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Running trails in Toms River, NJ
Toms River has 9 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 shaded, 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 2,185 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.
Winding River Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 629 reviews
Scenic, wooded park offering playgrounds, an ice-skating rink, nature trails & various picnic areas.
Riverwood Park Recreation
4.5 ★★★★★ 532 reviews
Green space with hiking, camping & fishing, plus play areas, basketball courts & soccer fields.
Shelter Cove Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 358 reviews
Cozy beach with a playground plus basketball and baseball fields, and lifeguards in summer.
Toms River Veterans Recreation Complex
4.7 ★★★★★ 228 reviews
Relaxed park featuring a playground, picnic tables and a baseball field.
Silverton Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 231 reviews
Park with a baseball field, basketball courts, and picnic tables, plus 2 fenced areas for dogs.
Skyview Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 150 reviews
Park featuring a playground, as well as a baseball field and basketball courts.
Deer Hollow Park
4 ★★★★☆ 42 reviews
Park offering a large field suitable for kids, basketball, and on-leash dogs.
Winding River Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 13 reviews
toms river veterans park
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Toms River
- Match the surface to your legs. Toms River gives you a choice: 1 paved 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. 1 trail in Toms River is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 9 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. 2 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Toms River. 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, 2 that runners describe as quiet, and 6 dog-friendly. 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 Toms River trails by type
Running trails near Toms River
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.