We’re officially fully booked for this season! 📚🎨 The response to BookTrails has been truly incredible. Because of the tremendous number of installation requests, we have now reached our capacity and are closing new requests for this season. All requests that have reached us as of 4 PM 8/27 shall be honored. For more details, add your name to the waitlist and we’ll reach out in a couple of weeks when installations reopen.

Book Trails — take a book, share a book
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Take a Book, Share a Book

Book Trails

Free Books. Closer to Home.

A student-led initiative installing free neighborhood library boxes. We've successfully installed 15+ boxes across the South Bay, California — and we're still expanding.

Find our boxes in Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Palo Alto and San Jose.

Donate Host a box
A bright red hand-painted Book Trails box with sunflowers and Take a Book, Share a Book lettering
15+ boxes installed

Our impact so far

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Boxes installed
0
Boxes planned next 30 days
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Cities reached
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Books exchanged
Mission

Reading shouldn't depend on a library card or a car ride.

Book Trails started with a pretty simple idea: what if finding your next book could be part of your everyday walk?

Book Trails exists to make books a normal, casual part of the neighborhood — for kids who can't get to a library, for adults between commutes, for anyone who wants something to read tonight. Free books, closer to home.

Every box is built and maintained by neighbors. Every book is free. Nothing is tracked.

How a Book Trail begins

Identify. Install. Share.

01

Identify

We identify neighborhoods where library access is limited and connect with potential hosts. Homeowners can also reach out to us directly if they're interested in bringing a Book Trails box to their neighborhood.

02

Create & Install

We build, hand-paint, weatherproof, and install a vibrant, one-of-a-kind library box in the yard of a local host, creating a welcoming place for neighbors to share and discover books.

03

Share

We stock each box with books for all ages, creating an easy neighborhood exchange: take a book, leave a book, or simply discover something new.

Our Boxes

Each box tells a story.

See all boxes
Lavender Fields

Lavender Fields

Palo Alto

Hungarian Folk Art

Hungarian Folk Art

Cupertino

Pichwai Lotuses

Pichwai Lotuses

Milpitas

Swedish Dala Horse

Swedish Dala Horse

Los Gatos

Where the trail runs

Find a trail near you.

15+ neighborhood book boxes across 6 Bay Area communities — and growing.

Book Trails Across the Bay Area — 15+ neighborhood book boxes and growing, mapped across Palo Alto, Los Altos, Cupertino, Milpitas, Los Gatos, and San Jose communities
Get Involved

Become a part of the trail.

Host, volunteer, donate, or sponsor — choose what works for you.

01Host a boxOffer a corner of your yard, fence, or storefront. We bring the box and the books.Become a host02Sponsor a boxFully fund a new box from build to first refill — named in your honor or anonymously.Sponsor a build03VolunteerHelp us build, paint, refill, and maintain boxes. Any skill level, any amount of time.Lend a hand04Donate books or suppliesGently used books, paint, weather-proofing — we'll take what we can use.Give materials

Fund the next box.

$50 — paint, art supplies, or new books. $100 — box assembly and construction. Every dollar goes back into the boxes.

Support Book Trails

Built on trust.

We never publish exact box addresses, never track who takes books, and welcome anonymous participation.

Read our privacy promise