Running trails in Herndon, VA
Herndon has 13 trails in the directory — 3 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, 5 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 9 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 1,103 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.
Sugarland Run Stream Valley Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 275 reviews
This forested open space draws joggers & hikers for its popular trail that traverses a creek.
Runnymede Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 191 reviews
58-acre park offering wooded, natural-surface trails along Sugarland Run & 2 picnic shelters.
Fred Crabtree Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 155 reviews
Wooded site with a creek, trails, fields for baseball & soccer plus a school & a swim club.
Trailside Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 143 reviews
Well-shaded picnic area for picnics, along with slides, swings, grill and a skate park.
Bruin Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 145 reviews
Compact neighborhood park with basketball & tennis courts, a baseball diamond & a play structure.
Folly Lick Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 64 reviews
Wooded park featuring paved and unpaved trails for hikers, dog walkers and runners, plus a creek.
Herndon Caboose Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 21 reviews
W&O D Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 11 reviews
Sugarland Run Park Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 5 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Herndon
- Match the surface to your legs. Herndon gives you a choice: 3 paved, 2 mixed, 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 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. The longest stated distance in Herndon is Folly Lick Park at 3.2 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Herndon is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Herndon. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 5 shaded, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 8 dog-friendly, and 4 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 Herndon trails by type
Running trails near Herndon
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.