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Running trails in North Potomac, MD

North Potomac has 2 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt 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 144 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.

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Muddy Branch Greenway Trail trailhead

4.5 ★★★★★ 119 reviews

North Potomac, MD

MixedScenicDog-friendly

Natural-surface trail that's 9 miles long, allows dogs, and has sightings of wildlife.

Muddy Branch Trail Head

4.8 ★★★★★ 25 reviews

North Potomac, MD

Natural surface

How to pick a trail in North Potomac

Match the surface to your legs. North Potomac gives you a choice: 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 natural surface 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. 1 trail in North Potomac 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 trailhead parking and 1 has restrooms in North Potomac. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
The small things that decide it. 1 dog-friendly and 1 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 North Potomac trails by type

Natural surface trails (1 in North Potomac)
Mixed trails (1 in North Potomac)
Flat & fast (1 in North Potomac)
Scenic trails (1 in North Potomac)
Trails with restrooms (1 in North Potomac)
Trailhead parking (1 in North Potomac)
Dog-friendly (1 in North Potomac)
Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (1 in North Potomac)

Running trails near North Potomac

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