Running trails in Plattsburgh, NY
Plattsburgh has 14 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt and 4 open 24 hours. 8 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 3,547 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.
Plattsburgh City Beach
4.3 ★★★★☆ 1,314 reviews
Freshwater beach offering seasonal swimming areas & a nature trail, plus picnic tables & a dog park.
Point Au Roche State Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 882 reviews
Seasonal state park featuring multiple trails, along with beaches and a playground.
Cumberland Bay State Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 606 reviews
Popular destination for beach swimming & scenic picnics on the shore of Lake Champlain.
Melissa Penfield Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 332 reviews
Public park with a children's playground, sports facilities, a dog exercise area & a skate park.
MacDonough Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 118 reviews
Calm park near the river, with pathways, benches and a gazebo for weddings plus other events.
South Acres Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 115 reviews
Multi-use space with facilities for summer & winter sports, picnic areas & playground equipment.
South Platt St. Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 80 reviews
Popular park for ballgames and other activities, as well as sledding in winter.
Treadwell Mills Connector Trail
3.4 ★★★☆☆ 11 reviews
Terry James Gordon Rec Path
4.7 ★★★★★ 6 reviews
Heritage Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
Blue Trails
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
Plattsburgh Riverwalk
4 ★★★★☆ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Plattsburgh
- Match the surface to your legs. Plattsburgh 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. 4 trails in Plattsburgh are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 8 of the 14 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, 5 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Plattsburgh. 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, 4 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Plattsburgh trails by type
Running trails near Plattsburgh
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.