Running trails in Rapid City, SD

How to pick a trail in Rapid City

• Match the surface to your legs. Rapid City gives you a choice: 8 natural surface and 2 crushed gravel. 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 natural surface trails →
• Loop or out-and-back? 4 trails here are loops, 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 Rapid City is Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park at 20 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
• Check the hours before a 6am run. 5 trails in Rapid City are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 16 of the 22 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
• Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 10 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Rapid City. 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 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 2 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 Rapid City trails by type

• Natural surface trails (8 in Rapid City)
• Crushed gravel trails (2 in Rapid City)
• Loop trails (4 in Rapid City)
• Long-run trails (5+ mi) (1 in Rapid City)
• Shaded trails (1 in Rapid City)
• Hilly trails (9 in Rapid City)
• Scenic trails (15 in Rapid City)
• Trails with restrooms (5 in Rapid City)
• Trails with water fountains (1 in Rapid City)
• Trailhead parking (10 in Rapid City)
• Trails with mile markers (2 in Rapid City)
• Quiet, uncrowded trails (3 in Rapid City)
• Dog-friendly (2 in Rapid City)
• Stroller & wheelchair-accessible (2 in Rapid City)

Running trails near Rapid City

Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.

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