Running trails in Boulder City, NV
Boulder City has 10 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 3 shaded. 5 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 6,814 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.
Hemenway Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,522 reviews
Small city park with tennis & basketball courts, a playground, picnic shelters & views of Lake Mead.
Veterans Memorial Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,220 reviews
Family-friendly park with a skate park, playground and a splash pad plus ponds and dog parks.
Historic Railroad Hiking Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,110 reviews
Lakeside hiking route snaking through 5 historic railroad tunnels toward the Hoover Dam.
Owl Canyon Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 196 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking zone with trails climbing down into a steep, rocky canyon featuring slot canyons, tunnels and a lake.
Pacifica Way Trail Head
4.7 ★★★★★ 64 reviews
Paved and unpaved paths for walking, hiking and biking on desert terrain.
Bootleg Canyon - Stonehenge Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 7 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Boulder City
- Match the surface to your legs. Boulder City gives you a choice: 2 paved, 1 natural surface, 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. The longest stated distance in Boulder City is Historic Railroad Hiking Trail at 4 mi.
- 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. 5 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. 8 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Boulder City. 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, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 5 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 Boulder City trails by type
Running trails near Boulder City
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.