Running trails in Carrollton, GA
Carrollton has 16 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 3 boardwalk, 4 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 9 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 2,276 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.
Little Tallapoosa Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 724 reviews
This 256-acre park with a fishing pond offers campsites, trails & an open field for recreation.
East Carrollton Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 637 reviews
This community area features athletic fields, a skate park, playground & lots of open green space.
Laura’s Park at Hays Mill Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 254 reviews
Public park featuring picnic tables and a restroom, plus dog-friendly walking paths.
Longview Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 227 reviews
Park offering a playground, tennis courts, picnic tables, and a walking trail, plus a dog park.
North Lakeshore Greenbelt Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 108 reviews
Scenic recreation area featuring a trail, an outdoor gym and lakeside playgrounds, plus grills for picnics and fishing.
Hobbs Farm Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 71 reviews
Park with a disc golf course, walking trails, and picnic tables, plus a public restroom.
Hobbs Farm Park GreenBelt Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 54 reviews
Park with a picnic area featuring walking trails, disc golf and a calisthenics area.
John Tanner Park (Carroll County Park)
4.7 ★★★★★ 51 reviews
138-acre, lakefront park offering a sandy beach, campsites, a mini-golf course, playground & trails.
Shiloh Walking Trail Covered Bridge
4.6 ★★★★★ 42 reviews
Pretty park with a scenic trail, a bridge and a creek bed.
Carrollton GreenBelt Railroad Underpass
4.5 ★★★★★ 25 reviews
Lakeshore Bike Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
Richard's Lake Walking Path
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Carrollton
- Match the surface to your legs. Carrollton gives you a choice: 4 paved and 3 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? 4 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 Carrollton is Little Tallapoosa Park at 9 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Carrollton is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 16 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 8 have trailhead parking, 11 have restrooms, and 7 have a water fountain in Carrollton. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 6 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 3 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 Carrollton trails by type
- Paved trails
- Boardwalk 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 Carrollton
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.