Long Beach is a city of nearly a half million people, located 20 miles south of Los Angeles. The 7th largest city in California, Long Beach is both a busy port and also known for its extensive waterfront recreation areas and well-managed parks. The city also has an inordinate number of golf courses. There’s an excellent variety of running in Long Beach, which is enhanced by the city’s year-round pleasant climate.
The two best places to run in Long Beach are the extensive Shoreline Path, combining waterfront parks and beachfront sections, and some very scenic bayfront running just south of the city in the Seal Beach/Marina area. There’s linear parks system, anchored by El Dorado Regional Park and linked by the West San Gabriel River Trail. Downtown running is also pleasant if you follow our route! For a hill & sunset run, head up to the Signal Hill area. And for a long, but not especially scenic route, you could run all the way to Los Angeles on the Los Angeles River Trail. For more area running, our L.A. running guide starts nearby at Palos Verdes, while our Orange County guide includes Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.
There is a bus and light rail system in downtown Long Beach. A light rail/subway also links Long Beach and L.A. As for weather, it’s great year-round, but there can be differences between the coast and just inland.
