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Running trails in Salisbury, NC
Salisbury has 13 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 11 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 2,757 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.
Salisbury City Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 708 reviews
Family-friendly park, with playgrounds and trails for hiking, tennis courts and fishing.
Sloan Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 448 reviews
Relaxed outdoor space featuring a playground, picnic shelters and a disc golf course.
Hurley Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 434 reviews
This park with woodlands & gardens also offers trails, quaint bridges & gazebos.
Dunn's Mountain Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 251 reviews
Natural area with a short trail and scenic views, plus a paved walkway and picnic tables.
Ellis Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 232 reviews
Park with baseball and tennis courts, a playground, an 18-hole disc-golf course, and picnic areas.
Salisbury Community Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 162 reviews
Mountain biking and hiking park, with sports fields and a playground for kids.
Kelsey Scott Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 166 reviews
Laid-back outdoor space with a playground, a disc golf course and a basketball court.
Granite Civic Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 147 reviews
Kid-friendly area featuring a playground, a baseball field, basketball courts and tennis courts.
Eagle Point Nature Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 90 reviews
Easy walking trails and a boat dock on the lake at this wooded nature reserve.
Eagle Point Trail Emerald Ridge Rd
4.3 ★★★★☆ 4 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Salisbury
- Match the surface to your legs. Salisbury gives you a choice: 6 paved, 2 crushed gravel, and 1 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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 Salisbury is Sloan Park at 3 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Salisbury is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 11 of the 13 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. 7 have trailhead parking, 8 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Salisbury. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Salisbury trails by type
- Paved trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Mixed 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 Salisbury
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.