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Running trails in Vancouver, WA
Vancouver has 22 trails in the directory — 8 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 4 with a stated distance, and 2 shaded. 16 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 7,487 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.
Wintler Community Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,316 reviews
12.5-acre riverfront park providing beach access, benches, picnic tables & scenic mountain views.
Vancouver Lake Regional Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,114 reviews
Regional park with a sandy lakefront beach, BBQ grills, picnic tables & volleyball courts.
Leverich Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 1,132 reviews
Long-running 14-acre city park, offering picnic areas, hiking trails & a disc golf course.
Salmon Creek Greenway Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 696 reviews
Paved route featuring creeks and ponds that are home to wildlife, including beaver dams and turtles.
Waterfront Renaissance Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 675 reviews
This 5-mi. trail for pedestrians & cyclists has picturesque views, stores & eateries along the way.
David Douglas Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 604 reviews
Family-friendly park offers plenty of paved walking & biking paths along with expansive green space.
Burnt Bridge Creek Trail
4.2 ★★★★☆ 547 reviews
Flat paved trail biking & foot trail passing through open grasslands & heavily wooded areas.
Columbia Springs
4.7 ★★★★★ 270 reviews
Historic site, featuring fish hatchery ponds and wooded trails, plus an outdoor environmental classroom.
Beaver Marsh
4.4 ★★★★☆ 270 reviews
Forest & creek-lined trail network popular for dog walking and quiet strolls.
Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway - Stewart Glen to Leverich Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 244 reviews
Biddlewood Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 171 reviews
Neighbourhood park with an open green & forest area plus a playground & footpath.
Cougar Creek Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 151 reviews
Natural area with a path along Cougar Creek and tables for picnicking.
Salmon Creek Greenway Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 88 reviews
Popular family-friendly 6-mile path for cycling and nature walks, with forest views.
Behrens Woods
4.3 ★★★★☆ 39 reviews
Park featuring trails and trees that's suitable for kids.
Ellen Davis Trail
4.2 ★★★★☆ 30 reviews
Ellen Davis Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 7 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Vancouver
- Match the surface to your legs. Vancouver gives you a choice: 8 paved, 4 mixed, and 1 natural surface. 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 Vancouver is Salmon Creek Greenway Trail at 6 mi. 2 trails are 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. 16 of the 22 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 14 have trailhead parking, 8 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Vancouver. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 2 with mile markers, 7 that runners describe as quiet, 14 dog-friendly, and 6 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 Vancouver trails by type
Running trails near Vancouver
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.