Running trails in Hilliard, OH
Hilliard has 12 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 9 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 2,744 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.
Homestead Metro Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,684 reviews
44-acre park with outdoor & water activities, train-station replica, caboose & 3/4-mile paved trail.
Frank's Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 265 reviews
54-acre, community park featuring athletic fields, a playground, walking trail & open green space.
Quarry Trails Metro Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 213 reviews
Metro park for biking, sledding and hiking, featuring a waterfall, playgrounds, and more.
Darby Bend Lake
4.7 ★★★★★ 184 reviews
Natural acreage featuring lakes for canoeing, kayaking and fishing, plus trails for walking and hiking.
Dexter Falls Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 189 reviews
Recreational green space featuring a playground (with swings and slides), a basketball court and walking trails.
Darby Glen Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 63 reviews
Neighborhood park that is kid-friendly and family-friendly, featuring swings and a playground.
Reibel Woods
3.2 ★★★☆☆ 42 reviews
Park featuring a playground, walking trails, and a creek.
Heritage Rail trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 21 reviews
Scioto Run Nature Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 9 reviews
Hellbranch Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Hilliard
- Match the surface to your legs. Hilliard gives you a choice: 3 mixed, 2 paved, and 2 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 mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 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. 1 trail in Hilliard is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 12 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. 6 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Hilliard. 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, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 8 dog-friendly, and 3 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 Hilliard trails by type
Running trails near Hilliard
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.