Running trails in Traverse City, MI

How to pick a trail in Traverse City

• Match the surface to your legs. Traverse City gives you a choice: 5 boardwalk, 3 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 boardwalk trails →
• Loop or out-and-back? 9 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 Traverse City is Hickory Meadows at 112.5 mi. 3 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. 6 trails in Traverse City are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 15 of the 21 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
• Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 16 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Traverse City. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
• The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 7 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 Traverse City trails by type

• Boardwalk trails (5 in Traverse City)
• Paved trails (3 in Traverse City)
• Mixed trails (1 in Traverse City)
• Loop trails (9 in Traverse City)
• Long-run trails (5+ mi) (3 in Traverse City)
• Shaded trails (3 in Traverse City)
• Flat & fast (3 in Traverse City)
• Hilly trails (4 in Traverse City)
• Scenic trails (16 in Traverse City)
• Trails with restrooms (5 in Traverse City)
• Trails with water fountains (4 in Traverse City)
• Trailhead parking (16 in Traverse City)
• Trails with mile markers (7 in Traverse City)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (8 in Traverse City)
• Dog-friendly (11 in Traverse City)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (7 in Traverse City)

Running trails near Traverse City

Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.

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