Running trails in Marion, OH
Marion has 4 trails in the directory — 1 loop that returns to the trailhead and 1 open 24 hours. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 761 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.
Marion Tallgrass Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 321 reviews
Flat, easy-to-ride trail that follows an old rail line.
Sawyer-Ludwig Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 245 reviews
Public park with a disc golf course, softball and baseball, picnic areas, and a playground.
Quarry Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 190 reviews
Peaceful park featuring picnic tables, hiking trails and fishing at the lakes.
Indian Mounds Nature Trail
4.4 ★★★★☆ 5 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Marion
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is mixed (1 of 4). 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? 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Marion is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 4 of the 4 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 1 has trailhead parking and 1 has restrooms in Marion. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 that runners describe as quiet 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 Marion trails by type
Running trails near Marion
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.