Running trails in Tinley Park, IL
Tinley Park has 11 trails in the directory — 5 paved, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 4 with a stated distance, and 4 shaded. 7 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 1,498 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.
Orland Grassland
4.6 ★★★★★ 379 reviews
Prairie conservation area with a bike trail & walking paths, plus birdwatching opportunities.
Centennial Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 348 reviews
Lake and ponds with walking trails surrounding them. There’s also fishing, picnic areas and playgrounds.
St. Mihiel Woods-East
4.5 ★★★★★ 255 reviews
Recreation spot with hiking/cycling trails, fishing & picnicking areas in a picturesque setting.
Volunteer Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 150 reviews
Popular park offering swings, slides and picnic tables, along with baseball fields.
Yankee Woods
4.7 ★★★★★ 132 reviews
Relaxed, 3-mile trail for walking, jogging and biking, plus wooded surroundings, picnic tables and a dog park.
McCarthy Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 106 reviews
Sprawling park with batting cages, a skate park and mini golf.
Orland Grassland-South
4.7 ★★★★★ 67 reviews
Path featuring a variety of natural flora and fauna, and birds, plus an unpaved trail.
Devils Mountain bike trails
4.8 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Tinley Park
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (5 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? 3 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 Tinley Park is Orland Grassland at 5 mi. 2 trails are 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. 7 of the 11 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking, 8 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Tinley Park. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 7 dog-friendly, and 10 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 Tinley Park trails by type
Running trails near Tinley Park
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.