San Jose is at the southern end of the Silicon Valley technology hub. It is a city in its own right, about 60 miles south of San Francisco. The downtown has a lovely historic district of late 1800s buildings. The area is surrounded by hills. Our guide to running in San Jose, California is a continuation of our Silicon Valley running guide.
As a start, it’s worth the 15 min. drive north to Alviso Park for some wonderful Baylands Trails running. In downtown San Jose, the Guadelupe River Trail heads north to the Alviso trails near the water. Other longer multi-use trails near San Jose are the 10-mile Los Gatos Creek Trail toward Los Gatos (including Vasona Lake Park), and the 18.5 mile Coyote Creek Trail that heads south to Morgan Hill. Alum Rock Park, Quicksilver Park, & Coyote Ridge are lovely open space preserves terrific for trail running. For some wonderful coastal running, head 30 miles south to Santa Cruz, or check out our running guides for Silicon Valley, the East Bay, and San Francisco.
If you are staying right in San Jose, you can live without a car but will be limited to the trails near downtown. To access the parks and trails south of the city, a car is needed or you could Uber it.
For additional running options, heading north, see Great Runs in Silicon Valley. Includes routes in Santa Clara, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and all the way to SFO. We’ve also got tons of coverage of San Francisco, the East Bay, and south to Santa Cruz and Monterey/Carmel. Click on the boxes below!
