Running trails in Riverside, OH
Riverside has 3 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 shaded, 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 614 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.
Shellabarger Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 462 reviews
Park with a playground, picnic shelter, walking path, basketball court, and soccer field.
Community Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 129 reviews
Children's and dog-friendly park with a playground, swings, slides and picnic tables.
Overlook Mutual Trails
4.3 ★★★★☆ 23 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Riverside
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 3). 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. 1 trail in Riverside is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 3 of the 3 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 1 has trailhead parking, 1 has restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Riverside. 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, 2 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 Riverside trails by type
Running trails near Riverside
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.