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Running trails in Cottage Grove, MN
Cottage Grove has 11 trails in the directory — 7 paved and 1 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 2,096 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.
Woodridge Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 558 reviews
Large community park with kids' areas featuring a playground, tennis and baseball fields, plus basketball courts and picnic pavilions.
Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 405 reviews
Park on an expanse featuring a lake, wooded trails, a playground and a picnic pavilion.
Hamlet Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 305 reviews
Large recreational area featuring ball fields, a skate park and a playground.
Highlands Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 279 reviews
Park with a baseball & soccer fields, 2 tennis courts, 3 basketball courts & an ice-skating rink.
Cottage Grove Bike Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 187 reviews
Recreational spot featuring a pump track, skills area, and jump lines for bikers.
Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 104 reviews
Remote-feeling nature preserve featuring hiking trails amid sand dunes, prairies and forests to see plants, birds and other wildlife, plus river views.
West Draw Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 67 reviews
Bike park offering tracks with different ability levels, plus picnic areas and a playground.
Pine Glen Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 66 reviews
City park offering a baseball field, a playground, basketball, and a public restroom.
Camel's Hump Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 45 reviews
City park offering a paved trail and benches, plus scenic views of a valley and river.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Cottage Grove
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (7 of 11). 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. 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. 11 of the 11 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. 3 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Cottage Grove. 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, 2 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 Cottage Grove trails by type
Running trails near Cottage Grove
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.