Running trails in Hot Springs, AR
Hot Springs has 12 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 3 with a stated distance, and 2 shaded. 3 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 12,161 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.
Entergy Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 995 reviews
Waterside recreational park offering walking trails, fishing spots, playgrounds & a scenic overlook.
Cedar Glades Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 265 reviews
Mountain-biking and hiking trails through tall pines, plus a playground and disc golf course.
Northwoods Trails
4.9 ★★★★★ 223 reviews
Mountain biking park featuring 21.5 mi. of cross-country, downhill, and flow trails on 2,000 acres.
Tufa Terrace Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 121 reviews
Scenic trail & promenade in a natural setting leading to unique geothermal waterfalls.
Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 67 reviews
Waterside path with hills, art installations and sculptures, as well as benches for resting.
Mountain Top Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 33 reviews
Easy wooded hiking path with connecting trails leading to the top of West Mountain.
Jean White Wallace Wetlands Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Slunger Creek Nature Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hot Springs
- Match the surface to your legs. Hot Springs gives you a choice: 4 paved and 3 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 paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Hot Springs is Northwoods Trails at 65 mi. 3 trails are 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. 3 of the 12 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 9 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Hot Springs. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 5 dog-friendly, and 8 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 trails by type
Running trails near Hot Springs
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.