Running trails in Merrillville, IN
Merrillville has 3 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 open 24 hours. 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 801 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.
Hidden Lake Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 707 reviews
Visitors to this forest park can paddleboat, play softball or disc golf, picnic & sled in winter.
John A. Stefek Park
3.9 ★★★★☆ 94 reviews
Laid-back outdoor space featuring a playground, a baseball field and a gazebo.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Merrillville
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 3). 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. 1 trail in Merrillville is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 1 of the 3 listing carries posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 1 has restrooms and 1 has a water fountain in Merrillville. 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. 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 Merrillville trails by type
Running trails near Merrillville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.