Running trails in Circleville, OH
Circleville has 13 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 7 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 2,208 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.
A.W. Marion State Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 828 reviews
Open parkland offering 5 miles of hiking trails, wildlife & a lake for boating & fishing.
Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 705 reviews
Wooded park with a splash pad and playgrounds, popular for family outings.
Ted Lewis Park
3.8 ★★★★☆ 269 reviews
Park featuring a playground, picnic areas, sports facilities, and a splash pad.
Barthelmas Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 207 reviews
Public park with baseball and soccer fields, as well as a playground, picnic facilities, and restrooms.
Canal Park - Pickaway County Park District
4.6 ★★★★★ 103 reviews
Relaxed park offering a mix of trails, playground equipment, grassy spots, wildlife and a river.
Calamus Swamp
4.4 ★★★★☆ 48 reviews
Kid-friendly park with boardwalks, trails, and nature ideal for hiking.
Canal Park- Towpath Trail (trailhead)
4.9 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Roundtown Trail Trailhead
5 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
Pickaway Trail - Canal Road Trailhead
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
AW Marion Mountain Bike Trail
3.7 ★★★★☆ 3 reviews
Lake Perimeter Hiking Trail
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Circleville
- Match the surface to your legs. Circleville gives you a choice: 1 paved, 1 natural surface, and 1 boardwalk. 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 Circleville is A.W. Marion State Park at 5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Circleville is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 of the 13 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. 3 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Circleville. 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 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 1 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 Circleville trails by type
- Paved trails
- Natural surface trails
- Boardwalk 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
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Circleville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.