Running trails in Ottawa, KS
Ottawa has 7 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 5 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 5 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 1,346 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.
Forest Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 715 reviews
Relaxed park, with basketball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds, a disc golf course, a skateboard area, dog parks and a swimming pool.
Kanza Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 299 reviews
Park featuring a playground, a frisbee golf course and picnic tables.
Heritage Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 78 reviews
Shaded park featuring a paved, 1/4-mile loop and a playground.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ottawa
- Match the surface to your legs. Ottawa gives you a choice: 2 paved, 1 natural surface, and 1 mixed. 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 Ottawa is Heritage Park at 4 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Ottawa are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 5 of the 7 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Ottawa. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 5 shaded and 2 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 Ottawa trails by type
Running trails near Ottawa
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.