Running trails in Genoa, IL
Genoa has 1 trail in the directory — 1 loop that returns to the trailhead. Every one posts opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 297 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.
Russell Woods Forest Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 297 reviews
LoopScenic
Benches, trails, cabins and shelters are some of the amenities at this wooded nature preserve, which also includes a sledding hill.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Genoa
- Match the surface to your legs. 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.
- 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.
- 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. 1 of the 1 listing carries posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Genoa trails by type
Running trails near Genoa
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.