Home › Washington › Auburn
Running trails in Auburn, WA
Auburn has 18 trails in the directory — 8 paved and 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 3 shaded. 14 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 10,709 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.
Les Gove Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 2,638 reviews
City park offers 20 acres of walking trails, a playground & by-the-hour cottage rentals.
Game Farm Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 2,038 reviews
Park with a playground & walking trail, plus facilities for softball, soccer, tennis & basketball.
Flaming Geyser State Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 2,026 reviews
480-acre park with river access featuring 2 geysers, hiking trails & a model-airplane flying area.
Isaac Evans Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 849 reviews
Playground set in a green space featuring picnic tables, a zip line and beach access.
Roegner Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 743 reviews
Family-friendly park with playgrounds and jogging trails, along the White River.
Brannan Park
4 ★★★★☆ 707 reviews
Clean-kept outdoor recreation area with playgrounds and ball fields next to the river.
Auburn Environmental Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 331 reviews
Elevated trail and lookout tower traversing a marsh with interpretive signs and wildlife viewing.
Cedar Lanes Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 256 reviews
8-acre park, home to many old cedar trees, featuring a playground, picnic tables & a BBQ grill.
Centennial Viewpoint Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 220 reviews
Scenic park providing picnic tables and a statue, plus views of Mount Rainier.
Dykstra Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 189 reviews
River, tree-shaded space with a park trail and a playground, plus a bridge.
Fenster Nature Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 179 reviews
Small nature reserve with trails, riverside beaches and ample salmon, plus a friendly staff.
Lakeland Hills Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 121 reviews
Kid-friendly park dotted with trees and equipped with a playground as well as a grassy area where people can picnic.
Metzler Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 105 reviews
Park with a trail leading to a river shore that's popular for fishing.
Wetlands Boardwalk Trailhead
4.3 ★★★★☆ 91 reviews
Boardwalk through a marsh area with benches and wildlife signs, good for birding in the spring.
Green River Natural Area
4.5 ★★★★★ 52 reviews
Scenic riverside trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding in a park-like setting.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Auburn
- Match the surface to your legs. Auburn gives you a choice: 8 paved, 3 crushed gravel, and 3 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? 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. The longest stated distance in Auburn is Green River Natural Area at 6.5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- 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. 14 of the 18 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 14 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 17 have trailhead parking and 10 have restrooms in Auburn. 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, 6 that runners describe as quiet, 8 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 Auburn trails by type
Running trails near Auburn
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.