Puerto Rico

El Yunque National Forest

Flickr: Thomas Shahan

El Yunque National Forest, located 25 miles east of San Juan, is a good spot for those interested in experiencing some of Puerto Rico’s lush foliage. It’s the only tropical rainforest in the National Forest system. There are options for running on some of the roads designated for ‘scenic driving’, or trail running in the forest’s 24 miles of hiking trails. Most of the trailheads come off Road 191, with the El Portal Visitor Center as a good anchor. Notes: The forest is very hilly; the roads have no shoulder; most of the trail running is quite rugged. A few recommendations:

Flickr: Jimmy Emerson

Running on ‘Scenic Drive’ RoutesInformation

  • South Side Road 191. Less traveled section of the forest. Nice scenery!
  • Road 988. Luquillo’s entrance. Scenic road in lower elevations.
  • Road 186. It’s more traveled.  Information on nicer sections.
Creative Commons: Thaynetubbs

Hiking Trails. Most of the trails are rugged and hilly, offering more challenging trail running. And most are quite short. Some options:One of the best trails is the 2.4 mile El Yunque Trail to El Yunque Peak, which travels over a combination of asphalt, gravel, and crushed stone, but gains lots of elevation. The astonishing views from the top of this green rainforest peak are absolutely worth the effort.

  • El Yunque Trail. Challenging 2.6 mile trail run to El Yunque Peak. Travels over a combination of asphalt, gravel, and crushed stone, but gains lots of elevation. The astonishing views from the top of this green rainforest peak are absolutely worth the effort.
  • Tradewinds Trail. Very challenging 4.6 mile trail.

 

 

Essentials
  • The Forest is generally very hilly!
  • Forest is 25 miles east of San Juan. El Portal Visitor Center is a good anchor

Comment on this Route/Share a Photo!

Share your feedback on this route and see that of other Great Runs users. Click on the image icon to upload a photo. And please let us know if there are notes or changes we should incorporate!

Subscribe
Notify of

1 Comment
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
andrew kaminskas
1 year ago

scenery looks amazing

Essentials
  • The Forest is generally very hilly!
  • Forest is 25 miles east of San Juan. El Portal Visitor Center is a good anchor