Running trails in Great Bend, KS
Great Bend has 2 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 with a stated distance, and 1 open 24 hours. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 493 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.
Veterans Memorial Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 467 reviews
ScenicDog-friendly
Clean park for relaxing with a lake, playgrounds and picnic tables as well as outdoor exercise areas.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Great Bend
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 2). 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 Great Bend is Great Bend Hike & Bike Trail at 6 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Great Bend is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 2 of the 2 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 1 has restrooms in Great Bend. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet and 1 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 Great Bend trails by type
Running trails near Great Bend
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.