Running trails in Palos Park, IL
Palos Park has 7 trails in the directory — 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, and 1 with a stated distance. 1 of them posts opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 4,551 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.
Swallow Cliff Stairs
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,181 reviews
2 flights of stairs with almost 300 steps in total, forming a loop & popular for cardio workouts.
Swallow Cliff Woods-North
4.8 ★★★★★ 518 reviews
Public park providing a restroom and picnic tables, plus trails for hiking, walking, and biking.
Palos Park Woods-North
4.7 ★★★★★ 340 reviews
Large forested area offering many multiuse trails, picnic space, boating, fishing & wildlife views.
Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 218 reviews
Wooded area with footpaths & gravel trails for hiking & biking, with no dogs allowed.
McClaughry Springs Woods
4.9 ★★★★★ 150 reviews
Nature trail system featuring a ravine and small creek amid hills and woods with picnic tables and birding opportunities.
Forty Acres Woods
4.8 ★★★★★ 90 reviews
Nature preserve featuring trails for hikers and runners, as well as picnic areas and horseback-riding paths.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Palos Park
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is crushed gravel (3 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 crushed gravel 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 Palos Park is McClaughry Springs Woods at 5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- 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 7 listing carries posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking and 4 have restrooms in Palos Park. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 3 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 Palos Park trails by type
Running trails near Palos Park
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.