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Running trails in Lee's Summit, MO
Lee's Summit has 21 trails in the directory — 7 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 6 loops that return to the trailhead, 3 with a stated distance, 4 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 14 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 6,174 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.
James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,699 reviews
Expansive woodland & wetland hunting grounds features picnic spots, trails & fishing lakes & ponds.
Lea McKeighan Park - South
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,402 reviews
Park featuring a shelter, a playground, a skate park, ball diamonds, volleyball courts & restrooms.
Lowenstein Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 794 reviews
18-acre park featuring open fields, kids' play equipment, picnic shelters & a 1-mi. walking path.
Miller J. Fields Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 588 reviews
Park for family fun featuring a splash pad, baseball fields, a zipline and a play area for toddlers.
Charles David Hartman Memorial Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 517 reviews
Park featuring baseball fields, a creek for splashing and sledding.
Winterset Park Nature Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 348 reviews
This 10-acre nature park features a trail, bridges & waterfalls, plus native wildflowers & wildlife.
Osage Trails Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 143 reviews
Spacious park featuring a playground as well as a walking / running path.
Deer Valley Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 104 reviews
Kid-friendly park featuring an open grassy area for activities and a playground, plus picnic tables.
Larry Mattonen Memorial Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 108 reviews
Shaded, gravel-covered trail for walking and biking, plus a lake cove.
Rock Island Trailhead Hartman Park
4.9 ★★★★★ 80 reviews
Popular, scenic trail, plus a playground and a baseball field.
Velie Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 83 reviews
Well-maintained play area with swings, slides and a jungle gym, plus an exercise area.
North Shore Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 62 reviews
Park featuring a lake and trails, including some that are kid-friendly.
Augie Phase 2 Trail Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 13 reviews
Longview Lake Horse-Hike Trail
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
8 Reserve Trail
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Lee's Summit
- Match the surface to your legs. Lee's Summit gives you a choice: 7 paved, 6 mixed, 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? 6 trails here are loops, 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. The longest stated distance in Lee's Summit is Velie Park at 95 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Lee's Summit is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 14 of the 21 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. 11 have trailhead parking, 12 have restrooms, and 6 have a water fountain in Lee's Summit. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 2 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 8 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 Lee's Summit trails by type
- Paved trails
- Mixed trails
- Natural surface trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Lee's Summit
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.