The southwestern Ontario city of Kitchener-Waterloo (known as ‘K-W’) is the tenth largest municipality in Canada. Historically a farming area, it’s increasingly home to technology companies, anchored by the University of Waterloo. A network of hundreds of km of multi-use trails in the area make for some excellent running in Kitchener-Waterloo. We also include routes in nearby Cambridge, Stratford, and Guelph.
A great introduction to running in Waterloo is to create your own route around the University of Waterloo and adjacent Waterloo Park. The nearby Westmount neighborhood is the nicest residential area for running in K-W. For multi-use paths, the Laurel Trail connects key points in Waterloo, while the Iron Horse section of the Trans Canada Trail runs for 5 km between Waterloo and Kitchener. Trail runners will enjoy the West Side Trails/GeoTime Trail. The best places to run in Kitchener are around Victoria Park and a greenway that connects several open spaces, and a series of paths connecting several adjacent parks in the Westmount & Laurentian Hills neighborhoods. For some running along the Grand River, there are some nice paths in north Kitchener, and several options in the nearby city of Cambridge. We’ve also included some running recommendations for the nearby city of Stratford, known for its annual Shakespeare festival.
K-W has decent public transport, consisting of a bus and a light rail system. Runners should be aware that winters can be cold and snowy. The main multi-use paths, such as Iron Horse and Laurel, are maintained in winter.
