Running trails in St Cloud, MN
St Cloud has 15 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 3 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 12 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 6,285 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.
Munsinger Gardens
4.8 ★★★★★ 2,688 reviews
Shade-covered, tranquil oasis with a variety of flowers, a rock garden, greenhouse & lily pond.
Lake George/Eastman Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,716 reviews
Clean park at the city's center featuring a lake, hiking paths and playgrounds.
Wilson Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 549 reviews
Open park featuring a playground and a sand volleyball court, plus a dog park.
Hester Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 313 reviews
Park featuring a playground and picnic tables, plus areas for walking and sledding.
Riverside Regional Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 256 reviews
Recreational space offering a playground, disc golf, tennis courts, a splash pad, and trails.
Beaver Island Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 192 reviews
Easy-to-travel paved trail running along the Mississippi River to a dam and beyond.
Sauk River Regional Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 173 reviews
Park with dog-friendly hiking and biking trails, some of which offer views of the Sauk River.
River Bluffs Regional Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 106 reviews
Open space with hiking trails, picnic tables & boat access to the Mississippi River.
Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 82 reviews
Flat hiking trails through varied terrain, plus a wildlife observation deck.
Kiffmeyer Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 76 reviews
Park featuring a playground, baseball field, and picnic tables, plus a walking trail.
Jail Trail (North Loop) Mountain Bike and Cross Country Ski Trailhead
4.3 ★★★★☆ 81 reviews
Clean, family-friendly trail system featuring wooded hiking and biking paths plus winter skiing.
Northway Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 29 reviews
George Friedrich Trailhead
4 ★★★★☆ 12 reviews
Beaver Islands Regional Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
Beaver Island Trail South
4.5 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in St Cloud
- Match the surface to your legs. St Cloud gives you a choice: 3 paved, 1 natural surface, 1 boardwalk, 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. 3 trails in St Cloud are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 12 of the 15 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. 10 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in St Cloud. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 6 that runners describe as quiet, 7 dog-friendly, and 5 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 St Cloud trails by type
Running trails near St Cloud
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.