Running trails in Carrollton, TX
Carrollton has 15 trails in the directory — 5 paved, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 6 shaded, and 2 open 24 hours. 10 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 3,469 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.
Mary Heads Carter Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,640 reviews
Recreational green space with sizable synthetic turf playground & covered picnic spot.
Carrollton Greenbelt Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 385 reviews
City park offering a disc golf course, a walking trail, and picnic facilities.
Branch Hollow Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 296 reviews
Community park featuring tennis courts, a playground, and trails, plus picnic tables.
Carrollton Blue Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 267 reviews
Dog-friendly trail along a pond for walking and cycling, plus a picnic table.
Elm Fork Nature Preserve Trail Entrance
4.5 ★★★★★ 199 reviews
Quiet nature preserve offering a short trail for walks through woodlands with a small pond.
Nob Hill Greenbelt
4.6 ★★★★★ 188 reviews
Greenbelt including a playground and scenic trails for dog-walking and biking.
Harvest Run Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 127 reviews
This 6-acre park features walking paths, a playground & picnic tables, plus open grassy space.
Timber Creek Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 101 reviews
City park with picnic tables, a playground, walking trails, and 2 metal bridges over a creek.
Tree Line Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 90 reviews
Green, family-friendly park featuring a playground, swings, slides, picnic tables and a book-swap box.
Oakwood Springs Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 87 reviews
Spacious park featuring basketball courts and a playground as well as paved pathways.
Green Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 49 reviews
Oak Creek Park
4.9 ★★★★★ 23 reviews
Elm Fork Nature Preserve
4.8 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
Restored Prairie Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Carrollton
- Match the surface to your legs. Carrollton gives you a choice: 5 paved and 1 mixed. 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. 2 trails in Carrollton are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 10 of the 15 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 4 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Carrollton. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 6 shaded, 5 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 3 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 Carrollton trails by type
Running trails near Carrollton
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.