Welcome to California Hiking Trails
California Hiking Trails was built with one simple goal: to be the most complete, county-by-county guide to hiking in California, from the redwood coast of Mendocino to the desert canyons of Riverside, and everywhere in between.
We started this project because we kept running into the same problem ourselves. Searching for a trail near a specific town or county usually turned up either a handful of the same five “iconic” hikes repeated across every website, or scattered, outdated trail reports with no context about difficulty, parking, permits, or what season to go. California has thousands of hikes worth doing, in all 58 counties, and we wanted a resource that actually reflected that.
So we set out to build it, county by county, trail by trail.
What You’ll Find Here
– County hiking hubs: a dedicated guide for every California county, covering the trail landscape, terrain, and best times to visit
– Trail roundups: curated lists of the best hikes in a given region, organized by difficulty, distance, and scenery
– Individual trail guides: in-depth write-ups covering trailheads, parking, permits, elevation gain, water sources, dog- and kid-friendliness, and what makes each trail worth doing
– Practical planning info: the details that actually matter when you’re heading out the door, not just pretty photos
Our content is built around one idea: a hiking guide should help you decide where to go and get you there safely, not just fill a page with generic advice.
Our Team
California Hiking Trails is run by a small, hands-on team rather than a large editorial machine. We’re a mix of writers who spend real time researching California’s trail systems, parks, and public land access rules, and a developer who keeps the site fast, organized, and easy to navigate. We’re a small team, and we like it that way, it means every county guide and trail post gets real attention before it goes live.
We’re not a massive outdoor media brand, and we’re not trying to be. We’re hikers and writers who wanted a better resource and decided to build it.
Our Approach to Content
– Research-driven. Every trail post pulls from official land management sources (National Park Service, National Forest Service, California State Parks, county park departments), trail condition reports, and permit/parking information, cross-checked wherever possible.
– Organized for how people actually search. Whether you’re looking for “best hikes near [county]” or a specific trail by name, our content is structured to get you a useful answer quickly.
– Honest about difficulty and conditions. We’d rather tell you a trail is closed, exposed, or not dog-friendly than have you find out the hard way.
– Continuously growing. We’re actively publishing new county guides and trail write-ups. If you don’t see your area covered yet, check back soon; we’re working through the state systematically.
How We Keep the Lights On
California Hiking Trails is free for everyone to use. We support the site through display advertising and affiliate partnerships with outdoor gear and services we think are genuinely useful for hikers (see our Affiliate Disclosure for details). These don’t cost you anything extra, and they don’t influence which trails we recommend or how we rate them.
Get in Touch
Found an error, have a trail update, or just want to say hello? We’d love to hear from you, visit our Contact Us page to reach out.
Happy trails.