Burlington is a city in the Halton Municipality, at the west end of Lake Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. The two best places to run in Burlington are the Waterfront Trail, which stretches into Hamilton, and the Centennial Trail, a 5 km interior multi-use path connecting a couple of parks. For additional running options, see our Hamilton running guide as well as our other cities in the GTA.
Google Street View
Waterfront Trail. Up to 15.8 km one-way. This scenic waterfront path extends for nearly 16 km from central Burlington to Confederation Park in Hamilton. It’s a paved multi-use path, connecting several parks and running along Hamilton Beach. There are water views a good part of the way, although it’s a bit marred by giant electrical transformers. The Burlington end of the Waterfront Trail starts just south of Central Park in Burlington. The first 2 km are inland, heading west to Brant St. Pier. Here, the waterfront section begins, passing Spencer Smith Park and then running along Burlington Beach. After 2 km along Burlington Beach (5.4 km point), you’ll reach the scenic Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, where our route goes out to two scenic points (each 1 km out and back). This next section is along Hamilton Beach for up to 8.4 km, passing Windermere Park (pedestrian connection at 11.7 km) and Confederation Park A (13.5 km). The trail continues to Confederation Park B, ending just past the Water Park at Grays Rd.
Google Street View
Centennial Trail. 5.2 km one-way. This paved multi-use path is a good spot for an off-road run in central Burlington, connecting residential areas and couple of parks. It’s mainly open and more of a commuter path. The west end is at Dynes Rd. Head east for up to 5.2 km, where the path ends in Sherwood Forest Park. There are some additional trails along the way in Nelson Park and in Sherwood Forest Park. For a longer run, the Waterfront Path continues just west of Dynes Rd. at Rossmore Blvd. There are running tracks at Cumberland Park and Nelson Park. ROUTE MAP
Burlington is a city in the Halton Municipality, at the west end of Lake Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. The two best places to run in Burlington are the Waterfront Trail, which stretches into Hamilton, and the Centennial Trail, a 5 km interior multi-use path connecting a couple of parks. For additional running options, see our Hamilton running guide as well as our other cities in the GTA.
Google Street View
Waterfront Trail. Up to 15.8 km one-way. This scenic waterfront path extends for nearly 16 km from central Burlington to Confederation Park in Hamilton. It’s a paved multi-use path, connecting several parks and running along Hamilton Beach. There are water views a good part of the way, although it’s a bit marred by giant electrical transformers. The Burlington end of the Waterfront Trail starts just south of Central Park in Burlington. The first 2 km are inland, heading west to Brant St. Pier. Here, the waterfront section begins, passing Spencer Smith Park and then running along Burlington Beach. After 2 km along Burlington Beach (5.4 km point), you’ll reach the scenic Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, where our route goes out to two scenic points (each 1 km out and back). This next section is along Hamilton Beach for up to 8.4 km, passing Windermere Park (pedestrian connection at 11.7 km) and Confederation Park A (13.5 km). The trail continues to Confederation Park B, ending just past the Water Park at Grays Rd.
Google Street View
Centennial Trail. 5.2 km one-way. This paved multi-use path is a good spot for an off-road run in central Burlington, connecting residential areas and couple of parks. It’s mainly open and more of a commuter path. The west end is at Dynes Rd. Head east for up to 5.2 km, where the path ends in Sherwood Forest Park. There are some additional trails along the way in Nelson Park and in Sherwood Forest Park. For a longer run, the Waterfront Path continues just west of Dynes Rd. at Rossmore Blvd. There are running tracks at Cumberland Park and Nelson Park. ROUTE MAP
There's a nice selection of trails through parks in Markham: the 2.5 km 'Waterway' trail; trails anchored by Toogood Pond Park; and a longer run along the Rouge River valley for up to 7.5 km between Austin Drive Park and Fairway Vista Park.
Choose a section of the 12.6 km Tom Taylor/Nokiidaa bike trail, a scenic, paved multi-use path that connects several parks in Aurora and Newmarket. Additional paths in the parks and in Optimist Park in central Aurora.
There are some good running options in Richmond Hill, in the south-central York Region. Run up to 8.6 km on trails in the Oak Ridges Corridor area. More central is the Saigeon Trail, which can be combined with the Trans Richmond Trail.
Vaughan is a fast-growing city in the York Municipality. The best place for a run is a path headed south from Routley Park, following a creek and passing several small parks. Can run up to 10 km between Vaughan and North York, where there are additional trails.
Great running options in this city that's the eastern anchor of the GTA. Highlights include the 15 km Waterfront Trail, Oshawa Creek Bike Path, Darlington Provincial Park, and three multi-use paths near downtown.
Some of the nicest waterfront running in the GTA is 11.5 km along Lake Ontario between Pickering and Ajax. Paved multi-use path with some great water views. There's also some nice running on the Trans Canada Trail along Duffins Creek
Some good running in this Toronto bedroom community. Two distinct lakeshore paths centered around Lakefront Promenade Park and Port Credit, a greenbelt starting in Erindale Park, and some pleasant residential neighborhoods for running.
In this GTA city just northwest of Pearson Airport, there's excellent running in three major linear park areas, connected by multi-use paths: Etobicoke Creek Trail, Esker Lake Trail, & Chinguacousy Trail. Plus, good trail running in Heart Lake Conservation Area.
Some nice waterfront running in Oakville, part of GTA's Halton region between Toronto and Oakville. We've mapped three sections of waterfront park paths. Lakeshore Rd. is runnable and can be used as a connector. Lovely parks and water views!
Oakville has a rich collection of parks that are terrific for running. There are several groups of linear park paths that run north-south, through woods and along creeks. The east-west Crosstown Trail and Indian Ridge Trail are good connectors.
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