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Running trails in Ferndale, WA
Ferndale has 7 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 2 open 24 hours. 5 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 2,092 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.
Hovander Homestead Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,412 reviews
This riverside park features a historic house & wood barn, farm animals & antique harvest equipment.
VanderYacht Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 382 reviews
Large park, also an off-leash area for dogs, featuring hiking trails, picnic tables and a pond.
Tennant Lake Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 123 reviews
A 624-acre park on a lake with forest & wetland habitat, visitor center & 50-ft. viewing tower.
Centennial Riverwalk Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 114 reviews
Small, scenic park featuring an art mural, a fountain and a riverside walkway.
Hanadori Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Ferndale
- Match the surface to your legs. Ferndale gives you a choice: 3 boardwalk and 1 crushed gravel. 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? 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. The longest stated distance in Ferndale is Hovander Homestead Park at 3.2 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Ferndale are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 5 of the 7 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking and 3 have restrooms in Ferndale. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet, 5 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 Ferndale trails by type
Running trails near Ferndale
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.