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Running trails in Beaufort, SC
Beaufort has 9 trails in the directory — 3 paved, 1 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 2 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 7 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 4,773 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.
Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 4,070 reviews
Celebrated riverfront park providing landscaped green space, a playground & stage for performances.
Crystal Lake Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 192 reviews
Picturesque park featuring a lake and boardwalks that are home to various birds and alligators.
Southside Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 176 reviews
Gated, spacious locale for dogs and their owners, offering fenced-in areas for various-sized breeds.
Spanish Moss Trail - Depot Road Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 160 reviews
Well-maintained former rail route for hikers and cyclists with water views.
Whitehall Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 69 reviews
Clean, scenic green space with a bridge and mossy oaks, for walking and picnicking.
Burton Wells Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 56 reviews
Sprawling, well-maintained park featuring a weight room and sports fields.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Beaufort
- Match the surface to your legs. Beaufort gives you a choice: 3 paved and 1 boardwalk. 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Beaufort is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 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. 7 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Beaufort. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 3 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 Beaufort trails by type
Running trails near Beaufort
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.