Colleges with the Best Trail Running Oppurtunities

Elizabethtown has a 20 mile rail trail that passes through a giant state game land a few miles away. There are endless trails there.

I ran at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. There are great trails in and just outside the city, including over 20 miles of trails in the 2,300 acre Rockbridge State Park just on the edge of the city. There is also a gravel, flat trail in the city (MKT trail) that has markers every half mile and runs for hundreds of miles (it was an old railway track). Columbia is also 10 miles away from Mark Twain National Forest which has tons of trails, although some are rough because they are open to horse riding. Great running trails abound.

I have visited NAU and run on the trails and they may be the best i have ever seen in respect to campus proximity, variety, enjoyment.

I also spent a number of years at the U of Wyoming (Laramie), and still return frequently to run on the trials, which are endless, accessible, and reasonable to run on through the winter. My personal favorite.

Ran for Penn State in late 80's early 90's....great trails.....and have been fortunate to visit and run at over 20 campuses. On 5 separate occasions, I've had the pleasure of running at Weber State....incredible trails!! You can pick up an entry to the trails about 50 yards from the stadium. And for those athletes that train there.....what an excellent opportunity to train on some of the steepest trails I've ever been privy to.

NAU has to be the best I've seen.

Also, any rural school out west is bound to have endless "trails" if you count dirt roads.

Southern Utah has a lot of options that way.

Colorado College - ~8000 vertical feet of trails available, also 50 or so miles of flat available - all from campus

GawgaGal wrote:

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

No college can touch Berry College when it comes to trails. We've got 70+ miles. 26,000+ acres. Hills, flats, mountains. Single track, dirt road, forest service, horse trails, mountain bike, even a paved 3.5 mile pedestrian path all on campus. I'm spending my summer in Brevard, and am really looking forward to getting back to Berry.

u. of rhode island. excellent trail system out there. ran there for four years and got to experience some great trails that are all within a mile of the school.

Haha I realize that the way I posted this sounds like I am choosing my school based on trails but this is not the case. I just wanted to see what schools people recommended and then see if any of them matched up with what I am looking for academically and athletically as well. So don't worry, I am not choosing just based on trails, but they would be an awesome added bonus. Thanks for the good responses so far! Anymore that you can think of?

NAU NAU NAU

Spent 6 weeks in Flagstaff last summer, didn't even come close to getting on all the trails and dirt roads they have there.

They have trails for every type of run

-flat cinder trails that wind through the city and the surrounding forests

-long, gradual climbs up through the mountains on trails and dirt roads

-steep, technical singletrack

Plenty of trails accessible directly from campus and an untold amount within a 15-20 minute drive.

I recently visited 8 of the best distance shcools in the country looking for a college for my child to attend, Florida State had the best trails without question. No mountains, but I don't think NCAA's will be in Boulder any time soon.

envewi wrote:

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

I laugh at the suggestion of MSU. Leaving from campus or town you only have a few lame flat urban trails. To access a real trail you'd have to drive at least 15 minutes. MSU is an ag-based land-grant university, so it's located in the middle of a broad agricultural valley. Many of the schools people are listing on this thread are located adjacent to hilly areas or in dense forests, so they have immediate access to trail running. Sure... Montana has some great trails, but not always right out your back door, and they might be runnable only 6 months out of the year.

I never get tired of blowing through the pines of New Hampshire on a cool Fall day. The Dartmouth College has a wonderful mix of all kinds of trails, almost all of which you can be on just a few minutes into your run. The hills are steep and often, but the views are worth it. And its not a bad school either.

The US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has 18000+ acres and miles upon miles of trails. Not to mention it's between 7-9k in altitude. And you'll get to run for a D1 competitive XC team which is a lot better than running on a bunch of trails.

Montreat College

The Rockies are nice. Iona and Columbia both use them very well. A great place for a Sunday run, you can go about 3 long runs without using the same trail. Also, both schools use VCP regularly, which is a great place to run. It has more trails off the main part of the part. The railroad ties connect all the way to Tibbits Park in Yonkers. Iona also has a 15 mile loop from campus. You can connect to either side (Nature Study or Leatherstocking) within 10 minutes of jogging, and run a full loop.

Additionally, many schools in the Philadelphia (La Salle, Villanova, St. Joes, and Penn) area use the Fairmount Park trails, and they are pretty nice.

A decidedly mediocre team and school, but the trails at Cal State Monterey Bay are unreal.

I was talking about Oak Mtn 20+ miles in trails, also I believe Rufner Mtn Nature Preserve has 8-10 miles not to mention the endless dirt roads to the north of Birmingham that lead to the middle of no where. UAB is an urban campus but within 20 or so minutes you can get off the crete.

I'm living in Flagstaff at the moment, and the trails here are great to be sure, but for the specific question posed, I'd have to give a slight edge to Berry College. For one, the Berry trails are actually on campus, and they're also usable year round, and it's definitely easier to access a variety of terrains there than it is at NAU. If you're into the ultra type of trail running, then I'd give the edge to NAU, but if you're just a regular runner who prefers training on trails, then the win goes to Berry. Of course Berry costs WAY more than NAU, even for out of staters.