Running trails in Whitewater, WI
Whitewater has 18 trails in the directory — 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, and 1 open 24 hours. 9 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 1,725 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.
John Muir Mountain Biking Trails
4.8 ★★★★★ 450 reviews
Park with hiking and mountain bike trails, including a skills course and a kids' loop.
Nordic Skiing and Hiking Trails
4.8 ★★★★★ 295 reviews
Popular place for hiking and cross-country skiing with multiple trails for varying difficulty levels.
Natureland Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 231 reviews
Relaxed park featuring spring-fed water and numerous walking trails.
Cravath Lakefront Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 255 reviews
Manicured grassy area and lakeside park for fishing and picnics.
Kettle Moraine State Forest
4.7 ★★★★★ 183 reviews
State park featuring a lake, picnic tables, and a public restroom, plus trails.
Trippe Lake Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 135 reviews
Fishing, sledding, picnicking, and walking are among the activities at this public park featuring a playground.
Bluff Creek
4.7 ★★★★★ 25 reviews
Brewery Hill park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 27 reviews
Clover Valley Trailhead
4.5 ★★★★★ 13 reviews
Ray Trost Nature Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 3 reviews
Moraine Ridge Trail
4.3 ★★★★☆ 3 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Whitewater
- Match the surface to your legs. Whitewater gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 1 boardwalk, 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 natural surface 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 Whitewater is Rice Lake Nature Trail at 50 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Whitewater is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 18 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 3 have restrooms, and 2 have a water fountain in Whitewater. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 with mile markers, 4 that runners describe as quiet, 1 dog-friendly, and 2 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 Whitewater trails by type
Running trails near Whitewater
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.