Running trails in Kenosha, WI
Kenosha has 14 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 11 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 9,859 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.
Petrifying Springs Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,105 reviews
360-acre park with wooded trails, an 18-hole golf course, picnic areas, playgrounds & ball fields.
Simmons Island Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 1,868 reviews
Scenic Lake Michigan park with a beach, lighthouse & picnic tables, plus trails & a playground.
HarborPark
4.7 ★★★★★ 950 reviews
Scenic green space boasting a lakeside promenade, a splash pad, a sculpture garden & summer events.
Eichelman Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 873 reviews
Quaint park offering a beach & views of Lake Michigan, plus trails, a playground & flower garden.
Wolfenbuttel Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 771 reviews
Popular for weddings, this scenic area has a flower garden with a large pergola & water views.
Southport Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 493 reviews
Lakefront park with a playground, picnic tables, and opportunities for relaxation.
Pennoyer Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 456 reviews
Established in 1934, this 39-acre park features a playground, restrooms & tennis/pickleball courts.
Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary & Arboretum
4.8 ★★★★★ 405 reviews
Nature preserve with a 12-acre arboretum, woodlands, and historic buildings, plus trails and stargazing.
Navy Memorial Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 322 reviews
City green space with a walking track, a fishing pier, outdoor events & statues honoring veterans.
Alford Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 241 reviews
Park with a small parking lot featuring Lake Michigan sunsets, and opportunities to hunt for beach glass.
Sam Poerio Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 245 reviews
70-acre suburban park with baseball fields, picnic shelters, a playground, parking & restrooms.
Sunrise Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 99 reviews
Park featuring a playground, baseball pitches and exercise machines alongside walking trails.
Kenosha County Multi-Use Trail
5 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Kenosha
- Match the surface to your legs. Kenosha gives you a choice: 2 natural surface and 1 paved. 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? 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.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Kenosha are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 11 of the 14 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking, 7 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Kenosha. 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 with mile markers, 8 that runners describe as quiet, 4 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 Kenosha trails by type
Running trails near Kenosha
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.