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Running trails in Southbury, CT
Southbury has 13 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 boardwalk, and 1 loop that returns to the trailhead. 10 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 2,351 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.
Southford Falls State Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,216 reviews
Park, with ponds and waterfalls plus trails, a watchtower and a covered bridge.
Kettletown State Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 588 reviews
Swimming & fishing in the Housatonic River, plus hiking & 63 camp sites in open or wooded settings.
Audubon Center Bent of the River
4.9 ★★★★★ 189 reviews
Nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary offering trails, picnic areas, and river views.
George C Waldo State Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 136 reviews
Recreation area for hiking and mountain biking trails, plus a riverside picnic area.
Settlers Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 92 reviews
Park featuring a playground, gazebo, picnic area.
Hidden Pond Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 56 reviews
Woods walk, pond and deer-spotting area also featuring two disc golf courses of varying difficulty for all levels of player, as well as bench seating.
Great Woods Walk
4.8 ★★★★★ 12 reviews
Hinman Park
3.5 ★★★★☆ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Southbury
- Match the surface to your legs. Southbury gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 2 boardwalk, 1 paved, 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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.
- 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. 10 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Southbury. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 9 dog-friendly, and 1 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 Southbury trails by type
Running trails near Southbury
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.