Running trails in Lincoln City, OR
Lincoln City has 15 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 6 loops that return to the trailhead, 3 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 13 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 8,845 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.
D River State Recreation Site
4.6 ★★★★★ 3,454 reviews
The D River flows just 120 ft. from Devils Lake into the ocean at this state-administered area.
Roads End State Recreation Site
4.6 ★★★★★ 2,266 reviews
Secluded recreational area featuring a beach, picnicking, a viewing area, restrooms & wildlife.
Regatta Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,599 reviews
Recreational park offering a children's playground with views of the lake & a swimming dock.
The Knoll
4.7 ★★★★★ 383 reviews
Uphill climb to a grassy summit providing ocean and coastal views.
Regatta Nature Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 241 reviews
Family-friendly park with a playground and a short hiking trail featuring old-growth forest.
The Knoll Open Space Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 164 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking area leading through forests to a viewpoint with ocean views.
Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge
4.6 ★★★★★ 135 reviews
568 acres of protected coastal & estuary habitat for hiking, kayaking, bank fishing & birdwatching.
Spring Lake Open Space
4.6 ★★★★★ 134 reviews
Peaceful park with a paved path, an easy trail and a kid-friendly hike, plus a lake.
Agnes Creek Trailhead
4.5 ★★★★★ 115 reviews
Kid-friendly area for hiking, forest bathing, and spotting mushrooms.
Spyglass Ridge Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 103 reviews
Forest and trail hike options with easy to moderate ratings.
Cutler City Wetlands Trailhead
4.5 ★★★★★ 72 reviews
Dog-friendly trails through rhododendron groves, forests, and wetlands (easy to moderate).
Devil's Lake Boardwalk Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 67 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking area offering opportunities to view birds and lilies.
Friends of the Wildwood Open Space
4.6 ★★★★★ 43 reviews
Dog-friendly park with walking trails and woodland, plus views of the coastline.
Hostetler Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 10 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Lincoln City
- Match the surface to your legs. Lincoln City gives you a choice: 4 mixed, 3 natural surface, 1 paved, and 1 boardwalk. 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? 6 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 Lincoln City is Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge at 2 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Lincoln City is 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 15 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 11 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Lincoln City. 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 with mile markers, 3 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 Lincoln City trails by type
Running trails near Lincoln City
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.