Downtown Springfield Area: Missouri State University, Rountree Neighborhood

The best running in downtown Springfield is just east of the central business district. We’ve mapped a ~10k route that includes a few key Springfield sights, the campus of Missouri State University, and the lovely Rountree neighborhood. Use the map as a guideline to create your own route.

Start in downtown Springfield on N Jefferson Ave. Use it to access the pedestrian path headed east for 1 mile through Jordan Valley Park. Continue briefly on Trafficway, then use National Ave. or Kickapoo Ave. to head south into the campus of Missouri State University. This is a pleasant campus for running! Use the main east-west paths between National Ave. & Strong Hall. Just north of the library is a running track at the Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium. Exit the University, headed south on Dollison Ave. into the small & leafy Phelps Grove Park. The final part of the route is around the Rountree neighborhood, with its leafy streets and grand homes. Use S Fremont Ave. as an anchor to explore the area. At the north end, use Elm St. or Walnut St. to return to downtown.

Alternative/Add-On: After exploring Rountree, you can take E Bennett St. headed west to Fassnight Park, where there’s a short multi-use path and a running track at JFK Stadium. You can use S Missouri Ave. back north to downtown.

Add-On: Just north of downtown, the campus of Drury University is fun to explore, and there’s a running track at Harrison stadium.