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Running trails in Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga has 26 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 6 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 8 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 4 open 24 hours. 17 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 15,420 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.
Coolidge Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 7,873 reviews
Waterfront park with a restored historic carousel, an interactive play fountain & open spaces.
Tennessee Riverpark
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,414 reviews
Landscaped trail tracing a 10-mile river dotted with public art, picnic tables & fishing piers.
Enterprise South Nature Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,889 reviews
Wooded 2,800-acre park offering walking & biking trails, picnic areas, a lake & a visitor center.
Audubon Acres
4.5 ★★★★★ 501 reviews
Tranquil park along a creek featuring wooded trails, seasonal wildflowers & tube & canoe rentals.
Stringers Ridge Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 380 reviews
Park featuring various trails for hiking and mountain biking.
Blue Goose Hollow Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 353 reviews
Clean park, with a paved walkway and sculptures where many people bike, walk or picnic.
Raccoon Mountain Chattanooga Overlook
4.8 ★★★★★ 333 reviews
Clean mountain trails and scenic vistas accessible by car.
Guild-Hardy Trailhead, Lookout Mountain Trails
4.6 ★★★★★ 343 reviews
Shaded trail, featuring a waterfall and bike-riding trails, plus scenic overlooks.
Riverpoint
4.8 ★★★★★ 274 reviews
Clean waterfront trail popular for jogs, bike rides and picnics.
Tennessee Riverpark Wheland Foundry Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 162 reviews
Park featuring a paved trail for walking and biking, along with a restroom.
Raccoon Mountain Mtb Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 143 reviews
Park, featuring hiking and mountain-biking trails plus scenic views and a visitor center.
Blue Blazes Trail
4.1 ★★★★☆ 136 reviews
2-mi. loop trail along ancient shorelines via forests & swamps, with a Tennessee River overlook.
Stringer's Ridge Spears Ave. Trailhead
4.5 ★★★★★ 116 reviews
Kid-friendly park and trail system with restrooms, picnic tables, grills, and scenic views.
Ritchie Hollow Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 104 reviews
Waterfall hikes that are moderate and steep at points, with waterfalls along the way.
Sterchi Farm Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 97 reviews
Park featuring trails, a river ramp, and picnic tables, plus restrooms.
Tennessee Riverpark Amnicola Marsh
4.9 ★★★★★ 32 reviews
Park featuring picnic spots, scenic trails for walking and biking, and fishing piers.
Amnicola Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 18 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Chattanooga
- Match the surface to your legs. Chattanooga gives you a choice: 6 natural surface, 6 mixed, 4 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 natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 2 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 Chattanooga is Tennessee Riverpark at 10 mi. 4 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 4 trails in Chattanooga are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 17 of the 26 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 16 have trailhead parking, 13 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Chattanooga. 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, 3 with mile markers, 6 that runners describe as quiet, 10 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 Chattanooga trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Mixed trails
- Paved trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Flat & fast
- 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 Chattanooga
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.