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Trail Running
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Some of the best trail running lies right outside your door.
PUBLISHED 04/30/2009
Los Angeles
With the city surrounded by the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Santa Monica Mountains, as well as a constellation of public lands including four national forests, southern California runners can choose among thousands of miles of trails.
Try This Trail: For jaw-dropping views of the Malibu hills and Pacific coastline, nothing beats the 10.7-mile Ray Miller Trail in Point Mugu State Park; shorten the distance to five or six miles with cutoff trails. California State Parks, parks.ca.gov/trailsearch.
Portland
Forest Park sprawls from the city's heart over more than 5,000 acres—one of the largest urban parks in the country, with nearly 70 miles of paths and gravel roads. And within an hour's drive lie the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and the Mt. Hood and Gifford Pinchot national forests, which combined have upwards of 2,000 miles of trails through lush Pacific Northwest forests.
Try This Trail: In Forest Park, immerse yourself in dogwoods, sword ferns, and lush ravines by running a loop of nearly six miles from Lower Macleay Trailhead, linking the Balch Creek, Wildwood, and Dogwood Trails with a stretch of the gravel Leif Erikson Drive. The Forest Park Conservancy, forestparkconservancy.org.
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