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Running trails in Maple Valley, WA
Maple Valley has 13 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 5 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 with a stated distance, 1 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 10 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 4,722 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.
Lake Wilderness Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 2,913 reviews
Popular recreation area with a lake and sandy beaches as well as disc golf.
Henry's Ridge Natural Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 302 reviews
Hundreds of acres of forestland with over 10 miles of trails for hiking, jogging & mountain biking.
New Gnome Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 302 reviews
Family-friendly loop trail in a gnomish setting featuring figurines and fairytale-inspired creatures.
Summit Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 286 reviews
New park for kids with a playground and baseball fields.
Lake Sawyer Regional Park
4.2 ★★★★☆ 233 reviews
Park with a lake for boating and fishing, plus wooded trails.
Cedar River Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 174 reviews
Popular area with a gravel path alongside the river, ideal for dog-walking and biking.
Royal Arch Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 165 reviews
Park with a forest and picnic tables, plus a river where an annual Halloween event is held.
Fred V. Habenicht Rotary Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 155 reviews
Relaxed outdoor space on Cedar River offering access to walking trails, plus picnic shelters.
Henry's Ridge Open Space
4.7 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Gnome-themed open space boasting miles of winding trails for walking and mountain biking.
Summit Park Off Leash Dog Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 73 reviews
Dog-friendly wooded area with a trail, plus a kids' playground and a basketball court.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Maple Valley
- Match the surface to your legs. Maple Valley gives you a choice: 3 natural surface, 2 paved, 2 crushed gravel, and 2 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 natural surface 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 Maple Valley is Henry's Ridge Natural Area at 20 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Maple Valley are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 10 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 9 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Maple Valley. 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, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 7 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 Maple Valley trails by type
Running trails near Maple Valley
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.