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Running trails in Hackettstown, NJ
Hackettstown has 8 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 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 1,175 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.
Stephens State Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 795 reviews
805-acre park offering camping, 6 miles of trails, freshwater fishing in a stocked river & hunting.
Alumni Field
4.6 ★★★★★ 130 reviews
Peaceful park with picnic areas and trails, plus basketball and volleyball courts.
Allamuchy Mountain State Park, Deer Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 51 reviews
State park with kid-friendly hiking trails.
Allamuchy Mountain Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 15 reviews
Allamuchy Mnt State Park Trail Head
4.3 ★★★★☆ 8 reviews
Morris Canal Greenway - Bilby Road Trail Head
4.8 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hackettstown
- Match the surface to your legs. Hackettstown gives you a choice: 1 paved, 1 crushed gravel, 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Hackettstown 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 8 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Hackettstown. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 3 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Hackettstown trails by type
Running trails near Hackettstown
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.