Running trails in Ellisville, MO
Ellisville has 11 trails in the directory — 5 paved, 1 with a stated distance, and 1 shaded. 8 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 796 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.
Bluebird Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 316 reviews
Paved park featuring playgrounds for kids as well as a water park, a pool, a basketball hoop and tennis courts.
Meramec Greenway Trailhead: Rock Hollow Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 162 reviews
Scenic, 10-mile hiking trail with multiple benches, waterfalls and creeks.
Ellisville Parks & Recreation
4.6 ★★★★★ 155 reviews
Expansive park offering a pool, tennis courts and a dog park.
Klamberg Woods Conservation Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 44 reviews
Hiking and walking trails in a lush park, with a disc golf course and baseball field.
Meadowlark Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 33 reviews
Bobwhite Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 27 reviews
Whippoorwill Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ellisville
- Match the surface to your legs. Ellisville gives you a choice: 5 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? 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 Ellisville is Meramec Greenway Trailhead: Rock Hollow Trail at 10 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- 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. 8 of the 11 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Ellisville. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 3 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 Ellisville trails by type
Running trails near Ellisville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.