Running trails in Slidell, LA
Slidell has 9 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 boardwalk, 4 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 8 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 3,545 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.
Heritage Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,466 reviews
Green space featuring a playground & splash pad, plus picnic shelters, a boat launch & walking path.
John Slidell Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 725 reviews
Wooded site with a 1.5-mi. trail & ball fields, plus a playground, an indoor gym & picnic pavilion.
Camp Salmen Nature Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 494 reviews
Wooded park with a playground & walking trails, plus 3 pavilions & an amphitheater for events.
Fritchie Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 310 reviews
Tree-filled space with baseball & softball diamonds, plus trails, a playground & a pavilion.
Possum Hollow Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 211 reviews
Tree-lined green space with 2 softball fields, 2 multi-use fields & a rentable picnic pavilion.
St. Tammany Trace Parish Paved Bike Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 163 reviews
Paved, car-free path offering various outdoor activities such as walking, running, biking and inline skating.
White Kitchen Nature Preserve
4.1 ★★★★☆ 135 reviews
Nature preserve and wildlife refuge with a pier for viewing birds, alligators, and feral cats.
Old Rail Hiking Trail
3.5 ★★★★☆ 10 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Slidell
- Match the surface to your legs. Slidell gives you a choice: 2 boardwalk, 1 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 boardwalk 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Slidell are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 8 of the 9 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. 2 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Slidell. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Slidell trails by type
Running trails near Slidell
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.