Running trails in Little Elm, TX
Little Elm has 9 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 3 shaded, and 4 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 6,820 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.
Little Elm Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 5,609 reviews
Beachfront park offering swimming, athletic fields, hiking trails, picnicking & a playground.
Beard Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 553 reviews
Lakefront park with a nature-themed playground, wakeboarding/aquatic park, picnic area & trails.
McCord Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 274 reviews
Family-friendly park with a disc golf course, trails, picnic tables, a playground, and a splash pad.
Johnny Broyles Nature Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 143 reviews
Park with a paved hiking trail leading to a playground, plus volleyball.
Sunset Pointe
4.5 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Scenic spot where level sidewalks are available for walking and biking.
Doe Branch Park
3.8 ★★★★☆ 61 reviews
Park with kid-friendly hikes, plus a trail and opportunities for walking, nature viewing, and boating.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Little Elm
- Match the surface to your legs. Little Elm gives you a choice: 2 mixed, 1 paved, 1 crushed gravel, and 1 natural surface. 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 mixed 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. 4 trails in Little Elm are 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. 3 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Little Elm. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 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 Little Elm trails by type
Running trails near Little Elm
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.