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Running trails in Ephrata, PA
Ephrata has 6 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, and 1 shaded. 5 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 1,741 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.
Ephrata Township Community Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 724 reviews
Relaxing park offering playground sets, ball fields and a pond, along with picnic sites and trails.
Ephrata Linear Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 415 reviews
Paved trail for walking, cycling and jogging, also popular for families.
Thomas P. Grater Community Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 393 reviews
Park with a playground, baseball field, and tennis court, plus a pool, and trails.
Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail-Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 76 reviews
Multi-purpose trail with gentle slopes, for walking jogging, biking and running, plus restrooms and parking.
Heatherwood Bike Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 74 reviews
Mountain biking park featuring a pump track and trails for beginners and intermediate-level riders.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ephrata
- Match the surface to your legs. Ephrata gives you a choice: 4 paved and 1 natural surface. 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance. The longest stated distance in Ephrata is Ephrata Linear Park at 8 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- 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. 5 of the 6 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, 4 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Ephrata. 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, 2 that runners describe as quiet, and 2 dog-friendly. 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 Ephrata trails by type
Running trails near Ephrata
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.