Running trails in Zanesville, OH
Zanesville has 13 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt and 2 shaded. 8 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 1,891 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.
Zane Landing Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 522 reviews
Tranquil, leafy riverside park with several war memorials & cruises on a historical riverboat.
Mission Oaks Gardens
4.7 ★★★★★ 449 reviews
Picturesque, landscaped gardens offering themed areas, guided tours & workshops.
Putnam Hill Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 485 reviews
18.5 acres of grassy, hilltop parkland offering a playground & panoramic views of the city.
Putnam Landing Park
4 ★★★★☆ 184 reviews
Scenic park where visitors can go fishing, walk, and observe waterfowl.
Restoration Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 69 reviews
Park that's good for kids, possibly located along a river.
Muskingum River State Park Ellis Lock 11
4.1 ★★★★☆ 50 reviews
State park with camping, picnic tables, and a public restroom.
Tri Valley Wildlife Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 43 reviews
McGraw Edison Recreation Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 32 reviews
Zanesville Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 24 reviews
Potts Ln Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 18 reviews
Muskingum Recreational Trail
4 ★★★★☆ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Zanesville
- Match the surface to your legs. Zanesville gives you a choice: 2 crushed gravel, 1 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 crushed gravel 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. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 8 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 3 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 4 have trailhead parking and 6 have restrooms in Zanesville. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Zanesville trails by type
Running trails near Zanesville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.