Fort Worth is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth ‘metroplex’ and is a substantial city in its own right. Nicknamed ‘Cowtown’, Fort Worth is known for the Stockyards, art museums, great dining scene, and one of the best regarded zoos in the U.S. And the scene for running in Fort Worth is quite good — and much better than central Dallas, in our view. This is due in large part to the large number of substantial parks, and the 40+ miles of the Trinity Trails system, which connects many of these parks and also has several sections along the narrow West Fork Trinity River. See also our extensive guides to Dallas and the area’s suburbs.
We’ve grouped our list of best places to run in Fort Worth into sections roughly divided by I-30 north-south and I-35W east-west. In central Fort Worth, there are some nice trails headed west from downtown to Rockwood Park, and then around Trinity Park and south toward the zoo. In the Southside area just south of downtown, there’s some nice residential neighborhood running, the Clear Fork river path, and a nice run from Overton Park to Kellis Park. In western Fort Worth, the running highlight is the area around Airfield Falls, and multi-use paths toward Bugers Lake or east toward Rockwood Park. In eastern Fort Worth, there’s an 8-mile section of the Trinity Trails from Riverside Park to Quanah Parker Park, and trail running in the native prairie of Tandy Hills. North of the I-820, the running scene is centered around the 10+ miles of Arcadia Trail Park, which connects to other parks.
Like Dallas, this is a car-centric area, though there is a bus service in Fort Worth. There’s a also a commuter rail that connects to DFW Airport and to downtown Dallas. Runners should also be aware of the weather — it can be brutally hot from May through September, though winters are generally delightful for running.
