Running trails in Gurnee, IL
Gurnee has 11 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 2 open 24 hours. 5 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 1,214 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.
Warren Township Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 402 reviews
Basketball courts and skateboard park among the amenities at this family-friendly park, featuring playgrounds and baseball fields.
Betty Russell Community Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 337 reviews
Grassy space with a skate park, playground, baseball & soccer fields, plus a seasonal ice rink.
Ravinia Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 176 reviews
Clean park featuring a playground for all ages, basketball courts, slides, jungle gyms and picnic tables.
Lake Carina Forest Preserve
4.3 ★★★★☆ 184 reviews
Nature preserve featuring a trail around a lake popular with fishermen.
Shaw Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 47 reviews
Swings and playgrounds at a renovated park where families can come for informal recreation.
Gowe Memorial Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 41 reviews
Kilbourne Road DPRT Trail Access
4.7 ★★★★★ 17 reviews
HeatherRidge Woods
4.6 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
Des Plains River Trail Access
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Gurnee
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is natural surface (1 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 natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 2 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 Gurnee is Lake Carina Forest Preserve at 1 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Gurnee are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 5 of the 11 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Gurnee. 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 2 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 Gurnee trails by type
Running trails near Gurnee
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.