Running trails in Manassas, VA
Manassas has 10 trails in the directory — 4 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. 6 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 6,186 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.
Manassas National Battlefield Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 5,241 reviews
Fields marking where the Confederates defeated the Union in the first major fight of the Civil War.
Dean Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 282 reviews
Dog-friendly park featuring paths for walking and biking plus sporting areas including baseball and soccer.
Baldwin Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 205 reviews
Pet-friendly green space with a tot lot, playground & picnic tables, plus benches & a garden path.
Stonewall Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 198 reviews
Public park with a swimming pool, seasonal restrooms & lighted sports facilities.
Joseph D. Reading Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 111 reviews
Pretty park featuring sports fields tennis and basketball courts. Also a playground, paved walkways and picnic tables.
Doves Landing Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 89 reviews
Riverfront expanse with trails, plus woods for hiking, picnicking and jogging.
Occoquan Blueway Trailhead
3.5 ★★★★☆ 22 reviews
Winters Branch Trail
4.4 ★★★★☆ 7 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Manassas
- Match the surface to your legs. Manassas gives you a choice: 4 paved 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? 3 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 Manassas is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 10 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. 6 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 4 have a water fountain in Manassas. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 shaded, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 1 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 Manassas trails by type
Running trails near Manassas
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.