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Running trails in Wayne, NJ
Wayne has 9 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 2 with a stated distance, 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 1,115 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.
High Mountain Park Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 537 reviews
Scenic trails for hiking & mountain biking plus skyline views of Newark & Manhattan from the summit.
Dave Waks Memorial Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 229 reviews
Park with grass & turf fields for various sports, plus a playground & area for flying model planes.
Terhune Memorial Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 182 reviews
Park (around 4 acres) featuring a lake, graves of famous dogs, benches and picnic areas.
Wayne Captain Kilroy Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 108 reviews
Recreational area with a swimming lake and an inflatable gym, plus a playground and picnic tables.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Wayne
- Match the surface to your legs. Wayne gives you a choice: 4 paved and 3 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Wayne is Pompton Valley Rail Trail - Mountainview Blvd Trailhead at 10 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Wayne 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 9 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 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 4 have a water fountain in Wayne. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, and 2 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 Wayne trails by type
Running trails near Wayne
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.