Running trails in Highland, NY
Highland has 5 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt and 2 loops that return to the trailhead. 4 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 7,787 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.
Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 7,331 reviews
Originally built in 1889, this bridge provides a scenic pedestrian walkway over the Hudson River.
Franny Reese State Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 357 reviews
This 251-acre park features hiking & biking trails, the ruins of a 19th-century estate & more.
Illinois Mountain Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 52 reviews
5.5 mi. of hiking & mountain-biking trails over 507 acres, with picnic areas & ponds.
Hudson Valley Rail Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 39 reviews
Park featuring picnic tables and a caboose, plus access to a rail trail.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Highland
- Match the surface to your legs. Highland 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? 2 trails here are loops, 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. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 4 of the 5 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Highland. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, and 3 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 Highland trails by type
Running trails near Highland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.