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Running trails in Hickory Hills, IL
Hickory Hills has 7 trails in the directory — 1 paved. 6 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 632 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.
Buffalo Woods
4.4 ★★★★☆ 188 reviews
Located near stables, this tranquil open space & popular picnic spot has forested trails for riding.
Kasey Meadow's Play Ground
4.5 ★★★★★ 135 reviews
Kid-friendly destination featuring 2 playgrounds, a splash area and a basketball court.
Hidden Pond Woods
4.5 ★★★★★ 115 reviews
Park featuring woods, trails, horse riding, deer and a pond.
Prairie View Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 76 reviews
Paved, friendly park with two playground setups (one for tots and the other for kids), as well as a walking and biking trail.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hickory Hills
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 7). 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. 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. 6 of the 7 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 4 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Hickory Hills. 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, 5 dog-friendly, and 4 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 Hickory Hills trails by type
Running trails near Hickory Hills
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.