Bird Hills Nature Area

Just north of the Waterhill neighborhood, Bird Hills Nature Area is the largest park in the city and a lovely place to test out your trail running legs. While most of the dirt paths here are smooth and well-maintained, there are lots of hills and elevation changes (as the park’s name suggests). These mainly wooded trails are accssed via five trailheads and multiple entrances. A loop around the outermost trails is about 2.5 miles.

Runners can also connect to other interior trails, the Kuebler Langford Nature Area (via the Kuebler Langford Trail), or the Barton Nature Area (via Bird Road). These parks can up the route to about 5.5 miles, shown in our route map.