Running trails in Lake Oswego, OR

How to pick a trail in Lake Oswego

• Match the surface to your legs. Lake Oswego gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 2 mixed, 1 paved, and 1 crushed gravel. 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 natural surface 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. The longest stated distance in Lake Oswego is Bryant Woods Nature Park at 87 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Lake Oswego are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 13 of the 13 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. 12 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 8 have a water fountain in Lake Oswego. 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, 10 that runners describe as quiet, 6 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Lake Oswego trails by type

• Natural surface trails (2 in Lake Oswego)
• Mixed trails (2 in Lake Oswego)
• Paved trails (1 in Lake Oswego)
• Crushed gravel trails (1 in Lake Oswego)
• Loop trails (3 in Lake Oswego)
• Long-run trails (5+ mi) (2 in Lake Oswego)
• Shaded trails (2 in Lake Oswego)
• Lit for early & night runs (2 in Lake Oswego)
• Flat & fast (1 in Lake Oswego)
• Hilly trails (5 in Lake Oswego)
• Scenic trails (9 in Lake Oswego)
• Trails with restrooms (4 in Lake Oswego)
• Trails with water fountains (8 in Lake Oswego)
• Trailhead parking (12 in Lake Oswego)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (10 in Lake Oswego)
• Dog-friendly (6 in Lake Oswego)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (5 in Lake Oswego)

Running trails near Lake Oswego

Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.

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