Home › Minnesota › Coon Rapids
Running trails in Coon Rapids, MN
Coon Rapids has 12 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, and 1 shaded. 10 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 2,216 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.
Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 850 reviews
Dam featuring a walkway and scenic views along with paved trails for biking and hikes.
Sand Creek Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 584 reviews
Large, contemporary multi-sports complex with playgrounds, a skate park & a concession stand.
Lions Coon Creek Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 366 reviews
Accessible, 15-acre park with picnic shelters, basketball courts, play equipment, a garden & trails.
Mississippi River Regional Trail - Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 120 reviews
Recreational place for hikers and cyclists along the Mississippi River, with some trails paved.
Woodcrest Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 80 reviews
Green space with 8 acres featuring a play area, picnic shelters, walking trails, and amenities for disc golf and baseball.
Pheasant Ridge Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 62 reviews
Trail-filled playground featuring slides and swings, plus basketball courts and baseball fields.
Erlandson Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 59 reviews
Shady spot for a picnic with tables amid an arboretum, along with a network of woodland trails.
Prairie Oaks Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 35 reviews
Marshland Park & Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 21 reviews
Bison Creek Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 15 reviews
Wedgewood Trail
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Coon Rapids
- Match the surface to your legs. Coon Rapids gives you a choice: 1 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 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. 10 of the 12 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Coon Rapids. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Coon Rapids trails by type
Running trails near Coon Rapids
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.