Cantareira State Park: Pedra Grande Section

The Pedra Grande section is located in the northern part of São Paulo, inside Cantareira State Park. Close to Horto Florestal, it’s a great spot for hiking, picnicking, and catching the sunset — a quick, easy escape without leaving the city!

Getting to Cantareira State Park

From São Paulo: the entrance to Cantareira State Park is about 13 km from downtown São Paulo — roughly 35 minutes with no traffic. The address is R. do Horto, 1799 - Horto Florestal, São Paulo - SP, 02377-000. Google Maps route.

Tips for Cantareira State Park — Pedra Grande Section

• Easy, paved trail
• Located in São Paulo
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 8 AM to 5 PM
• Entry: R$9 per person
• The park closes when it rains
• Altitude: 848 meters

Right at the entrance, there’s a map showing both the dirt and paved trails, so it’s a great spot to train climbs and descents — the final stretch up to the top is quite steep, and you’re rewarded with a view over the city of São Paulo.

The dirt trails are short, around one kilometer, but they’re great for practicing:

• climbing
• passing other runners if you’re training in a group
• switching terrain, since the small trails alternate between pavement and dirt

You can also continue on to Horto Florestal, which is nearby — a tiring uphill stretch connects the two. It has flatter sections for building speed, though a real mountain-training day still demands a lot of effort. The Horto is also beautifully maintained.

The view from Pedra Grande

The park sits at a high elevation, so on a sunny day you get a view over practically the entire city of São Paulo from up top.

Download the GPX file for our training run.

Track powered by Wikiloc

Looking for good coffee nearby? Check out Jacques Café in the Cantareira range (in Portuguese) on the original blog.