Running trails in Bloomington, IL
Bloomington has 11 trails in the directory — 2 paved, 5 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 10 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 3,519 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.
Miller Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,243 reviews
Zoo, playground, lake and splash pad complex, plus a golf course.
McGraw Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 487 reviews
Landscaped park with a playground, splash pad & water fountain, plus soccer & baseball fields.
White Oak Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 458 reviews
Modest open space with sports facilities & a playground, plus a paved track around a lake.
Tipton Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 385 reviews
Recreation area with baseball fields & a walking trail, plus a playground & splash park for kids.
Ewing Park I
4.5 ★★★★★ 361 reviews
Large public area featuring playgrounds, a playground for small children, trails, baseball diamonds and picnic spots.
Franklin Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 195 reviews
Sandy playground and picnic-table-lined park featuring quiet benches, mature trees and shady spots for relaxing.
Ewing Park ll
4.5 ★★★★★ 164 reviews
Kid-friendly park with a playground and baseball fields as well as a wooded area for bird-watching.
Gaelic Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 114 reviews
Small, clean neighborhood park featuring basketball courts, a baseball field, and a playground.
Walt Bittner Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 88 reviews
Public park named for a former mayor, with several sports fields & courts, picnicking & a trail.
Brookridge Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 19 reviews
West Interurban Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Bloomington
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (2 of 11). 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Bloomington are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 10 of the 11 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, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Bloomington. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 5 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, and 3 dog-friendly. 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 Bloomington trails by type
Running trails near Bloomington
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.