I have two personal objectives for the next two days:
1.) Get a decent cut (thanks brothers)
2.) Get a good scenic 3-4 mile run in. Yes, I'm an amateur when it comes to this. Still, where should I go? Gonna google around some, obviously, but I find personal testimony to be the best way.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Hey send our east coast greetings to all the other Fake Americans in Fake American California...
Try http://www.mapmyrun.com . . . if you put in the area code you are in, it should come up with something.
BTW, the Dish is personal testimony, even though I put the link. Great views.
The best thing about the bay area is the plethora of dirt trail hikes. They offer amazing views and peace. These aren't the best for running though unless you're in good shape(California hills are known as mountains on the east coast). A great(flatter) running trail can be found in Tilden Park in North Berkeley. Go to panoramic point which is at north entrance of the park to find the trail head. Enjoy the run...its about 4 miles till the end and then double back. Get ready for a variety of environments and even some grazing wildlife... if it's a clear day it'll blow your mind.
In the city there's Golden Gate Park to the beach in the Sunset. If your renting a car there's Point Reyes National Park to the north one of the most amazing places on the planet.Check yahoo maps.
Lake Merritt (the lovely Jewel of Oakland) is 3.4 miles, according to this site: http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/parks/lakemerritt.asp
I used to love biking/running around the lake when I lived in Oak-town. It might not be as scenic as you're looking for, but I think it's great.
Plus, you'll run by the hilarious marquee of the Grand Lake Theater, which always has political messages up (unless things have changed since I moved away, of course).
Assuming you're staying near Stanford, I have two reasonably nearby suggestions.
1. For a fairly flat, paved run, go to Sawyer Camp Trail. It's a 6 mile trail, with entrances on both ends, behind the cities of of San Mateo and San Bruno. The southern end is more open, with better views of Crystal Springs Reservoir, the reservoir for San Francisco and some of the other cities nearby. The land that the reservoir sits on is completely undeveloped and it's very common to see deer, rabbits, red-tailed hawks and other wildlife.
San Mateo Entrance: Intersection of Skyline Blvd (CA 35) and Crystal Springs Road
2. For a "Cross Country" experience, go to Halmark Park in Belmont. This is where the local high schools and community colleges have their cross country meets. This is a dirt trail with much more challenging hills, also with views of the reservoir.
Halmark Park is on Google Maps, off of either the Sand Hill Rd. Exit of I-280, or Ralston Ave on CA-92.
If you're at Stanford, run the Dish. Anyone on campus can give you directions to the start (Stanford Ave and Junipero Serra). It's a bit hilly (okay it's very, almost murderously, hilly), but you get gorgeous views of campus, the surrounding area and the Bay. Also, the trial is 3.5 miles. What more good you ask for?
I should also add that Crystal Springs Reservoir sits right on the San Andreas fault, the wellspring of California's notorious earthquakes.
Where do you jog when you're in Baltimore?
If you're staying in SF, they just had the Nike Women's Marathon and the route was beautiful--the Embarcadero area and Golden Gate Park area were beautiful. Of course, there are all kinds of crazy hills that you can just brag about later.
Hearty seconds to Tilden Park (just beautiful) and Lake Merritt. And not for jogging per se, but Point Reyes really is one of the most beautiful places there is - definitely worth a visit if possible.
Three places:
1. In Berkeley, behind the California Memorial Colusium, is what's know as the "Fire Trail." It is about a 5 mile run in the Berkeley Hills, and it has, hands down, the best view of San Francisco and the Bay. However, it is a pretty tough run, and does have some steep hills, but it is well worth it.
2. If in San Francisco, I do think you can jog over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin.
3. If in Oakland, a jog around Lake Merritt.
Keep in mind that there's probably a fantastic run within walking/jogging/running distance of wherever you happen to be. If you're in the city, the Presidio/Golden Gate Park area is unbeatable, and not even impossibly hilly.
Golden Gate Park is nice. If you're in similar shape to myself, you're going to want to stay somewhere relatively flat. I thought Central Park was "hilly" - not so.
Ditto on Tilden in Berkeley, also to Lake Merritt (you can do a long run, all the way around the lake, or a shorter run looping through the park on the north/east side of the lake if you want).
Also in Oakland, you could drive up to Sibley Regional Park, which has wonderful trails, and a great view east into the hills of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. And, if you're on the Cal campus, you can run on the Cal track, Edwards Field, most weekdays in the middle of the day. The track is on the west side of campus, on Oxford a block or 2 south of University. Back in the day, the campus used to have a par course, as well -- no idea if it's still there -- and that would be a beautiful run, as well.
Oh, and if you go up to Tilden, you might want to check out the Berkeley Rose Garden on Euclid between Bay View and Eunice. Beautiful roses, an amazing view of the Bay -- and built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Imagine the Federal Gov't spending our money on that instead of handing it to Wall Street or using it to kill people in Iraq.
Point Reyes -- yes, go there if you can. It's the real California coast.
Fighting words -- the Fire Trail, you mean up Strawberry Canyon to the Lawrence Hall of Science? That would be a hell of a run. Of course, the view, as you say, is the best in the East Bay.
I'm living in Detroit right now, but I lived out the in the Bay Area for most of my life. I'm not sure about the haircut thing, but if you're looking to go on a nice run, I'd check out Shepherd Canyon, which is in the Oakland Hills. Either West Ridge or East Ridge will provide you with a nice run. I'd avoid going down into the canyon though, unless you feel like running for closer to 5-7 miles. I'd go in the entrance that's on Shepherd Canyon Road.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGIH&resnum=0&q=Shepherd%20Canyon%20Park&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
If you're looking for more of an urban run, I agree that Lake Merritt is nice this time of year. It can kind of smell during the summer when the algae blooms, but that shouldn't be a problem now. It's about 3 miles around and unlike the trails up at Shepherd Canyon it's totally flat.
I always try and run out to Fort Point, underneath the Golden Gate. It's a really beautiful run. Depending on how far you want to go, you can start at different spots. The Fort Mason to Fort Point run is pretty great, but might be a little longer than 4 miles round trip.
okay... I'm lame. Forget the marked spot on that google map I posted. The trailhead I'm referring to is called Skyline Gate and it leads to trails going off into Shepherd Canyon. To get there, go up Shepherd Canyon Road and turn right on Skyline... it's less than a mile down Skyline.
Where do you jog when you're in Baltimore?
Dunno about T-NC, but I'm downtown and go north up Fallsway (starting near North Av & Maryland), past the JHU campus, trail run up to Northern Pkwy, and enjoy finishing on four miles or so of downhill down Charles St.
The Baltimore Marathon route goes from the Harbor up to Druid Hill Park, back down past the Harbor to Fort McHenry, back up and east to Canton, up past Patterson Park, through East Baltimore to Lake Montebello, west on 33rd St and down Howard back to the Harbor.
If you're up for a long run (or if you live somewhere Southwest), Fort McHenry is a great place to head to; there's also a water fountain in Fed Hill Park so that's a nice halfway point for downtown runs.
If you like trail running, there's good stuff north of Hopkins Homewood, through/around Herring Run Park in northeast Baltimore, and lots of stuff in Gunpowder Falls, Oregon Ridge, and Patapsco.
The reservoirs in Druid Hill and Lake Montebello have both been renovated recently to be really great for runners.
If you are in the "yay" area. One of the Best runs is to Start at AT&T Park (South of Market) and run along the Embarcadero to Coit Tower. Or you can run from Fishermans Wharf to Golden Gate.
This is a no-brainer if you're in SF. Start at Fort Mason and run along the water toward the bridge. You'll run through Chrissie Field, which is lovely. If you're looking for a 3-miler, turn back at the warming shed. If you can pull out the extra mile, do like James and take it to the bridge (Fort Point). I do this about twice a week.
If you're looking for a good scenic run and you're at Stanford, no question you should run the Dish. It's a 3 or so mile trail going up into the hills southwest of campus, so-called because it goes by Stanford's monster satellite dish. On a clear day, you can see all the way to San Francisco from the top. There are three or so entrances along Junipero Serra Blvd., directly across the street from campus.
Just writing this is making me miss college desperately.
In case you're going to be east of Berkeley in the burbs, you should run around the Lafayette Reservoir.
1) Run the Dish on the Stanford campus.
2) Go to El Camino @ California for the haircut.
If you're gonna be in the Easy Bay, Jaoquin Miller Park is always fun.
They have a good trail that starts near the Chabot Space and Science Center.
If you are at Stanford, why not the Stanford Dish? It is approx 10 miles of hills. But you can do a part of it. Also, try the Rancho San Antonio State Preserve. It is approx 4-5 miles from the Stanford Campus. A very scenic run. You can choose to run flat or on hills.
Where do you jog when you're in Baltimore?
Hopefully not Hamsterdam!
Sorry, had to get a Wire reference in.
My favorite place for a little wilderness in the SF area is the Marin Headlands, especially the old military base just north of GG Bridge. Hell, you could easily jog from SF across the bridge and into the park, spend an hour walking the trails, and jog back.
If you're willing to deal with some hills, the East Bay Regional Parks have some fabulous runs. My personal favorite is a loop on the Dunn Trail in Redwood Regional Park, starting at the Parks building on Skyline Boulevard just south of the intersection with Joaquin Miller Road. It's beautiful and you get both redwood canyons and open sunny hillsides, on a 4-mile loop. Highly recommended.
The Dish is a no-brainer, dude. Depending on where you are on campus you can just jog to it. It's right there.
if you end up jogging around Lake Merritt, watch out for the goose poop.
A "decent cut"? I thought you were talking about pizza!
If you can make it over to Oakland, I highly recommend a run around Lake Merritt. At sunset, if you can. Amazing if you can avoid the goose poo.
The Nimitz Trail in Tilden Park. It sounds like a freeway, but its a paved running/hiking/biking trail on the ridgeline. It has spectacular views of the Bay and the East Bay hills. And, on the ridge top, its not too steep.
I would recommend Sawyer camp trail:
http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/home/0,,5556687_12305993_12328403,00.html
It's a mostly flat, out and back along a reservoir, with some gorgeous views. There's water and a bathroom along the path. I would recommend running 2 miles out and then coming back...and then driving to the end of the trail (~6 miles ahead on Skyline) and enter on the other side. Walk about 1 mile for an AMAZING view of the reservoir.
Or you can be pretty ambitious and just run the ~5 miles out...but you'll have to figure out a way to get back.
JPT's very correct. The most beautiful run in SF is along Crissy Field to the Golden Gate bridge. Park at fort Mason or in the Marina Parking lot or in the Crissy Field lot. You can tailor your run from 2 miles to 5 miles, and it is unbelievably gorgeous.
Well, this one I can help out on - but really, WHAT PART of the bay will you be in? This is important!
San Francisco, East Bay, or South Bay, around Stanford?
in South Bay, around Stanford, do a part of the Dish, if you can handle the hills.
If you are in East Bay, for a quick and flat run, do around Lake Merrit. For a more advanced, scenic run, North Berkeley Hills.
If you are in SF proper, then doing as much as you can from AT&T Park, along the Embarcadero, through Fisherman's Wharf, Chrissy Fields, and then if you are up to it, all the way to the base of Golden Gate Park, and then turn around and do as much as you can. I try and do this, every few months or so, though it's 12 mile run when you end up back at At&T Park. So what you can do is cut out parts of that run. You can use the various Gmail mash-ups to help, like WalkBikeRun?, or GPedometer, to plot the distance you want to do.
Hey, if you are REALLY up to it, start a little "TNC Visiting running club". I'll show up, if you are here on the weekend. Afterwards, the beer's on me!
Just did the Marina/Chrissy Field run to GG Bridge. It is an absolutely PERFECT day, one that reminds you how great it is to be alive and in San Francisco. It may not be long enough but do it twice.
Now it's off to drink beers and ruin it all!
JC and Matt K, Ta-Nehisi needs a burrito to go with those beers.
And an It's-It for dessert.
Oakland Hills -- Roberts, Joaquin Miller, Skyline, etc. are the best.
BUT don't bring your wallet or anything valuable or lock it all in the car BEFORE you park. Not to trip you out but that's just the Bay. I love Oakland to my core but I got jacked too many times parked on those trails. Not dangerous, just strung out fiends looking for CDs to jack. Don't give 'em temptations.
Enjoy!
If you're still looking for a good cut, B Pizazz Barber Shop in Campbell (it's a little ways from Palo Alto, but not too far.) (408) 866-1434.
474 W Hamilton Ave. Campbell, CA.
I'd second Rancho San Antonio, although the parking lots do fill up in the afternoon. Regarding the cut, I'd bet East Palo Alto would have places that knew what do do a lot closer than Oakland or San Jose. Can't name any; my hair is long, straight, and gray.
While you're at Stanford, stop by the Cantor Art Center. The Rodin Sculpture Garden is worth seeing even if the museum is closed.
Will you be in San Francisco proper? If so, I recommend the Lands End Trail by Ocean Beach: http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/environmentnature/ss/landsendphotos.htm
It was one of my favorite runs in high school: amazing views of the GG Bridge, Point Reyes, and the ocean. Go right before sunset.
Ta-Nehisi >> If you don't want to drive -- run 'the dish' from campus. If you don't mind driving a few miles -- drive Alpine Road west of Hwy 280 & run the (paved) trail along Alpine Road or the (dirt) trail along Portola Road or even upper Alpine (along a creek above the Portola/Alpine Road intersection). There are also nice trails in the Windy Hill open space preserve (parking lot on Portola Road), however most are rather steep -- albeit with great views. You've got some nice fall weather today...
Best haircut in the city--Winfred's at Sutter and Fillmore plus lots of really good eat places in the neighborhood (yes its been gentrified but good eats is still a plus) and Winfred wears a different Obama t shirt everyday.
Where did you end up going?