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About this directory
RunningTrails.net is an independent directory of 31,905 running trails across 51 states and 6,039 US cities — paved greenways and riverwalks, crushed-limestone rail-trails, woodland singletrack and doubletrack, towpaths, boardwalks and the park loops people run before work.
Why it exists
Finding a trail is easy. Finding out whether you actually want to run it is the hard part. Map apps will show you a hundred green shapes and tell you almost nothing that decides a run: is it paved or dirt, is there a loop or are you doubling back, how long is that loop really, is there any shade in July, is the gate locked at dusk, is there parking and a restroom at the trailhead. Runners end up piecing that together from a park PDF, three reviews and a satellite image.
So that's what we publish. Every listing leads with a Runner's Snapshot — surface, loop distance, route shape, shade and hours — and fills in the rest underneath: lighting, trailhead parking, restrooms, water, mile markers, dog and stroller access, and what recent reviews say about mud, marking, bikes and crowds.
The rating we refuse to publish
We do not put an Easy / Moderate / Hard label on any trail, and we're not going to. Those ratings are the single loudest complaint runners make about trail apps, for a good reason: they're inconsistent between regions, they average hikers' opinions rather than runners' experience, and they collapse everything useful into one word. "Moderate" describes both a buttery-smooth rolling doubletrack and a rooty, technical grind.
The honest version is the underlying facts — surface, distance, shape, shade, elevation and access — shown plainly, with unknown written out as unknown rather than guessed at. A runner reading "2.4-mile crushed-limestone loop, shaded, open 24 hours" knows more than any difficulty score could tell them. Same principle applies to crowding: we show busy or quiet as a neutral fact, never as a pro or a con, because a solo runner at 6am often wants the busy path and someone doing intervals wants the empty one.
Where the data comes from
Listings are compiled from public map and business data, then filtered down to places you can genuinely run — parks and preserves with real paths, greenways, rail-trails and trail systems — rather than every green polygon on a map. On top of that we read each trail's own park or agency page and real runner and hiker reviews, and pull out the details that decide where people go: surface words (paved, asphalt, crushed limestone, boardwalk, dirt, cinder), stated loop mileage, route shape, tree cover, elevation, lighting, gate hours, parking, restrooms, water, mile markers, mud and seasonality, and dog and stroller policies.
Two things we're careful about. We separate loop miles from system miles — "20 miles of trails" is a trail network total, not a 20-mile run, and conflating them is how listings mislead runners. And we treat posted hours as a first-class fact, because "open 24 hours" versus "closes at dusk" is the difference between a workable 6am run and a locked gate.
Our best-of rankings are computed from public ratings weighted by review volume. No trail, park or agency can pay for a listing, a rank or a badge. Data is refreshed on a rolling basis to catch new trails, resurfacings, closures and changed hours.
What we can't promise
Trails change faster than any directory can. Paths flood, low sections stay muddy for days after rain, bridges close, gates get locked earlier in winter, and a corridor that was continuous last year can have a construction detour this year. Treat everything here as a well-researched starting point, then check the park's own page or the most recent reviews before you drive out — especially for hours, parking and current conditions.
Independent, free, and not affiliated
We're not affiliated with any park, agency, conservancy, land trust or trail organization listed here, and the site is free to use. If you manage a trail and something's wrong — hours, surface, a closure, a listing that isn't really a running trail — email hello@runningtrails.net and we'll fix it in the next refresh. Missing trails are welcome too.
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