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Running trails in Mountlake Terrace, WA
Mountlake Terrace has 6 trails in the directory — 1 paved, 1 shaded, and 1 open 24 hours. Every one post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 2,606 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.
Ballinger Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,148 reviews
Left in its natural state, this former golf course is a public area with mature trees & wetland.
Terrace Creek Park "Candy Cane Park"
4.4 ★★★★☆ 779 reviews
Wooded hiking trails, grassy lawns, disc golf & a playground are featured at this 60-acre park.
Evergreen Playfield
4.4 ★★★★☆ 426 reviews
Public park offering athletic fields for baseball and tennis, plus a playground.
Matt Hirvela Bicentennial Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 101 reviews
Casual park featuring a playground, fields for walking or play and a gazebo with a picnic table.
Forest Crest Playfield
4.4 ★★★★☆ 89 reviews
Grassy area with ball fields, playground equipment and a jungle gym.
Veterans Memorial Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 63 reviews
Park offering shaded playground and trails for walking and picnicking.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Mountlake Terrace
- Match the surface to your legs. Mountlake Terrace gives you a choice: 1 paved 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? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Mountlake Terrace is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 6 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 5 have restrooms, and 3 have a water fountain in Mountlake Terrace. 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, and 5 dog-friendly. 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 Mountlake Terrace trails by type
Running trails near Mountlake Terrace
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.