Bay Area Trail Running: Huddart Park

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Last time I was at Huddart park was when I ran the Woodside Ramble 35K earlier this April. I haven’t been back there since and as part of my Bay Area Trail Running series this summer, figured was a good time to go check it out. I also have the Crystal Springs Trail Run 50K coming up there this weekend.

Huddart Park

Before his death in 1935, James Huddart, a wealthy San Francisco lumberman and a long-time resident of Woodside, deeded 900 acres of his property to be developed as a public park. In the hundred years since Huddart Park was logged, a new forest of redwoods and other trees have grown. With madrones, coastal live oak and douglas fir, this is an amazing place for a trail run. With the fantastic redwoods providing almost constant shade, the trails at Huddart Park are easily 10 degrees cooler than outside.

 

This particular route follows the initial segment of the Crystal Springs Trail Run 50K and is a 12.8 mile loop with a short out and back along the Skyline Trail. About 5.2 miles of Skyline Trail further connects up with Wunderlich Park, which is on my TODO list of places to run in the Bay Area. With a total elevation gain of 2,613 ft, this is a great run, almost completely shaded and taking you through amazing redwood forests at every turn.

  • Bay Tree Trail
    Bay Tree Trail

Here’s the route that I took:

  • Start from the Werder Shelter
  • Bay Tree Trail
  • Richards Road Trail (left)
  • Chaparral Trail (left)
  • Crystal Springs Trail (right)
  • Summit Springs Trail (left)
  • Out and back on Skyline Trail
  • Chinquapin Trail (right)
  • Dean Trail (left)
  • Crystal Springs Trail (right)
  • Follow signs to Zwierlein Picnic Area

The Crystal Springs Trail is almost all uphill all the way up to Skyline Trail, but that makes the return trip that much easier. You can decide how much of the Skyline Trail out-and-back you want to run. If you simply turn back on Chinquapin Trail, it’s about a 10-mile round trip. I decided to turn around when my Nathan 22oz hand-held was about half empty, which was a good thing. I ran out of water about half mile before getting back to the car!

Have you run in Huddart Park? What’s your favorite route?

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