Running trails in Waco, TX
Waco has 20 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 4 shaded, and 4 open 24 hours. 18 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 12,904 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.
Waco Mammoth National Monument
4.7 ★★★★★ 5,012 reviews
Paleontological site featuring in-situ fossils of a herd of Ice Age mammoths & other animals.
Cameron Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 4,124 reviews
400-acre park featuring 2 rivers, cliffs & playgrounds, plus hiking, biking & festival areas.
City of Waco Brazos Park East
4.7 ★★★★★ 808 reviews
Sprawling city park abutting the Brazos River, with scenic views, boat ramps & horseshoe pits.
Jacob's Ladder
4.7 ★★★★★ 631 reviews
Park with picnic tables and a popular set of stairs providing a workout and scenic views.
Kendrick Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 498 reviews
Clean open space featuring a playground, a splash pad and basketball courts, plus swings.
Pecan Bottom Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 359 reviews
Park with a playground, a splash pad, disc golf, and picnic facilities, plus restrooms.
Buena Vista Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 344 reviews
Scenic park with a baseball field, a pond, a playground and paved paths.
Miss Nellie's Pretty Place
4.7 ★★★★★ 318 reviews
Nature preserve with wildflowers, picnic facilities, and a fountain, plus a playground.
North Waco Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 292 reviews
Picnic-friendly outdoor area featuring a playground and a soccer field, plus trails for walking and jogging.
Northern Gateway Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 207 reviews
City park offering picnic facilities, a children's playground, a ball field, and hiking trails.
Proctor Springs
4.8 ★★★★★ 76 reviews
City park offering disc golf, picnicking, hiking, and a gazebo.
Waco Riverwalk
4.6 ★★★★★ 54 reviews
Peaceful trail system on both sides of the Brazos River with natural springs and river access.
Chapel Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 42 reviews
Viking Hills Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 34 reviews
Council Acres Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 17 reviews
North Waco Riverwalk Trailhead
4.4 ★★★★☆ 16 reviews
Martin Luther King, Jr. Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Cameron Park Hiking Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 7 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Waco
- Match the surface to your legs. Waco gives you a choice: 2 paved, 1 natural surface, 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 paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 4 trails in Waco are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 18 of the 20 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. 3 have trailhead parking, 11 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Waco. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 9 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 5 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 Waco trails by type
Running trails near Waco
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.