Burlington: Waterfront Trail & Centennial Trail

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.

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.

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