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Running trails in Silver Spring, MD
Silver Spring has 7 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, 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 1,086 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.
Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 503 reviews
A paved biking trail with bridges over a creek runs through this wooded park with many playgrounds.
Burnt Mills East Special Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 261 reviews
Humble, 2-plus acre local park featuring an extensive trail, a creek, parking & more.
Takoma-Piney Branch Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 162 reviews
This 17-acre neighborhood green space has sport courts & fields, a skate park, playgrounds & more.
Houston-Sligo Creek Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 74 reviews
Park with a splashy creek and a jungle gym, plus shaded picnic areas.
Sligo Cabin Neighborhood Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 56 reviews
Park with a playground, slides, and jogging trails.
Poplar Run Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 15 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Silver Spring
- Match the surface to your legs. Silver Spring gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 1 paved, 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. The longest stated distance in Silver Spring is Burnt Mills East Special Park at 12.9 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Silver Spring is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 of the 7 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. 4 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Silver Spring. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 3 dog-friendly, and 6 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 Silver Spring trails by type
Running trails near Silver Spring
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.