Running trails in Portland, OR
Portland has 29 trails in the directory — 6 paved and 6 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 14 loops that return to the trailhead, 13 with a stated distance, 5 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 25 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 27,467 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.
Mt. Tabor Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 6,749 reviews
Large forested park covering an extinct volcano with tennis courts, a playground & 360-degree views.
Forest Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,513 reviews
5,000+-acre wooded area with trails for hiking, biking & bird-watching, including a 30-mile route.
Powell Butte Nature Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 3,573 reviews
Family-friendly natural area with plenty of hiking, biking & equestrian trails among scenic vistas.
Tryon Creek State Natural Area
4.8 ★★★★★ 2,694 reviews
658-acre forested area along a ravine with well-maintained trails for hikers, horses & leashed dogs.
Rocky Butte Natural Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 2,727 reviews
Out-of-the-way option for relaxing on the grass amid sweeping views of the city, airport & river.
Kelley Point Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,672 reviews
Woodsy park features a picnic site, a canoe launch, hiking trails & a vista point with water views.
Macleay Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,362 reviews
Part of Forest Park, this preserve offers a variety of trails for hiking, biking & horseback riding.
Marquam Nature Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 765 reviews
193 acres of undeveloped land & over 5 miles of hiking trails with forested scenic views.
Lower Macleay Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 732 reviews
Public park featuring hiking trails, a public restroom, and picnic tables, plus Pittock Mansion.
Mount Tabor - Stairs
4.8 ★★★★★ 593 reviews
Hiking area with picnic tables and walking trails, plus a playground and scenic overlooks.
Whitaker Ponds Nature Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 468 reviews
Calm lake, with ducks, geese and egrets, set amid an industrial area.
Kelly Butte Natural Area
4 ★★★★☆ 437 reviews
Wooded park featuring steep hiking paths & wildlife-viewing among the evergreens.
Leif Erikson Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 260 reviews
Popular place to hike, walk and run, with a mostly gravel path flanked by trees.
Wildwood Trailhead at Germantown Rd
4.7 ★★★★★ 255 reviews
Hiking and running trails through lush, tree-filled woods, with sections of wide paths. Dogs permitted.
3-Creeks Protected Area
4.4 ★★★★☆ 267 reviews
This sizable stretch of scenic open space features streams, wetlands & a flood-control facility.
Woods Memorial Natural Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 238 reviews
Native trees & greenery cover this heavily wooded park that features paved paths & hiking trails.
NW 53rd Dr trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 144 reviews
Trail access point to explore a 5,200-acre urban forest park with roadside parking.
Ridge Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 138 reviews
Hiking area offering kid-friendly trails through a forest setting, plus scenic views.
Linnton Loop Hike Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 126 reviews
Forested hiking area with kid-friendly trails and a creek.
Waterfront Park Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 109 reviews
Riverside pathway featuring waterfront views, picnic tables, and access to several parks.
Glendoveer Nature Exercise Trails
4.8 ★★★★★ 105 reviews
Two-mile trail winding around a golf course for walking and jogging.
Eastbank Esplanade
4.4 ★★★★☆ 105 reviews
Urban park featuring a long floating walkway, plus a boat dock, walking & bike paths & public art.
Flicker Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 75 reviews
Serene wooded park with paved paths, hiking trails & many native plant species.
River View Natural Area Trailhead
4 ★★★★☆ 42 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking area featuring a forest.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Portland
- Match the surface to your legs. Portland gives you a choice: 12 mixed, 6 paved, 6 natural surface, 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? 14 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 Portland is Forest Park at 80 mi. 11 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Portland are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 25 of the 29 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 23 have trailhead parking, 11 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Portland. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 5 shaded, 2 with mile markers, 10 that runners describe as quiet, 24 dog-friendly, and 19 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 Portland trails by type
- Mixed trails
- Paved trails
- Natural surface trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Portland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.