Running trails in Portsmouth, VA
Portsmouth has 5 trails in the directory — 2 boardwalk and 2 with a stated distance. 4 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 3,688 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.
Portsmouth City Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 2,121 reviews
Urban waterfront park boasts a golf course & range, tennis courts, playgrounds & landscaped gardens.
Paradise Creek Nature Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 594 reviews
Restored wetlands on the Elizabeth River with nature & fitness trails, a kayak launch & picnic area.
Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 491 reviews
Free wooded park, with a large lake, featuring a nature trail and kayak rentals.
Paradise Creek
4.5 ★★★★★ 341 reviews
Marsh, wooded park featuring walking paths, a kayak launch, a playground and picnic benches.
Port Norfolk Beach Reflection Walk
4.5 ★★★★★ 141 reviews
Straightforward hiking area with water views, a gazebo, and benches.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Portsmouth
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is boardwalk (2 of 5). 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 boardwalk 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 Portsmouth is Paradise Creek Nature Park at 2 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 4 of the 5 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking and 2 have restrooms in Portsmouth. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 4 that runners describe as quiet, 2 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Portsmouth trails by type
Running trails near Portsmouth
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.