Dallas is one of the largest cities in the United States, covering a large area known as the ‘Metroplex’, which includes Fort Worth. As a spread out, quite car-oriented city, running in Dallas takes some planning. We’ve divided our Dallas running guide into two sections: Dallas-Central, focused on downtown and the area bound by I-635, I-35E, and I-30, and the Dallas Suburbs, consisting of the communities mainly north and west of downtown, including Fort Worth, Irving, Las Colinas, Plano, Richardson, and Garland.
The best place to run in downtown Dallas is the Katy Trail, a lovely 3.5 mile corridor following an old railroad bed. Our ‘Historic Dallas‘ tour includes Deep Ellum and the National Landmark Swiss Ave. neighborhood. From the Deep Ellum area, further east, the Santa Fe Trail runs about 5 miles out to White Rock Lake. The ‘destination’ run in Dallas is White Rock Lake, a beautiful park/reservoir with a 9+ mile paved path around its perimeter. Just north of Dallas, Bachman Lake has a nice 3.1 pile waterside perimeter trail, while south of downtown we enjoy the Trinity Forest trails.
There are two things to be careful about when running in Dallas. One is the heat — temperatures in May through September can regularly top 100 degrees, so you will have to run early or late in the day. Also, many secondary roads don’t have sidewalks — so best to use this guide when planning your runs in Dallas. Dallas’ public transport, the DART, has a steadily improving light rail and bus system. Also, a neat bike sharing system allows you to pick up and drop off just about anywhere.
