Find the top rated running trails in Elk River, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I rode this route in both directions on a bikepacking trip in July 2025. The first leg, we started at the East Portal Parking lot and rode all the way down to Saint Regis. The gravel is smooth and fast going downhill until about Saltese. Around Haugan, the mountains open up, the gradient drops close to 0%, and you're a bit more exposed to the sun. The worst conditions were the last six miles into Saint Regis. Noise from I90 was never an issue, and we passed less than three motorized vehicles the entire time. I'd highly recommend the section from East Portal until the Old Dominion trestle. Would be a nice addition to the Hiawatha for those seeking a bit more distance.
I rode this trail in the opposite direction as part of a multi-day bikepacking trip in July 2025. In general, the whole thing is pretty flat/slightly uphill, with the section between Marble Creek and Avery on Siberts Old River Road adding a little bit of up and down hills. The road is rocky and tough on the arms. I had 700x40 inch tires on a carbon gravel bike and definitely felt it that night. We averaged around 11 MPH, imagine you could do better going the downhill route. Spectacular views, particularly between Pearson and Avery, where you go through about seven tunnels and have towering pine-covered mountains and a deep river canyon below.
Me and my family grew up camping on Lake Chatcolet and biking this trail. We love making a stop in Harrison for the delicious ice cream at Harrison Creamery & Fudge Factory
We had a wonderful ride on this trail. It is short but the scenery is beautiful as it winds along the Palouse River through woods and along farms.
From the jump this trail is unforgettable.
You start out by pedaling the 1.6 mile pitch-black Taft Tunnel, only seeing what’s illuminated by the lights you bring.
The temperature drops. You hear nothing but the sound of your spinning wheels and the echoes of dripping water and distant voices. Close to an out-of-body experience, no toad licking needed.
You emerge into blinding sunlight and stunning beauty including a waterfall.
You will cross sphincter-clenching train trestles and will encounter wildlife and more tunnels, though none as extreme as the Taft tunnel (which you will pass through again at the end of the ride).
The return shuttle trip will test those sphincters one last time, or you could choose to ride the gentle grade back up.
Ok section, kind of dull. Agriculture & cows. Found a bit of shade by a grain elevator for lunch. Several washouts filled with tumbleweeds as you get closer to Lind.
Attempted to ride from the trail end in Pullman, WA to Moscow, ID. The experience was super disappointing. Cracks in the asphalt (bitumen) surface are so numerous and so big and so poorly patched that it's completely unusable as a transportation corridor. By numerous, I mean cracks every 3 to 20 meters for the length of the part I rode. And anywhere from 5 cm to 15 cm wide across for the width of the trail. And deep.
The trail isn't practical for bicycle commuting because the cracks make traveling at an efficient speed difficult. I spent so much time focusing on the cracks and standing in the pedals to dampen the shocks that I could never focus on anything else or gain any speed. And they would be absolutely damaging to the wheels of a bike loaded with groceries. I suppose an ebike with large low pressure tires wouldn't be affected too badly, but that's an exception to what most cyclists use.
I gave up and turned around after less than 4 km. Two star because it's still a nice walking/jogging trail.
We rode this trail in early September and fell in love with the experience. It is one of the first ‘destination’ trails we have done and it fueled our desire to ride more. The trail has a very easy grade, so we decided we would skip the shuttle bus that takes you from the bottom back to the top and just rode our e-bikes back. Did not need to use any throttle, the pedal-assist was all we needed. (We are recently retired sr. citizens). Saved us a few $$ and was very enjoyable to see the views coming back up the mountain. Highly recommend this trail!
We started in Akron and rode about 18 miles north. Loved it!!!
This trail is absolutely incredible. We rode Oct 15, so none of the local watering holes were open mid-week but will be open Fri-Sun. We saw a total of 10 bikers on our 20 mile ride and a few deer. Trail in impeccable shape.
We ( recumbent trike & e-bike) headed West from the Kiwanis park. Turned around after 9km as the surface was really tough on the trike. There’s 2 good wheel tracks for bikes, but the trike had to ride partially in the coarse trail ballast. Scenic area with farm views and a huge windmill farm in the distance.
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