Running trails in Venice, FL
Venice has 13 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 6 shaded. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 2,898 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.
Shamrock Park & Nature Center
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,148 reviews
Walking trails, a playground & sport courts, plus an environmental center, in a waterfront habitat.
Woodmere Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 315 reviews
Park featuring basketball and tennis courts, as well as a playground and walking trail.
Sleeping Turtles Preserve North
4.7 ★★★★★ 290 reviews
Shaded wilderness park featuring alligator-inhabited riverfront trails, picnic tables and benches.
Maxine Barritt Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 246 reviews
Oceanfront park boasting scenic views, a walking path & an outdoor event space.
Legacy Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 235 reviews
Park and trailhead for the Legacy Trail with a playground, picnic tables, and train depot.
South Brohard Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 165 reviews
Park offering a beach with shark teeth, a boardwalk, and restrooms.
T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 107 reviews
Wilderness preserve for hiking and biking trails, as well as alligators and deer.
Skip Stasko Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 94 reviews
Small, laid-back park and nature-viewing area with benches, tables and a gazebo.
John Nolen Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 91 reviews
Shaded park equipped with a playground and picnic tables.
Prentiss French Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 86 reviews
Shady playground featuring swings and slides.
Pinebrook Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 76 reviews
Nature park with a disc golf course and walking trails, plus basketball courts.
South Venice Bay Preserve, Ocelot Rd entrance
4.6 ★★★★★ 25 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Venice
- Match the surface to your legs. Venice gives you a choice: 2 paved, 2 natural surface, 2 mixed, and 1 boardwalk. 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? 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. The longest stated distance in Venice is T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve at 3 mi.
- 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. 13 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 9 have trailhead parking, 9 have restrooms, and 6 have a water fountain in Venice. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 6 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 7 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 Venice trails by type
Running trails near Venice
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.