Running trails in Ankeny, IA
Ankeny has 18 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 8 with a stated distance, 3 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 9 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 1,648 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.
Northcreek Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 72 reviews
Vintage Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 8 reviews
Yellow Oasis and Trailhead on High Trestle Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ankeny
- Match the surface to your legs. Ankeny gives you a choice: 3 paved and 1 natural surface. 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. The longest stated distance in Ankeny is Sunrise Park at 100 mi. 8 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Ankeny are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 18 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 10 have trailhead parking, 10 have restrooms, and 8 have a water fountain in Ankeny. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 3 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 Ankeny trails by type
Running trails near Ankeny
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.