Home › Pennsylvania › Lancaster
Running trails in Lancaster, PA
Lancaster has 16 trails in the directory — 7 paved, 2 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, 4 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 14 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 4,505 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.
Lancaster County Central Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,836 reviews
Various outdoor recreational features including a pool, skate park, environmental center & trails.
East Lampeter Township Community Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 622 reviews
Park featuring a playground, a mini disc golf course & paved walking paths with exercise stations.
Manheim Township Community Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 459 reviews
Gathering place for sports & picnics, with a playground & 34 acres of tree-lined fields.
Landis Woods Park & trails
4.6 ★★★★★ 337 reviews
Wooded park with kid-friendly trails and a nature museum for a tranquil stroll or picnic.
Noel Dorwart Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 305 reviews
Wooded locale with a trail network, a dog park, and wildlife sightings, plus picnic tables.
Greenfield Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 258 reviews
Tranquil stroll across well-maintained grounds with sculptures and fountains.
Stoner Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 250 reviews
Looping trail for walking and biking, plus ball fields and a playground, in an open space.
Flory Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 162 reviews
Baseball fields are among the features of this creekside park designed for hiking and picnics.
Conestoga Greenway Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 88 reviews
Riverside path for strolling alongside housing and apartments, as well as biking.
Village Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 76 reviews
Paved park offering sports fields, a playground and walking trails.
Greider's Run Nature Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
Hiking trail at Lancaster County Central Park
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Lancaster
- Match the surface to your legs. Lancaster gives you a choice: 7 paved, 2 boardwalk, and 2 mixed. 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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 Lancaster is Windolph Landing Nature Preserve at 60 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Lancaster is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 14 of the 16 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. 8 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Lancaster. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 9 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Lancaster trails by type
- Paved trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Mixed trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- 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 Lancaster
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.