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Running trails in Ellensburg, WA
Ellensburg has 14 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 4 shaded, and 2 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 2,271 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.
Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 846 reviews
Public park with boat facilities, a swimming area, a picnic shelter, restrooms & trails.
Rotary Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 384 reviews
This 100-acre recreation area has baseball diamonds, walking trails & a playground, plus a dog park.
Mountain View Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 258 reviews
Community park providing a playground, picnic shelter, athletic courts/fields & open green space.
West Ellensburg Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 199 reviews
Relaxed outdoor space for playing frisbee, baseball or soccer. Free-range dogs, too.
Olmstead Place Historical State Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 141 reviews
Park with farming-history displays & buildings, plus tours, hiking trails, fishing & picnic areas.
Howard's Way Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 104 reviews
Hiking area with picnic tables, a public restroom, and riverside views.
McElroy Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 107 reviews
Park featuring trails and picnic tables, plus facilities for dogs.
Manastash Ridge Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 78 reviews
Hiker’s hotspot offering a variety of paths with views of the valley, plus wildflowers.
Paul Rogers Wildlife Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 65 reviews
Quiet, 20-acre park, formerly a horse pasture, featuring trails through native plants and trees.
Palouse to Cascades state park trail (John Wayne trail)
4.7 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ellensburg
- Match the surface to your legs. Ellensburg gives you a choice: 2 paved, 2 natural surface, 1 crushed gravel, and 1 mixed. 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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. 2 trails in Ellensburg are 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 14 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. 4 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Ellensburg. 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, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 11 dog-friendly, and 7 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 Ellensburg trails by type
- Paved trails
- Natural surface trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Mixed trails
- Loop trails
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Ellensburg
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.