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Running trails in Meadville, PA
Meadville has 10 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 1 with a stated distance, and 3 shaded. 4 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 937 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.
Roche Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 424 reviews
Park features playground equipment, ball fields and picnic areas for families to enjoy.
Shady Brook Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 176 reviews
Kids and dogs are welcome at this petite, leafy park, known for its creek, play equipment and pond.
Ernst Trail Bean's Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 112 reviews
Paved, flat trail through trees, hills, forests, meadows and woodlands popular with walkers and cyclists.
Ernst Bike Trail Krider Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 79 reviews
Paved bike trail that's also popular with walkers and runners, with scenery and parking.
Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex
4.2 ★★★★☆ 75 reviews
Clean and serene green space with trails, a baseball field, playgrounds and ballfields.
Ernst Trail Mercer Pike Trail Head
4.8 ★★★★★ 44 reviews
Paved trail that’s popular for families, dog-walking, bike rides and leisurely hikes.
Lew's Land Nature Preserve & Walking Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
Eldred Glenn Walking Trails
4 ★★★★☆ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Meadville
- Match the surface to your legs. Meadville gives you a choice: 4 paved and 1 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? 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 Meadville is Ernst Bike Trail Krider Trailhead 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. 4 of the 10 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 4 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Meadville. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 3 dog-friendly, and 4 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 Meadville trails by type
Running trails near Meadville
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.