Best Running Places—Traditional
1. Pittman Wash trail system in Henderson.
The Pittman Wash trail travels through a beautifully landscaped wash with plenty of shade, open restrooms, water fountains and a hearty amount of pedestrian traffic. There is a pedestrian underpass at every intersection with a city street, so pedestrians never have to share the trail with vehicular traffic.
2. Summerlin's trail system: miles of bike and pedestrian pathways connecting parks throughout the community.
The Summerlin trail system is very much like the Pittman wash trail. Easy access to bathrooms and water, a steady stream of fitness-minded pedestrians, plenty of shade, and underpasses at most (maybe even all) of the intersections with vehicle-carrying streets. The landscaping is mature and well-maintained, and the paths are wide enough to accommodate walkers, joggers, runners, baby strollers, inline skaters and even bicycles.
3. Kellogg Zaher Sports Park at Buffalo and Washington, 7901 W. Washington Ave.
Kellogg Zaher Sports Park has a loop that is just over two miles around. Although the park is too new to provide much shade, there are bathrooms and water readily available. There is ample parking, a wide range of children's playground equipment, athletic fields in the interior, and a large, well-designed skateboard park. It is family friendly, so some family members can walk/jog/run while other family members make use of the other facilities that are provided there.
4. Red Rock Canyon's trail loop.
Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area is one of the most beautiful spots in the desert southwest. The awesome beauty of the park is reason enough to spend time there. The loop through the park is designed to allow for walkers/joggers/runners and cyclists to share the smooth, paved asphalt road with slow-moving vehicles. There are bathrooms all along the way, but there is no water beyond the parking area at the ranger station, or the visitor's center. Nonetheless, chance encounters with desert wildlife including the native burros are regular occurrences, and something that just cannot be had anywhere in the populated part of the city.
5. All around Green Valley in general, with its wide streets and generous bike lanes.
The master plan for Green Valley called for wide boulevards with ample room for bicycle lanes. The streets all include wide sidewalks that connect neighborhood to neighborhood, and the placement of parks throughout Green Valley means that pedestrians are never far from a bathroom or water fountain. At any given time of the normal daytime hours, the Green Valley streets are alive with pedestrians and cyclists out enjoying a fit lifestyle.
Best Kept Running Secrets
1. Mission Hills Park in Henderson, 1028 San Gabriel Ave.
The area surrounding Mission Hills Park is very accommodating for walkers/joggers/runners. You could wind around through the neighborhoods on the paved city streets, or you could head up the trail into the foothills and the mountains for a more challenging alternative. The neighbors are friendly and comfortable with visitors, and they are very careful to share the roads with their pedestrian guests.
2. Las Vegas Western Trails Equestrian Park, Warm Springs and Rogers Street.
Equestrian Park is well away from the maddening crowds. The trail extends all the way from the Six Tunnels trail in Boulder City to the beautiful neighborhoods of Lake Las Vegas. For folks who are looking to go a longer distance, this trail is ideal.
3. Off-road trails in the Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, Nevada (55 miles northeast of Las Vegas).
The Valley of Fire trails offer walkers/joggers/runners the chance to run in a pristine environment where you are apt to meet up with petroglyphs and wildlife. The hills in the park are certainly challenging, but for fitness enthusiasts looking to escape the smog and the dust of the Vegas Valley, there is no better place than the Valley of the Fire.
4. Six Tunnels trail at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. (The tunnels are approximately 300 feet long and 25 feet wide.)
The Six Tunnels trail overlooks the majestic beauty of Lake Mead. Throughout the spring and early summer, the trail is lined by a garland of wildflowers stretching off to the horizon in every direction. You can walk/jog/run the trail at whatever pace is most comfortable, and you can stop to lollygag and just enjoy the sights on Lake Mead when the spirit strikes you.
5. Mack's Canyon Trail at Mount Charleston. (6-mile round-trip trail; reaches 1,177 feet elevation.)
Mack's Canyon provides one of the best opportunities to run in the pristine beauty of a high alpine forest. The clean, clear air offers a welcome respite from the shimmering heat on the valley floor throughout the hottest parts of the summer. And the wide range of birds, insects, animals and plants open up a world that is largely unappreciated by the millions of visitors, guests and residents who pass through Clark County.