Running trails in Des Moines, IA
Des Moines has 17 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, 3 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 14 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 5,748 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.
Gray's Lake Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,410 reviews
167-acre park featuring a 1.9-mi. lighted walking path around a lake with small boat rentals.
Ewing Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 863 reviews
Spacious park with playgrounds, an 18-hole disc golf course, a pond & a lilac arboretum.
Fort Des Moines Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 582 reviews
Community recreation space with large picnic shelters, a playground & trails, plus a fishing lake.
Greenwood - Ashworth Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 565 reviews
Public recreation area with playgrounds, a splash pad & picnic shelters, plus a pond & rose garden.
Easter Lake Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 568 reviews
Shady lakeside park featuring a beach, playgrounds, hiking and walking trails.
Margo Frankel Woods State Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 241 reviews
Tranquil park offering woodland hiking trails, playgrounds & sheltered picnic/BBQ sites.
Sargent Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 185 reviews
Family-friendly park offering a playground, splash pad and climbing structures.
Brook Run Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 84 reviews
Small, clean, family-friendly park offering various playground bits and swings along with picnic tables to have a meal.
Strasser Woods State Preserve
4.4 ★★★★☆ 68 reviews
City-area nature preserve offering hiking and walking trails through woods, with a creek.
Great Western Trail Head
4.7 ★★★★★ 31 reviews
Sycamore Wildlife Area
4.1 ★★★★☆ 18 reviews
Carl Voss Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 14 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Des Moines
- Match the surface to your legs. Des Moines gives you a choice: 2 paved, 2 mixed, 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? 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 Des Moines is Sargent Park at 100 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Des Moines are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 14 of the 17 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, 6 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Des Moines. 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, 3 that runners describe as quiet, and 3 dog-friendly. 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 Des Moines trails by type
Running trails near Des Moines
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.