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Running trails in Hot Springs National Park, AR
Hot Springs National Park has 6 trails in the directory — 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, and 1 shaded. 2 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 844 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Sunset Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 257 reviews
Hiking trail in Hot Springs National Park over 10+ mi. of varied terrain with scenic overlooks.
West Mountain Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 219 reviews
Gentle 1.2-mile trail winding through mature forest, with vista points & access to other trails.
Goat Rock Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 197 reviews
Moderate 1.1-mile trail leading through forest to a vista point offering Ouachita Mountain views.
Gulpha Gorge Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 90 reviews
Short, steep route leading down to camping at Gulpha Gorge Creek, plus connections to other trails.
Cedar Glades Park Trail Head
4.9 ★★★★★ 48 reviews
Dog-friendly destination with a playground, popular for mountain biking and RC planes.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hot Springs National Park
- Match the surface to your legs. Hot Springs National Park gives you a choice: 3 mixed and 2 natural surface. 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 mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 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 Hot Springs National Park is Sunset Trail at 13.5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 2 of the 6 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 4 have trailhead parking and 1 has a water fountain in Hot Springs National Park. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 2 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Hot Springs National Park trails by type
Running trails near Hot Springs National Park
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.