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Running trails in Hattiesburg, MS
Hattiesburg has 10 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, 3 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 6 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 3,155 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.
Paul B Johnson State Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,598 reviews
State park with lake offers over 800 acres for camping, swimming, boating, fishing & more.
Town Square Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 446 reviews
Vibrant community park with an outdoor stage & many seasonal events, including a farmers market.
Kamper Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 354 reviews
This 40-acre park is home to the Hattiesburg Zoo, plus tennis courts, playgrounds & walking trails.
Longleaf Trace Jackson Road Station
4.8 ★★★★★ 182 reviews
Long asphalt trail where hikers, cyclists and runners workout among the trees.
Chain Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 187 reviews
Expansive park featuring a playground, along with hiking and walking trails. Plus a river view and fishing.
Duncan Lake Hattiesburg Mississippi
4.3 ★★★★☆ 153 reviews
Park with a lake full of geese and ducks that people love to feed.
Longleaf Trace
4.5 ★★★★★ 110 reviews
Tree-lined paved trail for biking and walking with water fountains and restrooms.
Optimist Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 62 reviews
Park with a walking trail and a children's playground, plus picnic tables and a public restroom.
Big Creek Landing Recreation Area
4.4 ★★★★☆ 57 reviews
Natural area featuring a 4-mile canoe trail, plus opportunities for hiking and camping.
Tuffburg Mountain Bike Trailhead
4.3 ★★★★☆ 6 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hattiesburg
- Match the surface to your legs. Hattiesburg gives you a choice: 3 paved 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Hattiesburg is Big Creek Landing Recreation Area at 43 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Hattiesburg are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 10 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Hattiesburg. 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, 1 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 Hattiesburg trails by type
Running trails near Hattiesburg
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.