California All-Weather Tracks

Now open for business, I am now available for consulting on the installation of your new track. See details or write to me at info@trackinfo.org.

This section is for the benefit of other runners traveling around the state. As I travel I frequently have to find a place to run. I've been to and have run on so many tracks around this state, now over 700 in all, that I have a rare knowledge of this information. * Obviously, since this is mostly based on my personal recollections, there are inaccuracies and missing information. New tracks are constructed each year, now approaching 350 locations. I have not personally been to some of the tracks I have listed (not to mention the new ones that are constructed in secrecy), so some information might be wrong or outdated. If you find any tracks I have missed or have not listed correctly, please e.mail me the information at: info@trackinfo.org. I'm pretty sure there are others out there. Special thanks to Jimson Lee, Jim Bordoni, Andy Chan, Tom Judy, David Dennis, GLSmithmtn, John Davis, N Goeres, David Sawyer, Sean Laughlin, Paul Fleming, Tol96, A3310K, SyKckDance, Bostonruls, THJCPA, TNyhan, Tahoecal, clyons, Bill Rice and LAXKEEPER for their additions to this list. I have also added listings of exceptional dirt tracks (good, bad or just plain interesting situations) at the bottom of this page. You are also welcome to add to the list. My most recent attempts have been to add the approximate dates of the construction and resurfacing of these tracks, the number of lanes each has, the straightaway length (which is the best way to calculate the severity of the turns, a short straight=a wide turn) and now pictures (some mine, some from the school). Possibly soon to come, altitude--I was given some readings by Jim Hanley, a geographer who carries an altimeter with him. Any additional help will be welcome. If you don't see a comment, either I don't have the information or I forgot to post it.

Certain tracks have restricted access to the public. Obviously all tracks restrict access during events and practices, just as they (all-weather facilities) all limit the length of your spikes to 1/4" or less. Some have anything from threatening signs, to high barb wire fences, to overzealous security patrols guarding them. I tend to ignore them and manage to get in, but then because of my audacity I've personally been escorted out of several facilities (none worth using now), while trying to do a workout, yet I was not bothered on the Olympic Track in Atlanta (during the Olympic Trials, part of its short life, R.I.P.). But on the other side, I was once thrown across the hood of my car "feet back and spread 'em" because the campus rent-a-cop at one local J.C. (dirt track) couldn't figure out why someone would be running on the track in running clothes (at, odd for me, 3 in the afternoon). These are the things you have to do to participate in our sport. Most tracks baracade themselves so wheeled vehicles can't get in, you may have to search for the one way in (look for chained gates that leave just enough play for a small runner to squeeze through--football players and throwers, forget about it). I will place a ! before any tracks I know of serious access problems, followed by a note on the problem, particularly those located on private property. Of course, I've been known to hop a fence, so I don't consider such a small obstacle to be significant. I've been told that all publicly funded tracks and other athletic fields (those at public high schools and colleges) must allow for public access (by a court decision for the AYSO some twenty years ago). I'd like to quote the precedent case number or section of the code--anybody (lawyers in particular) with a little help here? The exception is, you cannot be on campus when school is in session or during a practice--and always be courteous. It may be hard to find but supposedly there should be a way in. I am certain that there are facilities where I have been unable to find that way in, but it makes me feel a lot better about jumping somebody's public fence. I've concluded a serious track runner has to develop the technique for jumping a chain link fence.

There are now Mapquest Aerial Photos attached to most of these tracks. Since going through all that effort, it has become inconsistent at best. Some areas get updated photos (though Rim of the World, which starred in so many of the fire aerials of late 2003 is shown now under a mound of snow). On occasion, Mapquest (now an AOL-Time/Warner Company) has seen fit to impose new restrictions. If you want to access their service as a pre-defined location, you must enter your AOL screen name. Its yet another way corporations have reared their evil head to reduce the freedom of the internet. Rather than removing the location entirely, I'll leave it to your option to play their game. If you don't have or don't want to get a screen name, here's a way to cheat. Use "trackpics" as your screen name and "trackinfo" as the password. It is real slow to authenticate. Many of the pictures I have directed you to have now gotten garbled by their system, zooming and centering functions do not work and if you try to go to a new location, it continues to take you back to the original angle of your first request. This is not my fault, Mapquest is falling apart. To get a map to the location, just go to the street map option on each Mapquest page and back out to show more area.

I am now starting to add pictures of the tracks as I get around (though I also see many at night). The new pictures slow the loading of the page, so I'm in for a new redesign. If you click on some of the pictures you'll see a bigger view or a source for more angles. If you have a picture that effectively shows a track, please send it or a link to me.

I am also adding a listing of the locations of DIRT tracks by county, then city. Not all counties are covered--I haven't been everywhere, nor have I taken the time to type all I know yet. I haven't taken the detailed notes as I have for the All Weather Tracks, but since I know where so many are, I have posted the information to impart what I do know. Feel free to supplement. See the link just after the county name.

At the bottom of this page you'll find "The Bottom 10," the ten worst tracks in the state. Unfortunately I will also take nominations to add to the list. My latest addition is the little award you see to the left, which goes to tracks that were formerly on the Bottom 10 list but have now been improved. I guess you don't really want your facility to fall into the disrepair necessary to qualify for this award, but I do want to reward the facilities that have really gotten it together and have done such a major improvement to their location.

Press here to return to the index.

Most tracks have to accomodate high school and/or collegiate meets and are marked metricly but some were constructed in imperial distances and use offset lines to calibrate. For people who are unfamiliar with the standard markings on a track, I have created my explanation of those marks, with a tour of one well marked track and a separate page for hurdle marks. According to the high school rule book, a painted line is acceptable for high school competition, so that explains why so many high schools fail to have a legal (USATF Rule 62--2" raised curb) track. Unfortunately by USATF rules, you have to have the curb and comply with all the other specifications of a meet to set a record. So if you intend anyone to set a record at your meet, get a curb. In regards to this curb question I have been given several explanations. First, most of the major manufacturers seem to be talking their clients OUT of installing a curb. Their expressed excuses (that I will rebut) are 1) that curbs are a liability issue; 2) that the metal in the curbs are a target for thieves to recycle and 3) that curbs effect drainage. 1) might be true, but curbs exist on open public tracks all over the place, almost all high school dirt tracks have solid, raised concrete curbs, and have never been a liability issue in those cases. Many tracks have what would be legal curbs on the outside of the track, where it is unimportant. If it is an issue for a track with a removable metal curb, remove it when necessary (see San Francisco State where they use the stadium for graduation right after track season) then replace it. 2) is just stupid. Look at how many tracks have metal curbs and how many of them have been stolen? There are more tracks that make the loose metal available by removing the railings and storing them in the open (and I will note, the ones I see leaving the metal railings piled up but still aren't having them stolen, the railings just aren't doing the job they were purchased for. If it is an issue, you do not need to use metal in the curb, only the dimensions and location are specified, not the material. Concrete is common. 3) again is just stupid. Who cannot figure out how to build concrete to allow drainage--I see curbs with breaks for drainage on many dirt tracks. If a broken curb doesn't work for your aesthetic, stick little pipes through the concrete at track level. I have been contacted by a manufacturer who installs a drainage system that looks like it will work well with a track. See their website at sportsedge.net. Before you build a track wrong, meaning without following proper specifications, please get in touch with me so I can offer some suggestions.

See my editorial on Track Maintenence.

Legend to the layout--here's what I know:

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Alameda County

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Berkeley High School	1994	Yes	No
Martin Luther King and Channing Way Southwestern Eurotan	South	6 92m	Aerial photo
University of California, Berkeley Edwards Stadium	Resurf. 1999	Yes	Adjustable
Bancroft and Oxford Yellow. There is a warm up lane inside of the curb. This has to be the ugliest color I have ever seen on a track (I guess they were trying for Gold, as in Golden Bears). But my opinion could be wrong, this was awarded as an Outstanding Track Facility by the USTC&TBA, an industry association. ! At night, this is effectively closed with gates and concrete walls. Southwestern Martin ISS	South	8 92m	Aerial photo

Chabot Junior College	Resurf 2001	(No)	Adjustable, Inside
25555 Hesperian Blvd. North Entrance North of the 92 Freeway They have the curbing and the inner line has been drilled to mount it, but it has been removed and is sitting along the fence outside of the track--and it looks like its been there a while. Perhaps they put it in place when a meet is important. Steeplechase finishes the opposite direction. Cal Track Premier Polyurethane	South	9 99m	Aerial photo

Granada High School	2002	Yes	No
Wall St. south of Stanley Blvd. Spectra Turf Spectratrack SP	North	9 m	Aerial photo

Newark Memorial High School	Resurf. 1998	No	No
Cedar Blvd. off Central Ave. ! This is a security fortress, difficult, but not impossible to get into. Note: the unattended sprinkler system and bad drainage has done more damage to the track than any runner. I'll note yet again when I visited, the sprinklers were running and flooding the entire track like they apparently (from the water stains) have been for years. The wall in background of the picture is a dominant feature on the northeast end of the track. Southwestern Eurotan	Northeast	8 90.5m	Aerial photo

See my editorial on Track Maintenence.

Merritt Community College	February 2003	Yes	Yes, Inside
East end of the campus, off Campus Drive which is off Redwood Road between the 13 and Skyline. Mondo	South	8 88m	Aerial photo

Piedmont High School		No	No
End of El Cerrito Ave., south of Oakland Ave.	North	7 87m	Aerial photo

Amador Valley High School	2002	No	No
Santa Rita Road (Main Street) just north of Stanley Blvd.		8	Aerial photo of dirt track

Foothill High School	2003	Yes	No
Foothill Road and Muirwood Dr.		8	Aerial photo of dirt track

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Butte County

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Contra Costa County

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Alhambra High School	Resurf. 1999	Yes	No
E St. west of Alhambra Ave. This is up the hill, way behind the school. Southwestern	South	9 100m	Aerial photo

Campolindo High School	Resurf. 1997	No	No
Campolindo Dr. and Moraga Way Black This old Black and White photo is all I can find of the track so far.	East	6	Aerial photo

Miramonte High School	1996	No	No
Estabueno Dr. and Moraga Way	Southeast	6	Aerial photo

College Park High School	June 2001	No	No
Viking Dr. and Norse Dr. Just south of Diablo Valley College Cal Track Cal Trax IMS	South	9	Aerial photo of dirt track

Diablo Valley College	Resurf. 1998	Yes	Yes, outside
Golf Club Rd. west of Contra Costa Blvd. An AW track has been here since the 1970's Southwestern Eurotan	South	9	Aerial photo

Contra Costa Community College	1998	Yes	Yes, Outside
Mission Bell Dr. and El Portal (Broadway South) Southwestern Eurotan	South	8 93m	Aerial photo

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Del Norte County

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El Dorado County

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Fresno County

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Buchanan High School	Resurf. 1999	(Yes)	No
W. Nees Ave. and N.Minnewawa Ave. Big fancy stadium, seats over 8,000. Track has some noticible repairs made to west turn (which feel softer than the rest of the track). Apparently removes the curb, the previous time I saw it, curb was missing, but during a track meet it was there. Also has start lines marked for 40y and 65m. Southwestern Eurotan	Southeast	9 93m	Aerial photo

Clovis High School		No	No
Fowler Ave. and Barstow Ave. Wide turns. Not in the football stadium (north of it). Blue Zaino	East	9 72m	Aerial photo

Fresno Pacific University	2000	Yes	Adjustable Outside
East Heaton Ave. and S. Winery Ave. Wide Turns. I calculate the straightaways at 73m Southwestern Eurotan	South	9 73m	Aerial photo

Roosevelt High School	Resurf. 2001	No	No
Barton and Huntington They replaced the old rubber asphalt with a new AW surface and converted it from Imperial to metric--with the tell tale extra lane in the first turn (see also Clovis West, Mt. SAC, Hancock and West Valley College). A nice facility but does show a residual crack in lane 3 from the previous badly worn track. This is so markedly improved it has been removed from the worst tracks list entirely.	South	9 100m	Aerial photo

Sunnyside High School		No	No
East Kings Canyon Road and South Peach Ave. ! Has spike topped fencing surrounding much of the track though there are some tall chain link portions.	East	9 93m	Aerial photo

Reedley College		Yes	No
Manning & Reed Ave. formerly Kings River Community College--Reedley residents hated that name so they changed it back to the original name for better civic identification. No the track is not broken in pieces as the aerial photo indicates. Black.	West	9	Aerial photo

Reedley High School	1999	No	No
W. North Ave. and N. Hollywood Replaced a banked dirt track Southwestern Eurotan	South	9 100m	Aerial photo

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Humboldt County

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California State University, Humboldt	Resurf. 2001	No	Yes
Harpst Street Called the Redwood Bowl this track has large covered stands	North	6	Black & White Aerial Photo

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Imperial County

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Kern County

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Bakersfield College		Yes	Yes
Mt. Vernon and University ! The razor wire fencing makes this quite difficult to get into. Finish line offset more than 10m.	Northeast	9	Aerial photo

Liberty High School	2001	No	No
Has an inner curb that raises the track. Jewetta Ave. and Brimhall Road.	South	8	Aerial photo

Editorial: The poor people of Bakersfield. They have two excellent facilities and both of them are barricaded behind high, barb wire topped fences. What a complete disservice to the local runners of the community. I don't know about the new track at Liberty High School--hopefully they are more reasonable.

Taft Union High School		No	Stationary Inside grass
San Emidio and 10th Streets Blue. Open 24 hours, lit until midnight, aren't small towns great? Steeplechase has grass runway. ! has barricades .	South	9	Aerial photo

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Kings County

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Lemoore High School	1998	No	No
Highway 198 & Lemoore Ave. This track really is colored Purple. Southwestern Eurotan	West		Aerial photo

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Lassen County

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Los Angeles County

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Los Angeles County Dirt Tracks

Honorable Mentions

Agoura High School	August 2001	No	No
Thousand Oaks Blvd. at Argos St., 1 block East of Kanan Blue. This track has an extra 9th lane about 1 1/2 feet wide filling the space from lane 8 to the fence. At least it gives them somewhere to put the soccer bench and hurdles--don't try to run this lane. ! Has barricades but I haven't seen them used--it is nicely lit at night.	South	8 100m	Aerial photo

Arcadia High School		No	No
Duarte west of Santa Anita Host of perhaps the best mid-season High School Invitational in the country, yet they have to conduct it with cones in place of a curb.	West	9 100m	Aerial photo

These two tracks are barely 1/4 mile apart but are technically in different cities.