Running trails in Westland, MI
Westland has 16 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 13 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 4,123 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.
Central City Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,134 reviews
Public park with a playground, splash pad, skateboarding area, and picnic tables, plus a concession stand.
Hines Park of Westland
4.5 ★★★★★ 980 reviews
Sprawling park featuring walking trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, picnic tables and fishing spots by a river.
Nankin Mills Recreation Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 656 reviews
Nature retreat featuring bike paths, picnic tables, and play areas, in addition to charcoal grills.
Tattan Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 329 reviews
Large park featuring a splash area, a skateboarding area and a playground.
Perrin Recreation Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 306 reviews
Park with basketball courts, a playground, and picnic tables, plus a boat launch and food trucks.
Nankin Mills Nature Center
4.6 ★★★★★ 139 reviews
Free nature center featuring exhibits on the history of the area and its wildlife (including live turtles) or reptiles, plus trails.
Curtis Woods Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 120 reviews
Relaxed park with grassy areas, a playground and trails, plus a swing set and a slide.
Holliday Nature Preserve
4.3 ★★★★☆ 111 reviews
Nature reserve and park with 5 miles of pathways through the woods popular for hiking.
Hawthorne Ridge Recreation Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 89 reviews
Park featuring a playground for kids, a dog run and biking trails through the woods.
Wayne County Parks
4.6 ★★★★★ 67 reviews
Park offering picnic tables and trails for walking and biking.
Holliday Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 64 reviews
Park featuring a hiking trail, which is popular for morning deer sightings.
Cowan/Central City Parkway Holliday Nature Preserve Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 52 reviews
Park featuring trails for hikes that are suitable for children.
Trail 47 (MTB)
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Westland
- Match the surface to your legs. Westland gives you a choice: 2 paved, 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 paved 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. 3 trails in Westland are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 13 of the 16 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 3 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Westland. 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, 2 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 5 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Westland trails by type
Running trails near Westland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.