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Running trails in Cary, NC
Cary has 19 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 boardwalk, 7 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, 10 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 16 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 10,655 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.
Fred G. Bond Metro Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,504 reviews
Sprawling lakeside park with an amphitheater, trails, athletic fields, a rope course & playground.
Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,444 reviews
140-acre preserve with a 3-mi. trail system & scenic overlooks, plus a visitor center & programs.
Apex Community Park (Lake Trail Entrance)
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,196 reviews
Vast park with sports fields, play areas & a 50-acre lake for canoes, kayaks, sailboards & fishing.
North Cary Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,104 reviews
This park has baseball, basketball & volleyball, plus a playground, climbing wall & picnic area.
Marla Dorrel Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 991 reviews
Charming suburban park boasting an innovative children's play space, basketball court & picnic area.
Harold D. Ritter Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 573 reviews
Charming town park featuring a baseball field, basketball court, climbing wall & playground.
Old Reedy Creek Road Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 385 reviews
Hiking area with trails along a lake, including one leading into Umstead Park, and a restroom.
MacDonald Woods Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 398 reviews
City park with a variety of kids' play equipment, plus a sand pit, athletic field & picnic tables.
Ed Yerha Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 341 reviews
Wooded recreation site with 3 pickleball & 1 basketball courts, a playground & picnic tables.
American Tobacco Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 207 reviews
Long, scenic, 20-mile-plus trail open to hikers, bikers and runners, with shade and rest stops.
Company Mill Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 205 reviews
Scenery-rich park popular for hiking trails, featuring rolling hills, creeks and a river.
Stevens Nature Center
4.8 ★★★★★ 122 reviews
Visitor center at Hemlock Bluffs Preserve with hands-on exhibits & environmental education programs.
Tryon Road Greenway
4.9 ★★★★★ 50 reviews
Greenway featuring a paved path for walking and biking, as well as a lake.
White Oak Creek Greenway
4.7 ★★★★★ 32 reviews
Batchelor Branch Greenway
4.7 ★★★★★ 10 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Cary
- Match the surface to your legs. Cary gives you a choice: 6 paved, 2 boardwalk, 2 mixed, 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? 7 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. The longest stated distance in Cary is Company Mill Trailhead at 11 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 Cary are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 16 of the 19 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 11 have trailhead parking, 11 have restrooms, and 6 have a water fountain in Cary. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 10 shaded, 3 with mile markers, 8 that runners describe as quiet, 8 dog-friendly, and 7 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 Cary trails by type
- Paved trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Mixed trails
- Natural surface trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- 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 Cary
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.