Colleges with the Best Trail Running Oppurtunities

SayTann wrote:

Weber State

Utah State

Utah State? I don't think so.

Humboldt State (DII) has the Redwood forest about 50 metres from the track.

Western Washington (DII) has unbelievable trails within about a mile of campus that go on almost forever.

MSU in Bozeman. Of course you have winter also...but I really do have to laugh at some of this list.

Western State College, D2, in Gunnison, CO

trailman56 wrote:

I've been to Sewanee before and I'd have to agree. It sits atop of a mountain with endless trails. It is in the middle of no where but if you like that sort of thing I guess you'd be all right. Oh and its like 35k+ a year in tuition so not practical for all people.

Other colleges with 20+ miles in trail systems within a short to no commute at all.

Southern Illinois (D1)

Indiana University (D1)

Appalachian State (D1)

UNC-Ashville (D1)

Duke University (D1)

UT-Chattanooga (D1)

UA-Huntsville (D2)

(Birmingham Area School; Samford, UAB) (D1)

I live in the Southeast so that is why I am only knowlegable about SE area colleges with great trails nearby. Good luck!

*Southern Illinois University Edwardsville... not SIUCarbondale (unless you prefer getting shot/robbed)

Ithaca College (D3). Minutes from the extensive finger lakes trail system along with plenty of other trails and state parks around the town.

MathBlaster wrote:

Ithaca College (D3). Minutes from the extensive finger lakes trail system along with plenty of other trails and state parks around the town.

Yea, then it snows in Nov. and you don't see the trails until late March.

I would agree on Humboldt State, best I've ever seen, and you can run them year round.

The best trails in the US are in Sleepy Hollow, NY - Rockefeller State Park. Pace University is right off the trails, not sure if they even have a team anymore though.

Iona, Columbia and many other schools in the area go to these trails

Humboldt alum, hence biased, but it is the best place I know of to run.

Ok, the mud sucked my shoe off once, but we could run those trails in shorts year-round. Redwood trails are the best: soft with good traction.

Slightly off topic, but Arcata is a complete training mecca.

Besides the trails, you have flat farm roads (the "Bottoms") with almost no cars, for faster paced running.

You have non-slanted hard sand beaches that go for miles (Mad River),

long hills (Fickle Hill), and sand dunes you run down screaming.

And again, unlimited trails. To run in Prairie Creek is like running in a cathedral.

No brainer.

Can I please suggest not picking a college on the basis of running trail availability? Yikes!

But since we're talking about it, you can't mention IC without mentioning Cornell. Cornell also has nice places to run that aren't necessarily trails, meaning they're accessible when trails aren't. And the winters are definitely not as bad as people make them seem.

The University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Tons of trails - Lower Ridge/Middle Ridge/Bird Sanctuary

Derderian's Loop/Shattuck Road

Many unpaved roads in Shutesbury

trailman56 wrote:

Other colleges with 20+ miles in trail systems within a short to no commute at all.

(Birmingham Area School; Samford, UAB) (D1)

I live in the Southeast so that is why I am only knowlegable about SE area colleges with great trails nearby. Good luck!

trailman56 is dead wrong about these two schools...Samford University and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Samford does have access to a municipality constructed and maintained paved ‘greenway’ across the highway from the main campus gate but it is hardly a top notch trail for daily training. If you run to the east end and on through the mall parking lot you can connect with 2 dirt trails, one about .5 mile long with the other about 1.5 miles.

UAB is an urban campus. No trail to be had without leaving town-unless sidewalks count as trails.

A 30 minute drive south of town is Oak Mt. state park with a lot of trails. There is also a community park (Veterans Park) that has a nice crushed limestone trail way where local HS and college XC events are held, also about 30 minutes away. Have to do a series of loops to get 5K and even more to get the college 8K course. Only time I see college kids at either site is during the summer...then it's kids at home trying to keep fit, not students from either of these schools. 20+ miles?...no way.

I also question including UAH as I assume the trails referenced is Monte Sano Park.

University of Maine, if you can run with snowshoes half the year.

Yo Binghamton! Same thing if you don't mind wearing snowshoes you're golden

another average american wrote:

Can I please suggest not picking a college on the basis of running trail availability? Yikes!

But since we're talking about it, you can't mention IC without mentioning Cornell. Cornell also has nice places to run that aren't necessarily trails, meaning they're accessible when trails aren't. And the winters are definitely not as bad as people make them seem.

I don't think there's anything wrong with putting trails on your list of criteria when picking a school. There are plenty of great schools out there. If you're serious about running and like soft surfaces, why not pick a great school that has great trails?

I went to Cornell and we do have good trails, but they are not runable from December-March (April is hit or miss). That doesn't sound like that long, but when you're not there June-August that only leaves about 5 months of the year you can actually run on them. But that's going to be the case in many places in the Northeast. Ithaca winters aren't as bad as some other places in NY. Not as good either though. Much less snow/warmer towards NYC/NJ.

UVA has gotta be up there.

University of Alaska Anchorage

Humboldt State (DII) Endless trails directly off the College track.

Big Red wrote:

I don't think there's anything wrong with putting trails on your list of criteria when picking a school. There are plenty of great schools out there. If you're serious about running and like soft surfaces, why not pick a great school that has great trails?

I went to Cornell and we do have good trails, but they are not runable from December-March (April is hit or miss). That doesn't sound like that long, but when you're not there June-August that only leaves about 5 months of the year you can actually run on them. But that's going to be the case in many places in the Northeast. Ithaca winters aren't as bad as some other places in NY. Not as good either though. Much less snow/warmer towards NYC/NJ.

I went to Cornell too (in fact I'm sitting in Ithaca right now), and maybe it's just that I grew up and went to high school in a really horrible place for running, but I feel like even in the winter there are much better running options at/surrounding Cornell than most campuses. Paths that are plowed that wouldn't be considered trails, but in snow when you're the only one on them are pretty much the equivalent.

I actually come from the South, so maybe it's just that my expectations were way too high, but I still say the winters aren't nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be. You just need to wear pants and your ankles get strong from running in that inch of snow that the plows never get.

I don't have any problem with, all things being equal (exactly equal), using trail availability to tip the scales in choosing a college. But rarely are things that equal. It would be one thing to say "I'm thinking of X, Y, and Z colleges. How do their trails compare?" It's quite another to say "I'm going to college in the United States. Which ones have good trails?"

GawgaGal wrote:

Berry College in Rome, Georgia. The largest college campus in the world. Check it out online.

I second this.