Running trails in Cleveland, TN
Cleveland has 8 trails in the directory — 4 paved, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 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 3,369 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.
Red Clay State Historic Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,339 reviews
State park with Native American exhibits & cultural activities, plus picnic areas & an amphitheater.
Fletcher Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 797 reviews
70-acre park offering wooded walking & biking paths, picnic pavilions & a Japanese garden.
Schimmels Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 157 reviews
Park at Lee University featuring picnic areas, benches, a pavilion & a half-mile track.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Cleveland
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is paved (4 of 8). 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? 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Cleveland 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 8 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. 3 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Cleveland. 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, 4 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 Cleveland trails by type
Running trails near Cleveland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.