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Running trails in Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids has 24 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 4 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 4 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 22 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 9,757 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.
Richmond Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,436 reviews
Large park featuring various sports facilities, plus trails, a playground, a pond & an outdoor pool.
Blandford Nature Center
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,162 reviews
Welcoming, 501(c)(3), multi-building nature preserve offering education programs and marked hiking trails, plus encounters with injured animals.
Huff Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,005 reviews
City park with a playground & ball field, plus a wetlands boardwalk trail with interpretive signs.
Provin Trails Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 860 reviews
46-acre forested park with interconnected loops of natural trails for hiking & cross-country skiing.
Lookout Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 845 reviews
Down-to-earth spot featuring grassy areas, swings and picnic tables for relaxation, plus sweeping vistas of the city.
Aman Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 660 reviews
Scenic natural area featuring self-guided hiking & cross-country ski trails for year-round use.
Ken-O-Sha Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 554 reviews
Sprawling area with paved trails, playground, picnic area, basketball court & baseball field.
Grand Rapids Township Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 409 reviews
Relaxed outdoor area featuring baseball diamonds, basketball hoops, playgrounds and tennis courts.
Crahen Valley Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 392 reviews
Dog-friendly park featuring picnic tables, ponds and streams along with marked and unmarked paths.
Versluis Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 403 reviews
Park featuring a lake with a small beach and fishing, plus a playground and picnic areas with grills.
Bunker Interpretive Center
4.7 ★★★★★ 311 reviews
Nature preserve with an interpretive center, walking trails, and native gardens.
Plaster Creek Family Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 332 reviews
Park featuring a ball diamond & tennis courts, plus a playground, restrooms & a picnic shelter.
Highland Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 296 reviews
City park, also known as Highland Park, featuring playgrounds, a rock wall, soccer and football fields, and nature trails.
Stairs on Division aka Belknap Death Stairs
4.7 ★★★★★ 143 reviews
Popular stairway featuring 100+ steps, known for being a workout and cardio spot.
Ball Perkins Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 115 reviews
Community park offering kid-friendly hikes, wildlife sightings, and scenic views.
Alpine Estates Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 116 reviews
Relaxed park featuring playgrounds for multiple age groups as well as sports courts. Trails for walking are also on-site.
Ambrose Park
3.7 ★★★★☆ 105 reviews
Peaceful park featuring a pond, plus a playground, picnic sites and boardwalks.
Burton Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 60 reviews
Scenic park with a network of trails for hiking plus a large house.
Grand River Edges Trail West
4.3 ★★★★☆ 12 reviews
Carrier Creek Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Grand Rapids
- Match the surface to your legs. Grand Rapids gives you a choice: 4 paved, 3 natural surface, 2 mixed, 1 crushed gravel, 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 paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 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. The longest stated distance in Grand Rapids is Ball Perkins Park at 55 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Grand Rapids are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 22 of the 24 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 12 have trailhead parking, 9 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Grand Rapids. 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 with mile markers, 8 that runners describe as quiet, 11 dog-friendly, and 7 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 Grand Rapids trails by type
- Paved trails
- Natural surface trails
- Mixed trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Grand Rapids
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.