Running trails in Scottsdale, AZ

How to pick a trail in Scottsdale

• Match the surface to your legs. Scottsdale gives you a choice: 5 natural surface, 2 paved, 1 crushed gravel, and 1 mixed. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More natural surface trails →
• Loop or out-and-back? 9 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Scottsdale is Gateway Trailhead - McDowell Sonoran Preserve at 230 mi. 7 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Scottsdale are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 23 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
• Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 14 have trailhead parking, 14 have restrooms, and 11 have a water fountain in Scottsdale. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
• The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 7 with mile markers, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 13 dog-friendly, and 9 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.

More on all of this in the trail-running guides.

Browse Scottsdale trails by type

• Natural surface trails (5 in Scottsdale)
• Paved trails (2 in Scottsdale)
• Crushed gravel trails (1 in Scottsdale)
• Mixed trails (1 in Scottsdale)
• Loop trails (9 in Scottsdale)
• Long-run trails (5+ mi) (7 in Scottsdale)
• Shaded trails (4 in Scottsdale)
• Flat & fast (7 in Scottsdale)
• Hilly trails (12 in Scottsdale)
• Scenic trails (18 in Scottsdale)
• Trails with restrooms (14 in Scottsdale)
• Trails with water fountains (11 in Scottsdale)
• Trailhead parking (14 in Scottsdale)
• Trails with mile markers (7 in Scottsdale)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (4 in Scottsdale)
• Dog-friendly (13 in Scottsdale)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (9 in Scottsdale)

Running trails near Scottsdale

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