Some runners seek out hills out, while others avoid them. For those wanting to get their heart rate up and do some hill training, Great Runs has compiled this list of of the best hills for running in major North America Cities. We’ve even uncovered some ‘hills’ in notoriously flat cities! PRO TIP: Search by keyword ‘hilly‘ to find all runs with that tag, sorted by city/region.
Best Hill Routes in Major North America Cities
So here’s our list below, sorted by major city. All routes can be found at Great Runs.
Atlanta: Stone Mountain is a popular recreation area located 15 miles from downtown Atlanta. There’s a 1-mile trail to the summit that rises 1,000 feet, and a 5-mile loop around the base of the mountain.
Austin. For real hill and trail running in Austin, you have to get outside the city. The Lakeway Area is a favorite for its scenic and hilly residential roads, while the Canyonlands Trails offer some hilly and technical trail running options.
Baltimore. Druid Hill Park. Located near Johns Hopkins University, this large park has some good hills and trails, with a 1.5-mile lake loop which is a great cool-down.
Boston. Boston’s iconic runs along the Charles River and the Emerald Necklace are flat. But just south of the city, Blue Hill Reservation has 7,000 acres of preserved land, incorporating 5 towns and 125 miles of trails of varying ability.
Charlotte. It’s worth the ½ hour drive from Uptown to run the 30 miles of trails of the Anne Close Springs Greenway. This place has something for everyone. For a challenge, seek out the ‘hiking’ trails on their map.
Cincinnati. For some hills close to the city, head for Devou Park, which is just across the bridge in Covington, KY and near the airport. While the park isn’t large, there are some short, steep hills which make for good repeats while enjoying great views of Cincinnati.
Dallas. It takes some doing to find some hills in this famously flat city. The best bet is to run in the hilly residential area just west of White Rock Lake – itself one of the city’s iconic running spots.
Denver. The city itself is the calm before the storm. But, hill and trail running heaven awaits on Denver’s outskirts. Some favorites: Green Mountain Park, which has wonderful trails through rolling foothills; and Matthews/Winters Park, located 18 miles from downtown, featuring the Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks trail – 6 miles and 1,100 feet of elevation gain.
Honolulu. Wonderful trail and hill running options exist steps away from the famous Waikiki Beach. Favorites include Diamond Head (including the 99 stairs to the summit!) and the Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse Trail, just off the Kalanianaole Highway.
Las Vegas. Get thee away from the Strip to enjoy some fab running in Las Vegas. The best place an Uber ride away is Red Rock Canyon, which features 30 miles of trails, dirt roads, and a 13-mile Scenic Drive loop (gorgeous at sunrise or sunset!). Further afield, the hill/trail running are tremendous (as is the heat from May-October).
Los Angeles. L.A. boasts some of the best hill and trail running of any city in the world. Griffith Park is steps from the Hollywood area, while Runyon Canyon Park is in appropriately named Hollywood Hills. At the east end of Silver Lake Reservoir, get your heart rate with the Mattachine Steps, or run on Baxter St. — one of steepest paved roads in the United States. There’s famous hill and trail running just north of the city in Malibu Canyon Park, and south on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Montreal. The Olmsted-designed Mount Royal is one of the best urban hill runs accessible from a city’s downtown. Run to the ‘Croix’ at the summit, and enjoy great views of the city. A real treat in winter, for those who love winter running.
Nashville. It’s worth the 30-minute drive to enjoy the nearly 3,000 acres of the Warner Park. Variety of forests, fields, gentle paths, and more challenging trails. Plus, great views of the Nashville skyline at the top of Percy Warner Park.
Oakland/Berkeley: The East Bay is often overlooked from a running perspective, given San Francisco’s treasures. A favorite is Tilden Regional Park, located just a couple of miles east of Berkeley. There’s something for every ability in the 40+ miles of trails that wind through open, rolling hills. Redwood Regional Park is another great option.
Orange County. This huge area south of Los Angeles is famous for its beaches, but there are some good hill running options too. Near Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove State park has gorgeous running along a coastal cliff and more challenging trails in Moro Canyon.
Philadelphia. The best running in central Philly is generally flat. But 20 miles northwest of the city, there are gorgeous trails for running in Valley Forge National Park. The signature run there is the 8.7-mile, hilly Joseph Plumb Martin Trail.
Phoenix. Running is binary in this city. It’s either flat or super-hilly. Relive your youth near ASU by running up ‘A’ Mountain. Camelback Mountain and Mummy Mountain are near each other and are popular for running. South Mountain is the world’s largest city park – hilly roads and trails abound its 17,000 acres!
Pittsburgh. As one of the hilliest major cities in the United States, there are few runs that won’t find a way to get the heart rate up. A centrally located ‘quickie’ is Mt. Washington Park. Or, find your own hill in Pittsburgh’s iconic Schenley Park & Frick Park, and in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood just north of there. Canton Ave., in the Beechview neighborhood, has a 37% grade — the steepest street in North America! There are five ‘stair paths’ with 300+ steps sprinkled throughout the city.
Portland, OR. One of the best cities in the U.S. for hills and trails near downtown. You’ll never get board in Forest Park — the largest urban forest in the United States — with 80 miles of hilly trails. Terwilliger Blvd. and Council Crest Park are other great hill options in Portland.
Salt Lake City. This city has some of the best opportunities for challenging running a stone’s throw from downtown. City Creek Canyon is one great option, rising quickly from the trailhead – and it’s closed to cars on odd days from May to October! For an even greater challenge, take the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, accessible from the City Creek Canyon trailhead.
San Antonio. Get a taste of Texas hill running in the Hills and Dale run, famous for being a short, hilly run that ends next to a bar popular for breakfast tacos. The Alamo Heights/Olmos Dam route also has a few short, steep hills.
San Diego. Though many of San Diego’s iconic routes are on the beach or around Mission Bay, the terrain is famously hilly just away from the coast. Closest to the city is the area around the University of San Diego, which has pleasant paths and more serious trails and hills in adjacent Tecolote Canyon. Mission Trails Regional Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown, has 30 miles of hilly trails, including a tough, 3-mile ascent to the summit of Cowles Mountain.
San Francisco. Among the hilliest cities in the world! The interior sections of SF are almost universally hilly. To tackle four of the city’s hilliest streets (grades up to 41%!), take our Bernal Heights route. Nearby, take a sunset run to the top of Twin Peaks, gaining 400 feet over only 1 mile. Add to it with the shady trails in adjacent Mount Sutro, or cool off in nearby Golden Gate Park. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge, the hilly Marin Headlands features some of the most scenic running you’ll find in a metropolitan area.
Seattle. There are 10 miles of trails in Discovery Park, varying from forested single-track to wooded stairways overlooking the shores of Puget Sound. Even the main loop trail is a challenge, with a 365-foot gain over only 3.1 miles.
Silicon Valley. Running in Silicon Valley (the area from San Francisco Airport south the San Jose) is a tale of two cities: flat and scenic on the bay side, and hilly in the area west of I-280. There are numerous scenic, hilly parks off I-280: we love Rancho San Antonio Preserve, which has 4,000 acres of terrain ranging from open meadows to more forested trails. And it’s only 10 minutes from Apple’s HQ. Another iconic, hilly run is the Stanford Dish, a popular spot just behind Stanford’s campus in bucolic Palo Alto.
Tucson. Right near downtown, run the road up Sentinel Peak (AKA “A” Mountain) or Tumamoc Hill. Each is a 3.2 mile out & back, gaining 500 feet for Sentinel and 730 feet for Tumamoc. A thing to do in Tucson!
Vancouver, BC. One of our favorite cities for running has great options for those who love hills and challenge. On the peninsula near the University of British Columbia, there’s 73 km of interconnected trails in Pacific Spirit Park – add to the challenge by taking the steep stairs to the beach. A famous hill run 20 minutes north of Vancouver is the Grouse Grind, which consists of 2,830 stairs, gaining 2,800 feet in elevation over 1.8 miles. Note: must take the tram down. Also very popular is the Coquitlam Crunch Trail in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam: 260m climb over 2.9 km, including 894 stairs!
Washington, D.C. A great city for running, but fairly flat. Best bet for some elevation is the run along Embassy Row, where you’ll gain nearly 400 feet over a couple of miles while passing by more than 150 embassies.
Finding Hills in Famously Flat Cities
The word ‘hilly’ might need an asterisk in these famously flat cities, but here are some options:
Chicago. Most of the routes downtown are pretty flat. To get some hills and trail running in Chicago, it’s best to seek out one of the Forest Preserves located in Chicago’s suburbs.
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood: Vista View Park. It takes a park built on a former landfill to get something akin to hills in Florida.
Houston. A tough city for finding hills. There’s some elevation opportunities in the Buffalo Bayou, and in Spotts Park adjacent to the Bayou.
Kansas City. The Bridle Trail is a fairly hilly option in 1500-acre Wyandotte County Park, located 15 miles from downtown.
Miami. Oleta River Park is Florida’s largest urban park. There isn’t much in the way of hills, but there are 14 miles of trails.
New York. You can get in some elevation in Central Park, but most of the rest of Manhattan is pretty flat. Better options are in the boroughs: Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Staten Island Greenbelt.
Toronto. Best bet for some elevation is to run on the Lower Don River Trails north toward Edwards Gardens & the Ontario Science Center. The posh Forest Hills neighborhood has some hilly streets.
Some ‘Bucket List’ Hills for Runners
Steepest Paved Roads in the United States: Magnolia Road in Boulder. 13 miles, 3550 foot elevation gain.
Steep Roads and Stairs in Los Angeles. At the east end of Silver Lake Reservoir, get your heart rate with the Mattachine Steps, where your reward for climbing the 163 stairs are views of the reservoir and Hollywood Sign. Also, there are some seriously steep hilly streets east of Silver Lake Reservoir, especially Baxter St. — one of steepest paved roads in the United States.
Steepest Residential Street in the World. Located in Dunedin, New Zealand, Baldwin St. might only be 0.4 km long but it climbs 70m and features a 35% grade.
Do the Tucson Double! Run the roads up Sentinel Peak and Tumamoc Hill in the same run! This will be 8.6 mile total, 1230 foot gain.
Like Running Stairs? Try the Grouse Grind in Vancouver, Hamilton’s famous 2,600 steps connecting its upper & lower towns, and the stair paths of Quebec City, In Tromsø, Norway, hike/run the 1300 steps to the summit of Mt. Storsteinen during the ‘Midnight Sun’ period. Spectacular light & views!
Some runners seek out hills out, while others avoid them. For those wanting to get their heart rate up and do some hill training, Great Runs has compiled this list of of the best hills for running in major North America Cities. We’ve even uncovered some ‘hills’ in notoriously flat cities! PRO TIP: Search by keyword ‘hilly‘ to find all runs with that tag, sorted by city/region.
Best Hill Routes in Major North America Cities
So here’s our list below, sorted by major city. All routes can be found at Great Runs.
Atlanta: Stone Mountain is a popular recreation area located 15 miles from downtown Atlanta. There’s a 1-mile trail to the summit that rises 1,000 feet, and a 5-mile loop around the base of the mountain.
Austin. For real hill and trail running in Austin, you have to get outside the city. The Lakeway Area is a favorite for its scenic and hilly residential roads, while the Canyonlands Trails offer some hilly and technical trail running options.
Baltimore. Druid Hill Park. Located near Johns Hopkins University, this large park has some good hills and trails, with a 1.5-mile lake loop which is a great cool-down.
Boston. Boston’s iconic runs along the Charles River and the Emerald Necklace are flat. But just south of the city, Blue Hill Reservation has 7,000 acres of preserved land, incorporating 5 towns and 125 miles of trails of varying ability.
Charlotte. It’s worth the ½ hour drive from Uptown to run the 30 miles of trails of the Anne Close Springs Greenway. This place has something for everyone. For a challenge, seek out the ‘hiking’ trails on their map.
Cincinnati. For some hills close to the city, head for Devou Park, which is just across the bridge in Covington, KY and near the airport. While the park isn’t large, there are some short, steep hills which make for good repeats while enjoying great views of Cincinnati.
Dallas. It takes some doing to find some hills in this famously flat city. The best bet is to run in the hilly residential area just west of White Rock Lake – itself one of the city’s iconic running spots.
Denver. The city itself is the calm before the storm. But, hill and trail running heaven awaits on Denver’s outskirts. Some favorites: Green Mountain Park, which has wonderful trails through rolling foothills; and Matthews/Winters Park, located 18 miles from downtown, featuring the Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks trail – 6 miles and 1,100 feet of elevation gain.
Honolulu. Wonderful trail and hill running options exist steps away from the famous Waikiki Beach. Favorites include Diamond Head (including the 99 stairs to the summit!) and the Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse Trail, just off the Kalanianaole Highway.
Las Vegas. Get thee away from the Strip to enjoy some fab running in Las Vegas. The best place an Uber ride away is Red Rock Canyon, which features 30 miles of trails, dirt roads, and a 13-mile Scenic Drive loop (gorgeous at sunrise or sunset!). Further afield, the hill/trail running are tremendous (as is the heat from May-October).
Los Angeles. L.A. boasts some of the best hill and trail running of any city in the world. Griffith Park is steps from the Hollywood area, while Runyon Canyon Park is in appropriately named Hollywood Hills. At the east end of Silver Lake Reservoir, get your heart rate with the Mattachine Steps, or run on Baxter St. — one of steepest paved roads in the United States. There’s famous hill and trail running just north of the city in Malibu Canyon Park, and south on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Montreal. The Olmsted-designed Mount Royal is one of the best urban hill runs accessible from a city’s downtown. Run to the ‘Croix’ at the summit, and enjoy great views of the city. A real treat in winter, for those who love winter running.
Nashville. It’s worth the 30-minute drive to enjoy the nearly 3,000 acres of the Warner Park. Variety of forests, fields, gentle paths, and more challenging trails. Plus, great views of the Nashville skyline at the top of Percy Warner Park.
Oakland/Berkeley: The East Bay is often overlooked from a running perspective, given San Francisco’s treasures. A favorite is Tilden Regional Park, located just a couple of miles east of Berkeley. There’s something for every ability in the 40+ miles of trails that wind through open, rolling hills. Redwood Regional Park is another great option.
Orange County. This huge area south of Los Angeles is famous for its beaches, but there are some good hill running options too. Near Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove State park has gorgeous running along a coastal cliff and more challenging trails in Moro Canyon.
Philadelphia. The best running in central Philly is generally flat. But 20 miles northwest of the city, there are gorgeous trails for running in Valley Forge National Park. The signature run there is the 8.7-mile, hilly Joseph Plumb Martin Trail.
Phoenix. Running is binary in this city. It’s either flat or super-hilly. Relive your youth near ASU by running up ‘A’ Mountain. Camelback Mountain and Mummy Mountain are near each other and are popular for running. South Mountain is the world’s largest city park – hilly roads and trails abound its 17,000 acres!
Pittsburgh. As one of the hilliest major cities in the United States, there are few runs that won’t find a way to get the heart rate up. A centrally located ‘quickie’ is Mt. Washington Park. Or, find your own hill in Pittsburgh’s iconic Schenley Park & Frick Park, and in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood just north of there. Canton Ave., in the Beechview neighborhood, has a 37% grade — the steepest street in North America! There are five ‘stair paths’ with 300+ steps sprinkled throughout the city.
Portland, OR. One of the best cities in the U.S. for hills and trails near downtown. You’ll never get board in Forest Park — the largest urban forest in the United States — with 80 miles of hilly trails. Terwilliger Blvd. and Council Crest Park are other great hill options in Portland.
Salt Lake City. This city has some of the best opportunities for challenging running a stone’s throw from downtown. City Creek Canyon is one great option, rising quickly from the trailhead – and it’s closed to cars on odd days from May to October! For an even greater challenge, take the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, accessible from the City Creek Canyon trailhead.
San Antonio. Get a taste of Texas hill running in the Hills and Dale run, famous for being a short, hilly run that ends next to a bar popular for breakfast tacos. The Alamo Heights/Olmos Dam route also has a few short, steep hills.
San Diego. Though many of San Diego’s iconic routes are on the beach or around Mission Bay, the terrain is famously hilly just away from the coast. Closest to the city is the area around the University of San Diego, which has pleasant paths and more serious trails and hills in adjacent Tecolote Canyon. Mission Trails Regional Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown, has 30 miles of hilly trails, including a tough, 3-mile ascent to the summit of Cowles Mountain.
San Francisco. Among the hilliest cities in the world! The interior sections of SF are almost universally hilly. To tackle four of the city’s hilliest streets (grades up to 41%!), take our Bernal Heights route. Nearby, take a sunset run to the top of Twin Peaks, gaining 400 feet over only 1 mile. Add to it with the shady trails in adjacent Mount Sutro, or cool off in nearby Golden Gate Park. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge, the hilly Marin Headlands features some of the most scenic running you’ll find in a metropolitan area.
Seattle. There are 10 miles of trails in Discovery Park, varying from forested single-track to wooded stairways overlooking the shores of Puget Sound. Even the main loop trail is a challenge, with a 365-foot gain over only 3.1 miles.
Silicon Valley. Running in Silicon Valley (the area from San Francisco Airport south the San Jose) is a tale of two cities: flat and scenic on the bay side, and hilly in the area west of I-280. There are numerous scenic, hilly parks off I-280: we love Rancho San Antonio Preserve, which has 4,000 acres of terrain ranging from open meadows to more forested trails. And it’s only 10 minutes from Apple’s HQ. Another iconic, hilly run is the Stanford Dish, a popular spot just behind Stanford’s campus in bucolic Palo Alto.
Tucson. Right near downtown, run the road up Sentinel Peak (AKA “A” Mountain) or Tumamoc Hill. Each is a 3.2 mile out & back, gaining 500 feet for Sentinel and 730 feet for Tumamoc. A thing to do in Tucson!
Vancouver, BC. One of our favorite cities for running has great options for those who love hills and challenge. On the peninsula near the University of British Columbia, there’s 73 km of interconnected trails in Pacific Spirit Park – add to the challenge by taking the steep stairs to the beach. A famous hill run 20 minutes north of Vancouver is the Grouse Grind, which consists of 2,830 stairs, gaining 2,800 feet in elevation over 1.8 miles. Note: must take the tram down. Also very popular is the Coquitlam Crunch Trail in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam: 260m climb over 2.9 km, including 894 stairs!
Washington, D.C. A great city for running, but fairly flat. Best bet for some elevation is the run along Embassy Row, where you’ll gain nearly 400 feet over a couple of miles while passing by more than 150 embassies.
Finding Hills in Famously Flat Cities
The word ‘hilly’ might need an asterisk in these famously flat cities, but here are some options:
Chicago. Most of the routes downtown are pretty flat. To get some hills and trail running in Chicago, it’s best to seek out one of the Forest Preserves located in Chicago’s suburbs.
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood: Vista View Park. It takes a park built on a former landfill to get something akin to hills in Florida.
Houston. A tough city for finding hills. There’s some elevation opportunities in the Buffalo Bayou, and in Spotts Park adjacent to the Bayou.
Kansas City. The Bridle Trail is a fairly hilly option in 1500-acre Wyandotte County Park, located 15 miles from downtown.
Miami. Oleta River Park is Florida’s largest urban park. There isn’t much in the way of hills, but there are 14 miles of trails.
New York. You can get in some elevation in Central Park, but most of the rest of Manhattan is pretty flat. Better options are in the boroughs: Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Staten Island Greenbelt.
Toronto. Best bet for some elevation is to run on the Lower Don River Trails north toward Edwards Gardens & the Ontario Science Center. The posh Forest Hills neighborhood has some hilly streets.
Some ‘Bucket List’ Hills for Runners
Steepest Paved Roads in the United States: Magnolia Road in Boulder. 13 miles, 3550 foot elevation gain.
Steep Roads and Stairs in Los Angeles. At the east end of Silver Lake Reservoir, get your heart rate with the Mattachine Steps, where your reward for climbing the 163 stairs are views of the reservoir and Hollywood Sign. Also, there are some seriously steep hilly streets east of Silver Lake Reservoir, especially Baxter St. — one of steepest paved roads in the United States.
Steepest Residential Street in the World. Located in Dunedin, New Zealand, Baldwin St. might only be 0.4 km long but it climbs 70m and features a 35% grade.
Do the Tucson Double! Run the roads up Sentinel Peak and Tumamoc Hill in the same run! This will be 8.6 mile total, 1230 foot gain.
Like Running Stairs? Try the Grouse Grind in Vancouver, Hamilton’s famous 2,600 steps connecting its upper & lower towns, and the stair paths of Quebec City, In Tromsø, Norway, hike/run the 1300 steps to the summit of Mt. Storsteinen during the ‘Midnight Sun’ period. Spectacular light & views!
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