Running trails in Longmont, CO
Longmont has 25 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 5 on crushed gravel or dirt, 5 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 with a stated distance, 3 shaded, and 6 open 24 hours. 20 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 8,078 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.
St. Vrain State Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,575 reviews
State Park drawing nature watchers with multiple trails, plus camping facilities & fishing ponds.
Golden Ponds Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,242 reviews
An 88-acre natural park with 4 ponds on a former mine with 2.6 miles of trails & abundant birdlife.
McIntosh Lake
4.8 ★★★★★ 876 reviews
Scenic lake featuring a paved and gravel trail, a playground and picnic areas.
Dawson Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 609 reviews
15-acre lakeside park offering shoreline fishing, a walking trail, tennis courts & a playground.
Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Open Space
4.7 ★★★★★ 521 reviews
Nature preserve with a picnic shelter & hiking/biking trails, plus an overlook & information boards.
City of Longmont Rogers Grove Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 455 reviews
Tree-shaded public park with a river and a lake offering paved paths for biking and walking.
Pella Crossing
4.7 ★★★★★ 420 reviews
Peaceful dog-friendly park featuring fishing ponds and trails.
Flanders Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 371 reviews
Park on a fishing lake with a playground, multi-use athletic court & picnic facilities.
Left Hand Creek Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 337 reviews
City park with a roller hockey rink, sheltered picnic/BBQ areas, play structures & open fields.
Willow Farm Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 303 reviews
Familiar neighborhood park with open fields & a creek, plus a playground & picnic areas.
Lagerman Reservoir
4.4 ★★★★☆ 257 reviews
115-acre reservoir offers shore & boat fishing plus multi-use paths & a large picnic shelter.
Jim Hamm Nature Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 232 reviews
Natural space featuring walking paths and benches, along with a playground.
Settler's Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 221 reviews
Large park featuring a playground, soccer nets, and tennis courts.
Sandstone Ranch Visitors Center
4.8 ★★★★★ 164 reviews
Trail-filled and historical site with a playground and a skate park, plus picnic facilities.
Dickens Farm Nature Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 97 reviews
Park featuring picnic tables and trails, plus tubing on the river.
Spring Gulch Greenway #2
4.9 ★★★★★ 25 reviews
Neighbors Point Park
4.9 ★★★★★ 18 reviews
Sandstone Park and Information Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 12 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Longmont
- Match the surface to your legs. Longmont gives you a choice: 6 paved, 6 mixed, 4 natural surface, and 1 crushed gravel. 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? 5 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 Longmont is LoBo trail at 12 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 6 trails in Longmont are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 20 of the 25 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 17 have trailhead parking, 19 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Longmont. 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, 8 that runners describe as quiet, 13 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 Longmont trails by type
Running trails near Longmont
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.