings back fond memories but can also still challenge me in spite of it’s short distance.
Like some others said the trail itself is off Hallmark and there’s a walkway you should park by near Paddington. Just go up the walkway, through the fence and eventually you’ll walk to the layout of the course. It starts towards the right at the top of the hill, you’ll see a metal post that is where the chalk is drawn for the starting line on race day. The downhill loop portion represents most of mile 1. You head downhill, veer right a few times, loop back around to the left and head uphill back to the top of the hill. Mile 2 starts by then veering left after you’ve reached the top of the hill and then you’ll just follow the trail the rest of the way for mile 3 as well all the way basically back to the finish line and small shed. There is an area where you can cut out mile 2 by just veering right after mile 1 and head into mile 3, so the course can be split into 3 different sections.
Sure it’s dry and there isn’t much/​any shade but running isn’t necessarily about comfort. The path is well maintained year round though make sure to stay on it because of wildlife concerns. It can get windy even when warm so if you get cold easily watch out. There is a water fountain by the tennis courts when you enter and I would avoid the rusty ones closer to the track. Portables seem to be there in season with the high school running seasons so don’t rely on one during their off times.
All in all, love this place.

This is one of our monthly trails for the Saturday Trail Run & Hike Group.
Email me if you want to join our free Saturday group.
Very open with a great view of 280. Lots of connections to other trails so never boring.

I love it because my running days were a long time ago, but I can still go there and see my name is still in the top 25 for the 4 mile collge course. I ran there in 1976 and it allows me to remember what it was like to be able to run so well and to be thankful for what I use to be able to do and enjoy. That hall-​a-​fame board me inspired me to create the same top 100 board here in the Sacramento area for our main highschool cross country course. I love others looking excitingly at the board and seeing their names or seeing what times it would take to get on the board. I so much appreciate the people who have been able to keep that park a sole cross country park!

Ahh Crystal Springs. I ran cross country in high school so I raced here about 9 – 10 times. I love this place. To me, it epitomizes the perfect course for a cross country race. It can be a challenging course. Don’t let the starting downhill fool you. The first mile ends uphill and then you get to look forward to running cardiac/​heartbreak hill toward the end of the race.
It’s also a beautiful course. The view of the hills and the city off in the distance just make the running a little easier (just a little bit). It’s also a good place to run just in general. To be honest, I haven’t been back since I graduated from high school, but I still run on my own, and I will be back soon to train here again for road races and to reflect on some high school memories.
The only downside is the fact that the only bathrooms that they have there, as far as I know, are the porta-​potties. They can be very disgusting, but what do you expect? Other than that, Crystal Springs is amazing.
5 stars all the way

I’m running my first trail run race soon and needed a place to train besides the super flat and paved levee in Foster City /​Belmont and so that I could get some proper dirt/​dust on my trail running shoes. This place definitely fit the bill.
The trail is essentially shaped like a lopsided bow with the Finish Line /​port-​a-​potties in the middle of the bow. If you enter at Hallmark Park and go right, you would head towards the middle of the bow. There is a good amount of hills, the trail is well maintained, but remember there is zero shade so pack on that sunblock. This place is also on top of the hill so I’m guessing it can get quite windy as well. As for water, there was a water fountain by the tennis courts at Hallmark Park and there were some rusty ones along the trail that I am not brave enough to try — I would say bring your own on this one. Overall, a nice training trail close and convenient to home.

I used to despise this course when I was on my high school cross country team. It was hot, dusty, and tricky. Cardiac hill was killer and those last twists always made me think the finish was coming up sooner than it was.
Now that the pressure of the race is gone, I’ve started to like this trail a little more. I’ve really come to appreciate courses that don’t require a soundtrack, i.e. my ipod, to distract me. There’s a good ratio of uphill, downhill and flat. There is absolutely no shade, other than a 5 ft section during certain times of the day. There is, however, a lot more wildlife here than you might expect. Just the other day, I spotted two jack rabbits and four deer. Overall: a challenging course with great views.

UPDATE: This has since become one of my favorite trails for hill running, especially since the trail itself is well kept considering all the usage it gets for local meets. Early one Sunday morning I spotted a coyote (!), several deer, bunnies and jackrabbits, and quail.
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Stumbled across these Unilocal reviews on Friday and couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this place! It sounded like pretty much what I was looking for, for hill training, so checked it out early this morning.
Only thing I would add is that the entrance is in Hallmark Park past the pines, not off the street as you might expect. And it’s easy to breeze past the park if you’re not looking for the sign. I like that it’s a 4– to 5-ft.-wide packed dirt trail. And scenic, too – I could see clear to the SF skyline, as well as the Crystal Springs reservoir and the bay.

This place is awesome. No frills. Just come and run. It’s an all dirt 2.95mile course. It’s easy on your knees and scenery is nice (overlooking wildlife reserve and i guess 280 in the distance is nice). The entire course is up and downhill. The view and the elevation changes make it for an always fun run. Definitely reminds me of the old XC days. There’s absolutely no shade, so be prepared on hot days. Also, stay on the paths because there is lots of wildlife out there.
Unless you go during XC meets, there’s always parking and it’s never crowded. This makes for an easy experience and very peaceful run. I feel like it’s one of those undiscovered places (hidden in the back of Hallmark Park).
If you run the whole course, it’s 2.95 miles. If you’re not up to that yet, you can do just the first mile, which is a loop that ends where you start, or the 2ish mile course — just cut through after the first mile, bypassing the 2^nd mile, and run the 3^rd mile.

My new «all time favorite». The addition of a restroom and slightly improved trail maintenance would make it a 5 star running location. As others have said, not crowds and you get the added advantage of a nature watch. Wildflowers, native plans, reptiles and expansive views of the bay and crystal springs. Just watch out for the poison oak — they clear back the big bushes but there are new «sprouts» all along the trail.
Edit: As posted there are rattlesnakes here. Do pay attention on hot days and be ready for a little hurdle jumping during your run!

All you people are making me feel like a lazy bum. When i came here, i set up a blanket with some friends, had some delicious beer and played scrabble as the sun set. Highly recommended.
I was actually thinking about giving this place 1 star because its a bit of a hidden San Mateo/​Belmont secret but … what the hell. It deserves 5.
Check out some of the pictures for the alternate uses of this beautiful spot.

This place still gives me nightmares of high school x-​country races… but I have come to LOVE this place!
–Never crowded unless there’s a Saturday meet… you’re usually the only one (save for 3 other people) running the course
–Beautiful views of both the Crystal Springs area and the peninsula
–Pretty challenging 2.95 mile course
–Super easy parking
I wish I lived in the house across the street from the park… I’d be here *EVERY* afternoon…

I agree with Dave K. If you want to relive that wonderful memory of gasping for air and breathing in wind-​blown dirt on the big uphill, then this is the place! Seriously, it is indeed a great place to run — easy to get to, great views of the bay.
Also, check out Edgewood Park. It offers everything that Crystal Springs does, but more trails and more varied terrain. I wrote a review of it on my blog:
Happy running!

We have a friend who sometimes visits on the weekend and we have this habit of taking her out and we try to act like we actually know good places to go and be outdoorsy (I normally get my exercise at the gym, I’m boring like that). I knew there was a park up Ralston, near 280… we headed out in that direction. We were looking for Water Dog Park, I couldn’t remember the name at the time though. We were about to give up when we happened upon Hallmark Park, which led to, as the previous Unilocaled mentioned, this Cross Country Course in the back. We walked it at a brisk pace and enjoyed the views. On a lovely Sunday morning in February we were glad to have such a clear sky and a bit of sun. The runners were all friendly and smiled. And we go on pretending we know how to be outdoorsy.

There are definitely more pleasant places to run in the bay area, but if you’re looking to relive your peninsula high school cross-​country memories (of misery), this park is the place to go. You can access the extensive dirt course through a paved path next to the tennis courts in Hallmark Park.
It’s dusty, hot, rocky and completely absent of any shade, but I guess that’s why they made us run there. Maybe it’s good if you’re training to run in the Mojave? One thing’s for sure: after a few times around this trail, your jogs in the Presidio or Sawyer Camp Trail will seem MUCH easier.
To be fair, the views of 280, the reservoir and the mountains and hills towards the coast are impressive. And it’s relatively well maintained. Plan your visit carefully, because it’s used frequently for school competitions during the week in the fall.