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Running trails in Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs has 29 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 9 on crushed gravel or dirt, 7 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 with a stated distance, 3 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 19 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 92,286 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.
Garden of the Gods
4.9 ★★★★★ 58,076 reviews
Comprising 1,300 acres of sandstone formations, this park offers a visitor center & hiking trails.
Red Rock Canyon
4.8 ★★★★★ 7,117 reviews
City preserve with marked walking & biking trails, as well as scenic views of red-rock formations.
The Broadmoor Seven Falls
4.4 ★★★★☆ 6,678 reviews
Park focused on scenic waterfalls & geologic monuments that also has a historic gravesite.
Palmer Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 5,760 reviews
737-acre wildlife preserve offering hiking, biking & sports fields on a mesa overlooking the city.
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,556 reviews
Huge, scenic state park with biking & hiking trails, picnicking, a campground & other features.
Fox Run Regional Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 2,154 reviews
Wooded park offering lake & mountain views, plus hiking & biking trails, horseback riding & more.
Monument Valley Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,893 reviews
Century-old park with ballfields & paths for running & cycling, plus a pool & formal gardens.
Seven Bridges Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,319 reviews
Trail offering moderate hikes on sloping terrain, with bridges over a cascading mountain stream.
Ute Valley Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,253 reviews
Hiking & biking trails snake through this park that spans a hogback ridge & offers scenic views.
Pulpit Rock Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,231 reviews
Open space preserve with 500 acres of land with paved & unpaved trails, plus city & mountain views.
Stratton Open Space
4.7 ★★★★★ 726 reviews
Popular site for hiking, biking, jogging and dog walking featuring a pond and a reservoir.
Mt Cutler and Muscoco Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 659 reviews
Trail for families (if no one's afraid of heights) and kids (including toddlers), plus dog-friendly options for moderate scrambles, challenging inclines and views of nearby mountains and seven waterfalls.
Palmer Park (Yucca Flats Trailhead)
4.8 ★★★★★ 348 reviews
Sprawling natural oasis offering a playground for hiking and walking off-leash dogs with scenic views.
Mount Herman Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 341 reviews
Mountain area laced with easy to challenging trails, popular for hiking and biking.
Central Gardens at Garden of the Gods
4.9 ★★★★★ 316 reviews
Natural rock formations and hiking trails amid rocky peaks and mountains.
Bluestem Prairie Open Space
4.2 ★★★★☆ 361 reviews
This park comprised of 650 acres of prairie land offers hiking, birds & other wildlife.
Austin Bluffs Open Space
4.6 ★★★★★ 312 reviews
Woodland area covering 584 acres, featuring distinctive rock formations dating to the Eocene period.
St Mary's Falls
4.8 ★★★★★ 239 reviews
Mostly shady hike with waterfalls passing through a forest of aspens and pines.
Fox Run Regional Park Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 206 reviews
Forested park with trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
Edmondson Trail Head
4.6 ★★★★★ 147 reviews
Uphill trail network offering views of the mountains and the Air Force Academy, plus meadows and streams.
Palmer Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 133 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking area with a garden and formations.
Stratmoor Valley Park and Trailhead
4.2 ★★★★☆ 132 reviews
Community park with picnic tables and a trail that's suitable for kids.
Mid Columbine Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 89 reviews
Popular spot for outdoor activities, like hiking, mountain biking and trail running.
Palmer Park Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 69 reviews
Mountain-like terrain with trails winding through scrub brush, pines and cacti.
Cottonwood Creek Trail to Dublin Park sign
4.6 ★★★★★ 53 reviews
Kid-friendly area offering hiking and cycling, among other activities.
Black and Blue Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 17 reviews
Pikes Peak Greenway University Village Trailhead
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Colorado Springs
- Match the surface to your legs. Colorado Springs gives you a choice: 7 natural surface, 4 paved, 2 crushed gravel, and 2 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? 7 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 Colorado Springs is Cheyenne Mountain State Park at 29 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Colorado Springs are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 19 of the 29 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 26 have trailhead parking, 14 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Colorado Springs. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 11 that runners describe as quiet, 20 dog-friendly, and 7 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 Colorado Springs trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Paved trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Mixed trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Colorado Springs
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.