Home › New Jersey › Montclair
Running trails in Montclair, NJ
Montclair has 4 trails in the directory — 2 paved, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, and 1 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 1,297 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.
Edgemont Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 884 reviews
A WWI memorial stands on an island in a pond in the middle of this community park.
Yantacaw Brook Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 157 reviews
Small park featuring trees, flowers and rolling hills.
Alonzo F Bonsal Wildlife Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 155 reviews
Wildlife refuge with a hiking trail suitable for kids and leashed dogs.
Canterbury Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 101 reviews
Small, peaceful park featuring a playground, a basketball court and a tennis court.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Montclair
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (2 of 4). 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Montclair is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 4 of the 4 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 1 has restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Montclair. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Montclair trails by type
Running trails near Montclair
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.