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Running trails in Jersey City, NJ
Jersey City has 14 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 1 shaded, and 4 open 24 hours. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 49,030 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.
Liberty State Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 36,921 reviews
Waterfront views of Manhattan, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, plus miles of tree-lined walkways.
Lincoln Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 5,855 reviews
Largest park in Hudson County offers athletic facilities, statuary, trails & wildlife habitats.
J Owen Grundy Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,363 reviews
Riverfront pier facing the NYC skyline features game tables & a pavilion with festivals & shows.
Pershing Field Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,774 reviews
Park offering many amenities, including an ice rink, pool, playground & fields & courts for sports.
Van Vorst Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,160 reviews
Historic public square with playgrounds, dog runs & community gardens hosting a farmer's market.
Morris Canal Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 403 reviews
Small grassy park overlooking the water with a panoramic view of the New York City skyline.
Hudson River Waterfront Walkway
4.8 ★★★★★ 201 reviews
Waterfront walkway with Manhattan-area vistas, plus benches, eateries and a park.
Historic Reservoir #3 Preserve
4.4 ★★★★☆ 110 reviews
Kid-friendly recreational area featuring walking trails around a reservoir for fishing, kayaking and canoeing.
Lincoln Park West Wetlands & Nature Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 16 reviews
Edgewood Lake
4.8 ★★★★★ 10 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Jersey City
- Match the surface to your legs. Jersey City gives you a choice: 1 natural surface, 1 boardwalk, 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 natural surface 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. 4 trails in Jersey City are 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 14 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 3 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Jersey City. 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, 8 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Jersey City trails by type
Running trails near Jersey City
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.