Running trails in Burnsville, MN
Burnsville has 14 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 1 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 2,253 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.
Lac Lavon Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 480 reviews
Vast space featuring canoe rack rentals, tennis courts, softball fields, play areas, WiFi & a beach.
Sunset Pond
4.7 ★★★★★ 401 reviews
Popular green space for walks, biking and picnics, with a playground and a pond.
Terrace Oaks West Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 355 reviews
Park on 4 acres offering tennis & basketball courts, trails & a winter ice-skating rink.
Crystal Lake West
4.5 ★★★★★ 268 reviews
Park with a boat ramp, picnic areas, walking paths, and fishing.
Day Park & Earley Lake Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 208 reviews
Neighborhood park with a lake, picnic shelter, playground, and trails for walking and jogging.
Crosstown West Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 141 reviews
Green space featuring picnic pavilions, a gazebo and a playground for kids.
Rudy Kraemer Nature Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Natural area with trails for walking, jogging, and skiing, as well as wildlife sightings.
MN River Greenway - Black Dog Trailhead
4.5 ★★★★★ 86 reviews
Park featuring a bridge for bikers and trails suitable for walking and fishing.
Kelleher Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 75 reviews
Trails and boardwalks spanning a wetland and featuring a playground for kids.
Knob Hill Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 55 reviews
Park with baseball fields, a playground, and basketball facilities, plus picnic tables.
Minnesota River Greenway Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Burnsville
- Match the surface to your legs. Burnsville gives you a choice: 6 paved, 4 mixed, and 1 natural surface. 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? 2 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 Burnsville is Rudy Kraemer Nature Preserve at 5 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 Burnsville is 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 14 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. 11 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Burnsville. 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, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 9 dog-friendly, and 1 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 Burnsville trails by type
- Paved trails
- Mixed trails
- Natural surface trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Burnsville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.