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Running trails in New Kensington, PA
New Kensington has 4 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 759 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.
Memorial Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 576 reviews
Playground, walking trails and wooded areas for picnics and baseball games.
Barking Slopes Conservation Area
4.1 ★★★★☆ 95 reviews
Wooded preserve popular for hiking along the Allegheny River, with remnants of a former brickworks.
Burrell Lake Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 75 reviews
Local park providing a playground, fishing, picnic pavilions, and paved and dirt trails.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in New Kensington
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (1 of 4). 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 New Kensington is Barking Slopes Conservation Area at 3.5 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in New Kensington is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 4 of the 4 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking, 2 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in New Kensington. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 1 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 New Kensington trails by type
Running trails near New Kensington
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.