Running trails in New Orleans, LA

How to pick a trail in New Orleans

• Match the surface to your legs. New Orleans gives you a choice: 4 boardwalk and 3 paved. 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 boardwalk trails →
• Loop or out-and-back? 2 trails here are loops, 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.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. 8 trails in New Orleans are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 19 of the 21 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
• Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in New Orleans. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
• The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 10 that runners describe as quiet, 6 dog-friendly, and 3 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 New Orleans trails by type

• Boardwalk trails (4 in New Orleans)
• Paved trails (3 in New Orleans)
• Loop trails (2 in New Orleans)
• Shaded trails (1 in New Orleans)
• Lit for early & night runs (2 in New Orleans)
• Flat & fast (1 in New Orleans)
• Hilly trails (1 in New Orleans)
• Scenic trails (13 in New Orleans)
• Trails with restrooms (6 in New Orleans)
• Trails with water fountains (3 in New Orleans)
• Trailhead parking (3 in New Orleans)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (10 in New Orleans)
• Dog-friendly (6 in New Orleans)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (3 in New Orleans)

Running trails near New Orleans

Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.

• Running trails in Gretna, LA (3 · 6 mi)
• Running trails in Belle Chasse, LA (1 · 8 mi)
• Running trails in Metairie, LA (1 · 8 mi)
• Running trails in River Ridge, LA (1 · 10 mi)
• Running trails in Kenner, LA (1 · 12 mi)
• Running trails in Slidell, LA (9 · 27 mi)
• Running trails in Mandeville, LA (8 · 27 mi)
• Running trails in Covington, LA (5 · 35 mi)