Running trails in Rochester, NY
Rochester has 31 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 5 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 30 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 26,517 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.
Ontario Beach Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 6,725 reviews
Popular beachside park known for its century-old carousel, swimming, boating & rentable shelters.
Highland Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 4,532 reviews
Spring-blooming flowers & trees line a 150-acre park with a castle, sunken garden & amphitheater.
Cobbs Hill Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,702 reviews
Public 109-acre park with a reservoir, sports fields & a hilltop trail that affords city views.
Genesee Valley Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 2,748 reviews
Sprawling city park with an array of trails, plus multi-use athletic fields, canoeing, golf & more.
Ellison Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,547 reviews
Secluded trails wind through forest & wetlands with a fishing creek, playing fields & ice rink.
Turning Point Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,476 reviews
Wooded acres with a waterfall, paved hiking & biking trails & a boardwalk over Genesee River.
Corbett's Glen Nature Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,247 reviews
Trails run by meadows, wetlands & waterfalls in this secluded park full of native birds & wildlife.
Greece Canal Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 609 reviews
A 577-acre park with amenities such as a dog park, athletic facilities, playgrounds & camping areas.
Buckland Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 607 reviews
A park with a lodge, trails, playgrounds, baseball fields & courts for tennis & basketball.
Braddock Bay Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 569 reviews
Clean bay-area park featuring hiking trails and a hawk-watching platform.
Durand Eastman Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 492 reviews
Trails wind over rolling terrain at this lakeside park that features a golf course & an arboretum.
Lower Falls Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 401 reviews
Picturesque park featuring 100-foot waterfalls, a rose garden and a cave, as well as walking paths.
Lucien Morin Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 389 reviews
Marsh area popular with canoers & kayakers also offers birdwatching, fishing, hiking & geo-caching.
Henpeck Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 385 reviews
Clean canal-side park featuring hiking and biking trails as well as picnic benches.
Tryon Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 346 reviews
Secluded city park known for its hiking & biking trails amid picturesque surroundings.
Genesee Gateway Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 279 reviews
Riverside walkway, part of the Genesee Riverway Trail, with a playground & boat ramp.
Washington Grove
4.8 ★★★★★ 172 reviews
Scenic woodsy area with hiking paths, picnic spots, old water towers and rotating graffiti.
First Responders Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 123 reviews
Park featuring playgrounds and athletic fields, plus a disc golf course.
Genesee Riverway Trail Extension
4.5 ★★★★★ 65 reviews
Paved and unpaved trails in a tree-covered riverside park.
Erie Canal Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 54 reviews
Peaceful park featuring trails for walking, biking, camping, fishing, and picnics.
Durand Eastman Park Arboretum
4.9 ★★★★★ 47 reviews
Park featuring several trails, lakes, and abundant wildlife.
Town of Chili Nature Trail
4 ★★★★☆ 49 reviews
Area with trails for hiking that offers wildlife sightings and overlooks of Black Creek.
Brickyard Trail (North Entrance)
4.8 ★★★★★ 40 reviews
Compact hiking area featuring wooded sections and ponds as well as nature, wildflowers, and wildlife.
The Brickyard Trail At The Sandra Frankel Nature Park
4.9 ★★★★★ 24 reviews
RIT Nature Trails
4.5 ★★★★★ 19 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Rochester
- Match the surface to your legs. Rochester gives you a choice: 4 natural surface, 4 mixed, 3 paved, 3 boardwalk, and 1 crushed gravel. 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 natural surface 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. 3 trails in Rochester are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 30 of the 31 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. 17 have trailhead parking, 12 have restrooms, and 8 have a water fountain in Rochester. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 6 shaded, 2 with mile markers, 14 that runners describe as quiet, 19 dog-friendly, and 19 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 Rochester trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Mixed trails
- Paved trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Loop trails
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Rochester
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.