Central Park, Tamarashvili Boulevard Park, Vake Park

In western Tblisi, one can put together a quite nice run combining Central Park, Tamarashvili Boulevard Park, and Vake Park. Do these in sections or combine for a run of 8-10 km! The route is in the Saburtalo district, where there are numerous medical & academic facilities, and the Soviet-era Vazha-Pshavela apartment blocks.

Start in the area around Central Park, location of the former Hippodrome horse racing track. It’s now an area of fields and paths, popular with runners and mountain bikers. A loop is ~1.5 km. Exit the west end onto Kakutsa Cholokashvili Hwy (there’s a sidewalk). After 0.3 km, you’ll enter Tamarashvili Boulevard Park, a narrow linear park that runs in the median of the wide Mikheil Tamarashvili St. for 1.3 km. When you reach Ilia State University, continue straight on Giorgi Tsereteli St. for 0.2 km to enter Vake Park. Run through the graffiti tunnel(!) and then enjoy the park paths, which in the center are wider and somewhat brutalist with a giant fountain at the center, and then more wooded headed west toward Mikheil Meskhi Stadium. A loop of the park is 2-3 km. There’s a running track next to the soccer field.

Our mapped route is 6 km out and back, including Tamarashvili Boulevard Park and a loop of Vake Park. Adding Central Park would be another 2-3 km.

Add-On: Hill Challenge. If you want to get the lungs going, take the trail to Turtle Lake. It can be accessed from the south end of Vake Park. It’s 2 km, with a climb of 142m. Footing is not too challenging. Once at Turtle Lake, there are numerous additional roads and trails for running. Very scenic — open & hilly!

Note: As of April 2023. Central Park might be undergoing a construction project/improvements over the next couple of years.