Ultra wealthy area just south of Stanford. Miles and miles of perfect trails. Basically nonexistent crime — biggest danger is that you’ll be hit by someone in a Land Rover speeding home from their kid’s soccer practice. Two nature preserves (Arastradero and Foothills Park) both easily accessible on foot. Perfect weather year round.
Nicest trails, dirt paths in the Spanish countryside up to the Abbey at Montserrat, and the Franconia ridgeline while running the Pemi loop in the Whites.
Nicest neighborhood is the section of Brookline where Tom Brady used to live.
Nicest scenery: Either through Zion National Park (UT), or through Acadia National Park (coast of Maine) up Cadillac Mountain.
Wealthiest neighborhood: probably some of the rich suburbs near Washington D.C in NW. I don't find rich neighborhoods fun to run in. In fact, I find their progressive identity politics yard signs an infuriating sign of terrible leftist politics gone awry.
Jackson WY - stayed downtown and had several really great runs. Lots of fancy cars.
Watch Hill RI - have run over there from Westerly a few times. Nice shoulders and big houses. Waved at (in a nice way) constantly by older people in Bentleys and such.
Palos Verdes CA - Was nice and cool the entire time. Smelled like a lemon orchard.
Rolland Park Baltimore MD - Don't laugh. Really great houses. A trail you can take down to Johns Hopkins. Never felt unsafe. Then had Ekiban for lunch.
Best Trails would have to be the Mt. Tam/Marin Headlands. Honorable mention to the Forest of Nisene Marks in Aptos, Ca. In terms of just pure natural beauty I would have to add Kauai but the humidity makes running somewhat unpleasant.
As far as the wealthiest area, one of my college girlfriends was from Atherton, Ca and I did a few runs from her parents house. One time I did a long run that ran from Atherton, through Woodside into Portola Valley and ended on campus at Stanford. I think all three of those towns are in the top 10 wealthiest in the US (or have been recently). Unfortunately, most of the houses are gated and set way back off the road so you can't really get a feel for the opulence that you are passing. I have also gone running at Pebble Beach, Montecito and in a couple of the gated communities in Calabasas.
You haven't ran through a truly rich neighborhood until you get the memorizing-your-description-for-the-cops stare from residents. They fear burglary.
I think maybe pro burglars case neighborhoods this way. The best pros are never caught, probably drives rich people nuts
If it's a truly rich neighborhood you won't have accees to it to run through.
Not true. All beaches in Hawaii have guaranteed public access. Oh wait, except for Jeff Bezos, who due to a unique lava formation has a private crescent of sand on his 75 million compound. Still, you can run by the gate to his driveway. That’s a pretty epic run.
Empty roads, wine country, temperatures between 50-70 degrees, fog rolls in every morning from the ocean with very little wind. You hear the ocean, and some cows, and that's it. The only negative is the steep hills.
I remember running for an hour and a half each day but each run felt like only 30 minutes because it was so pleasant and scenic.
Anywhere along the beaches in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, or Falmouth. Santa Barbara, Waikiki were also amazing. Pike's Peak and making that assent was pretty awesome too.
I've been to Martha's Vineyard twice, but unfortunately never got to run there. Would be a dream to, however.
Empty roads, wine country, temperatures between 50-70 degrees, fog rolls in every morning from the ocean with very little wind. You hear the ocean, and some cows, and that's it. The only negative is the steep hills.
I remember running for an hour and a half each day but each run felt like only 30 minutes because it was so pleasant and scenic.
Man, that’s a crappy beach though. You live inland a little where it’s 100 degrees and think it would be a great day for the beach. Drive for an hour and it’s 50 and foggy. Can’t even see the beach.
Jackson, Wyoming. It's absolutely gorgeous there, especially if you run somewhere in view of the Tetons. I did one run that went through the Elk Preserve around sunset and it was one of the most amazing views I've ever had.
Yeah dude. I did a long run at dawn on the main GTNP road years ago in May. Butta** cold, but the views running under those peaks is life-changing.
Running in Canyonlands Natl park and Big Bend is up there as well.
Also running on the beach in the Caribbean is pretty sweet.
In Houston, most of the marathon training groups do a run through River Oaks, which is a neighborhood full of multi-million dollar mansions, including Tillman Fertitta's house. That is a pretty sweet route for a regular weekend long run.
On beach vacation on the Texas Gulf Coast, you get to see the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico on morning runs. That can be pretty amazing if the clouds cooperate.
Best urban trails: Central Park, NYC; Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC; Wissahickon park, Philly, PA; Rocky River Reservation, Cleveland, OH; Discovery Park, Seattle, WA; Chattahoochee River NRA, Atlanta, GA; Mt. Royal, Montreal, CA; Stanley Park, Vancouver, CA.
Malibu, CA and Topanga, CA: Not on the PCH, but on any of the amazing trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. Incredible ocean views and lots of elevation changes. Google image search "Point Mugu State Park Trails" and you will see what I mean.
I ran a long run through a valley in the edge of the Alps along a river. Because it was following a river it wasn't crazy hilly, yet you had the beautiful views of the mountains. And the Alps start at a relatively low elevation, so you can still breath normally and run at a good clip. For example the edge of the Alps is 2k feet or less, yet you're surrounded by prominent peaks of 8k feet
Park City! Jeremy Ranch Road, Round Valley in winter (all groomed) and Pinecone Trail up high to the Wastach Crest. My usual along the NH Seacoast in all seasons not bad either. Daily changes in ocean and weather!
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