Running trails in Athens, GA
Athens has 18 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, 4 shaded, and 5 open 24 hours. 13 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 9,282 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.
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia
4.8 ★★★★★ 4,039 reviews
Free 313-acre horticultural conservatory with walking paths & education programs for kids & adults.
Sandy Creek Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,281 reviews
782-acre outdoor recreation area with nature trails, disc golf & boating activities at Lake Chapman.
Southeast Clarke Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 897 reviews
Spacious park with walking trails, a modern playground & a dog park, plus multisport facilities.
Ben Burton Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 830 reviews
Small riverside park with wooded hiking trails suitable for dogs, plus a ramp for kayaks & canoes.
Walker Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 701 reviews
Outdoor park offering a bike trail, playgrounds & a fitness zone with weight & cardio equipment.
Bear Hollow Wildlife Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 457 reviews
Woodlands, wetlands & a historic cabin on 225 acres, plus visitors' center for interactive exhibits.
Dudley Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 391 reviews
This 24-acre tract of tranquil woods & fields features several picnic tables & a BBQ grill.
North Oconee River Greenway
4.6 ★★★★★ 300 reviews
A 3.5-mi. paved path for non-motorized use, connecting to parks, a nature center & 3 trails.
Oconee Forest Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 252 reviews
Sprawling public acreage with petroglyphs, historic ruins, 850+ miles of trails, campgrounds & more.
Pulaski Heights Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
Firefly Trail @ Old Winterville Rd
4.8 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Athens
- Match the surface to your legs. Athens gives you a choice: 5 mixed, 4 paved, 1 crushed gravel, 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 mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 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 Athens is North Oconee River Greenway at 4 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 5 trails in Athens are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 13 of the 18 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 3 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 12 have trailhead parking, 8 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Athens. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 8 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Athens trails by type
Running trails near Athens
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.