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Running trails in Bismarck, ND
Bismarck has 12 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 3 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 1,970 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.
Sertoma Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 613 reviews
Large riverside park with playgrounds, walking trails, sand volleyball, horseshoes & public art.
Kiwanis Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 451 reviews
Park with swings, slides, play structures, a climbing rock and a horseshoe area.
Cottonwood Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 302 reviews
200+ acres of open space with a trail, sports complex, BMX track, playground & fishing hole.
Pioneer Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 226 reviews
Public park offering beach volleyball courts, walking & biking trails & a reservable picnic shelter.
Optimist Family Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 134 reviews
This recreational park provides a basketball & volleyball court, horseshoes & picnic shelters.
North Central Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 122 reviews
Public park featuring a playground, tennis courts and a shelter for picnics.
Johnny Gisi Memorial Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 37 reviews
George Bird Rotary Arboretum
4.4 ★★★★☆ 34 reviews
Hay Creek Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
Atkinson Nature Park
5 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
A. James Silbernagel Memorial Park
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Bismarck
- Match the surface to your legs. Bismarck gives you a choice: 4 paved 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? 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. 3 trails in Bismarck are 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 12 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking and 10 have restrooms in Bismarck. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet and 1 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 Bismarck trails by type
Running trails near Bismarck
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.