Bay Meadows

Crystal Springs Regional Trail is a planned 17.5-mile trail that, when finished, will extend from San Bruno to Woodside. Currently over 15 completed miles of trail for running, biking, or strolling along the beautiful Peninsula Watershed. This incredibly scenic ride is the most popular trail in the San Mateo County Park system offering flat and incline trails, great for various types of users – hikers, joggers, bicyclists, equestrians, and families pushing strollers.

The trail is divided into three segments (San Andreas, Sawyer Camp and Crystal Springs).

The San Andreas segment extends from Cambridge Lane on the north to Hillcrest Blvd. on the south where it connects to the Sawyer Camp segment.

The historic Sawyer Camp segment extends from Hillcrest Blvd. on the north to Crystal Springs Road on the south, and is probably the best known length of trail in San Mateo County. This portion of the ride offers an easy paved path along the Shoreline of Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir to San Andreas Lake.

The Crystal Springs segment starts at Highway 92 on the north and runs along the westerly right-of-way of Cañada Road. This segment is available for use by hikers, joggers, and equestrians, but not bicyclists. The northern part of the segment affords views of Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir and communicates with the Belmont trail system, via Sheep Camp Trail. To the south the segment passes a number of interesting destinations including the Pulgas Water Temple, the Filoli Center, the Phleger Estate, and Edgewood County Park.

Sights to See: Keep your eyes open along the way for these gems. The Peninsula Watershed is a highly scenic area that features various habitats, from old growth Douglas-fir forests to chaparrals and wetlands. Midway along the Sawyer Camp segment of the trail you will find the Jepson Laurel, a tree that has been established to be over 600 years old and is now the oldest and largest known Laurel in California. The Pulgas Water Temple is a stone structure inspired by classical Greek and Roman architecture, featuring Corinthian capitals and fluted columns, beside which is a tree-lined reflecting pool.

What Yelpers are saying about Crystal Springs Regional Trail:

‘This trail is amazing. Mountains. Water. Fog rolling through it all…’ – Daniel L.

‘Good spot for a short walk or a nice bike ride. Smooth, paved trail along the shore of the Crystal Springs Reservoir. The views are nice and it’s mostly shady, so good for a warmer day.’ – Claudia J.

Crystal Springs Regional Trail offers restrooms, rest areas, picnic tables and benches approximately halfway along the Sawyer Camp segment, near the Jepson Laurel. Markers every half mile make it easy to track your progress as you travel Sawyer Camp Trail. Open every day, from sunrise to sunset.

Tip: Not all trails have drinking fountains, bring water and be respectful of all on the trail and know the rules of the road.

Surrounding San Mateo areas are also bike friendly and offer many different paths to ride and sights to see. Here is a bike map that you can download and plan your day. However you decide to spend your day at Crystal Springs and beyond, enjoy and Happy Trails to you!

Looking for a great place to ride? Bay Meadows and the surrounding San Mateo area are bike friendly and offer many different paths to ride and sights to see. We even have a convenient bike map that you can download here, so you can decide exactly where to ride. Some resident favorites include the Bay Trail as well as Coyote Point Park And don’t forget to save the date for Bike to Work Day 2015: May 14^th!