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Running trails in Parkersburg, WV
Parkersburg has 9 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt and 2 open 24 hours. 7 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 3,918 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.
Parkersburg City Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 1,464 reviews
46.6-acre urban park featuring a swimming pool, multiple sports facilities, picnic sites & trails.
Fort Boreman Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 804 reviews
Park with hiking trails & hilltop views of the city & river, on the site of a Civil War–era fort.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 603 reviews
Historical museum featuring a mansion plus picnic areas, carriage rides & other activities.
Point Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 497 reviews
Public park on the Ohio River with an open-air waterfront amphitheater, plus walking/biking trails.
Southwood Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 427 reviews
Relaxed public park featuring a playground, a pool and a splashy water slide, plus volleyball nets and a pond.
Johnson T. Janes Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 83 reviews
A natural 36-acre suburban park bordered by a creek & a residential area.
WVUP Walking Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Parkersburg
- Match the surface to your legs. Parkersburg gives you a choice: 1 paved 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? 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. 2 trails in Parkersburg are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 7 of the 9 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking and 4 have restrooms in Parkersburg. 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, 1 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 Parkersburg trails by type
Running trails near Parkersburg
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.