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Running trails in Altoona, PA
Altoona has 9 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 6 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 790 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.
Highland Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 301 reviews
Wooded venue for disc golf, pavilions and a playground, plus swings.
Valley View County Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 271 reviews
Wooded, community park offering open green space, picnic pavilions, a playground & sports fields.
Leopold Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 110 reviews
Serene, landscaped park, with a creek and a playground. Picnic areas and a baseball field also figure.
Westfall Park
4 ★★★★☆ 51 reviews
Park with a baseball field and trails, plus space for dogs to roam.
Brush Mountain Woodlands Preserve
3.8 ★★★★☆ 12 reviews
Hagarty's Woods
1 ★☆☆☆☆ 2 reviews
Rocco's Loop Trail
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Altoona
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 9). 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? 2 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Altoona is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 9 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking and 3 have restrooms in Altoona. 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, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 5 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 Altoona trails by type
Running trails near Altoona
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.