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Running trails in North Branch, MN
North Branch has 5 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 boardwalk, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 4 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 342 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.
Riverwalk Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 150 reviews
Wooded park featuring dirt, paved and grass trails, as well as gazebos, pavilions and benches.
Kost Dam County Park, Chisago County
4.4 ★★★★☆ 119 reviews
Relaxed country park featuring a lake for fishing and a river, plus picnic tables and a dam.
Irving and John Anderson County Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 65 reviews
Large green space with hiking and walking trails and a playground for kids. Dog-friendly.
Deer Trail Park
3.8 ★★★★☆ 6 reviews
North End of Sunrise Prairie Trail
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in North Branch
- Match the surface to your legs. North Branch gives you a choice: 1 paved and 1 boardwalk. 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. 1 trail in North Branch is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 4 of the 5 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in North Branch. 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, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 1 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 North Branch trails by type
Running trails near North Branch
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.