Running trails in Waycross, GA
Waycross has 6 trails in the directory — 1 boardwalk and 1 with a stated distance. 4 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 3,951 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.
Okefenokee Swamp Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 2,034 reviews
Daytime-only park with boat tours, canoes, trails, reptile shows & a 90-ft. observation tower.
Laura S. Walker State Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,694 reviews
Park near Okefenokee Swamp offering a variety of plants & animals, plus camping, swimming & more.
Gilchrist Park or Gibbs Street Park
3.8 ★★★★☆ 56 reviews
Family-friendly green space with a play area that includes swings and slides.
Waycross Scenic Parkway
1 ★☆☆☆☆ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Waycross
- Match the surface to your legs. Waycross gives you a choice: 1 boardwalk 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 boardwalk trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Waycross is Laura S. Walker State Park at 4 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. 4 of the 6 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Waycross. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet 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 Waycross trails by type
Running trails near Waycross
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.