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Running trails in Arlington Heights, IL
Arlington Heights has 8 trails in the directory — 2 paved, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, and 1 open 24 hours. 7 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 2,510 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.
Lake Arlington
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,647 reviews
Public park offering a lake for fishing and boating, plus a playground and picnic area.
Nickol Knoll Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 243 reviews
Scenic par 3 golf course on a hill with views of the Chicago skyline.
Sunset Meadows Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 218 reviews
Turf-fielded soccer venue with a driving range and a playground.
Hasbrook Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 138 reviews
Local park, featuring a pond and a playground, along with tennis and basketball courts, and baseball fields. Also known for its walking path, the park has a small lake with ducks, as well as a park district building, a tennis court, a basketball court and a playground for kids.
Lake Terramere Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 114 reviews
Playground and lake park with swings, slides and picnic tables, ideal for kids.
Patriots Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 107 reviews
Park with a playground, basketball court, and baseball field, plus swings and slides.
Cronin Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 35 reviews
Kingsbridge Arboretum
4.9 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Arlington Heights
- Match the surface to your legs. Arlington Heights gives you a choice: 2 paved 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 Arlington Heights is Lake Arlington at 2 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Arlington Heights is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 of the 8 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. 4 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Arlington Heights. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 that runners describe as quiet, 2 dog-friendly, and 7 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 Arlington Heights trails by type
Running trails near Arlington Heights
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.