Running trails in Portage, MI
Portage has 12 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, and 2 shaded. 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 3,369 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.
Portage Creek Bicentennial Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,196 reviews
200-acre linear park offering multi-use trails, picnic areas & playgrounds, plus fishing & benches.
Celery Flats Historic Area
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,109 reviews
Popular park for dog walks and picnics, as well as biking.
West Lake Nature Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 292 reviews
Lakefront acreage with a wetland bog habitat, wooded trail & a dock promenade with scenic views.
Schrier Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 262 reviews
Relaxed, wooded park, with picnic tables, featuring trails, benches, and a playground.
Central Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 151 reviews
Compact, kid-friendly park featuring a playground, picnic tables, and an amphitheater.
Eliason Nature Reserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 138 reviews
Paved trail through the woods featuring a boardwalk over a bog.
Harbors West Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 110 reviews
Laid-back park featuring basketball courts, hockey rinks, play structures and baseball fields.
Bishop's Bog Preserve
4.8 ★★★★★ 68 reviews
Park featuring a trail for walking and admiring nature.
Celery Flats Kilgore Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Portage
- Match the surface to your legs. Portage gives you a choice: 4 paved, 4 mixed, 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? 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. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 12 of the 12 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. 9 have trailhead parking, 12 have restrooms, and 8 have a water fountain in Portage. 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, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 9 dog-friendly, and 4 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 Portage trails by type
Running trails near Portage
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.