Running trails in Bowie, MD
Bowie has 11 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 2 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 10 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 4,277 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.
Allen Pond Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,576 reviews
This park has athletic fields, picnic sites, a fishing pond, trails, an ice rink & skateboard area.
Fairwood Community Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 519 reviews
Pristine, family-friendly park featuring playgrounds, baseball fields and picnic areas.
Whitemarsh Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 446 reviews
Landscaped area with a playground, ball fields, & theater, plus forest trails for hiking & biking.
Foxhill Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 246 reviews
Shady green space with a playground for ages 5 and under, plus trails for walking and biking.
Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 175 reviews
Paved, wide-open hiking and biking trail with overpasses or tunnels at road crossings.
Governor Bridge Natural Area
4.4 ★★★★☆ 119 reviews
Nature area featuring an 8-acre lake, picnic tables, peaceful surroundings and trails.
Northridge Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 81 reviews
Lake and pond with a loop trail, plus a playground, picnic tables and a gazebo.
Somerset Neighborhood Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 56 reviews
Shaded area for kids featuring slides and a tennis court, plus trails for bikes and joggers.
Horsepen Branch Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 42 reviews
Fran Uhler Natural Area
4 ★★★★☆ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Bowie
- Match the surface to your legs. Bowie gives you a choice: 3 mixed, 2 paved, 1 natural surface, and 1 boardwalk. 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 mixed 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Bowie are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 10 of the 11 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. 5 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Bowie. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 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 Bowie trails by type
Running trails near Bowie
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.