Trail running routes on the fly

A quick guide to Canada's top urban trails

Tory Scholz October 12, 2018

Canada’s wilderness is a playground for many trail runners. Even in the city, trail runners can quickly escape to some of the best running trails in the world. If you are stuck in the city and eager to get your trail fix, here is a quick guide to the best urban running trails across Canada.

British Columbia

Victoria

Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park – 15 minutes from downtown; 10K loop around the lakes with 85 metres of elevation.
Mount Doug Regional Park – 15 minutes from downtown; 4K round trip with 250 metres of elevation to the summit.

Metro Vancouver

Stanley Park trails – located downtown alongside the Stanley Park Seawall; over 27K of rolling forest trails.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park – 15 minutes from downtown; dozens of kilometres of rolling forest trails
Baden Powell trail – 15 minutes from downtown; 48K technical trail with over 4,800 metres of elevation connecting Vancouver’s North Shore mountains. Run sections or race the entire route in the Knee Knacker ultra in July.

Sunset on the Baden Powell trail at Cypress Mountain

Alberta

Calgary

Nose Hill Park – located downtown; 11 square kilometres of rolling single track trails.
Baker and Bowmont Park – 15 minutes from downtown; 12.7K loop with 239 metres of elevation in the Bow Valley.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmuJ7h0l9JM/?taken-at=1219989

Edmonton

River Valley – located downtown; 160K of single track trails and is the largest urban park in North America.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BocgxialpLJ/?taken-by=alissastl

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon

East Bank Trails – located downtown; 12K stretching along the South Saskatchewan River starting at Circle South Bridge.
Elbow Trail – 15 minutes from downtown; 6K one way from Tufts Bay along Lake Diefenbaker as part of the Trans Canada Trail.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW5jzVtl1hB/?taken-by=sasktrails

Regina

Wascana Valley Trails – 25 minutes from downtown; 15K of well marked trails open all year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlwFcN-FALk/?taken-by=sasktrails

Manitoba

Winnipeg

Seine River Trails – 18 minutes from downtown; 4K out and back with minimal elevation.
Wellington Crescent – 5 minutes from downtown; 7K one way with minimal elevation and part of the Trans Canada Trail.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoCOasuH-sD/?tagged=wellingtoncrescent

Ontario

Toronto

Don Valley Trail – 15 minutes from downtown; 13.8K one way of easy terrain.
Moore Park Ravine – 15 minutes from downtown; 6.1K loop with 93 metres of elevation.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcM-v5Ll8Fq/?tagged=mooreparkravine

Hamilton

The Bruce Trail – 18 minutes from downtown; 890K of forest trails on Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath connecting Niagra to Tobermory.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKtX8vxgHdt/?taken-by=brucetrail_btc

Ottawa

Pine Grove Trail – 15 minutes from downtown; 18.4K of trails in natural forests.
Shirleys Bay Trails – 25 minutes from downtown; 7K of rolling trails part of the Trans Canada Trail.
Gatineau Park – 15 minutes from downtown; trail network through Ottawa and Quebec connecting the Canadian Shield and the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3xfElBhEX/?taken-by=gatineaupark

Québec

Montreal

Lachine Canal – located downtown; 14.5K one way of easy terrain.
Mont-Royal Park – located downtown; 25K of rolling trails including 233 metres of elevation directly to the summit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUFtoLWl0bU/?taken-at=215679083

Québec City

Mont Wright – 25 minutes from downtown; 1.2K steep trail with 483 metres to the summit.
Plains of Abraham – located downtown; 4K loop on easy terrain.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn-MYFIBMJl/?tagged=plainsofabraham

Newfoundland

St John’s

Sugarloaf Trail – 10 minutes from downtown; 8.9K one way with 150 metres of elevation on the famous East Coast Trail.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnhfLa7nZM2/?tagged=sugarloaftrail

Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown

Winter River Trail – 15 minute drive from downtown; 4.3K loop with 51 metres of elevation.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkA-eLfhcnG/?taken-at=1866591003659171

Nova Scotia

Halifax

Beechville Lakeside Timberlea Trail – located downtown; 13K part of the 123K Rum Runners Trail connecting Halifax to Lunenburg.
Point Pleasant Park – 10 minutes from downtown; 39K of rolling trails on the Halifax peninsula.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnAP4lGHkPo/?tagged=pointpleasantpark

Trail running doesn’t need to take you far away from the city. Quickly escape to nature and get off the road with these popular urban trails across Canada.