The Best Jogging Trails at Disney World

Thinking it would be nice to get a jog in on your next Disney vacation? You’re in luck.

The Walt Disney World Resort has several jogging trails among its many hotels. And they are beautiful, scenic trails.

Some of these trails might have you falling in love with the resorts more than anticipated.

In this review, we’ll look at the best jogging trails at Disney World. If you are interested in leisurely walking, jogging, or running, I highly recommend taking the time to explore at least one of these trails during your stay.

This article was updated on April 15, 2022.

As someone who enjoys jogging at Disney World, I have two main reasons I find it beneficial to a trip. For starters, it’s no secret that you will probably walk more than usual on the average Disney vacation.

The first reason is that adding exercise makes touring a little easier and tends to help with your mindset. For example, if you have already run a mile or two in the morning, you probably won’t complain that your legs are tired later in the day.

Secondly, running the trails at the resorts will help you familiarize yourself with the area’s layout. Disney Resorts are massive and can be confusing to get around.

When you are on the running trails, you’ll quickly begin to learn your way around. And let’s face it, knowing the best ways to get around your resort is half the battle.

Most people spend a week-long stay at their Disney hotel and never know what amenities they have access to right there. After an entire run around the property, you’ll be able to quickly identify the locations of the pools, dining areas, bus stops, and more.

Below we’ll take a closer look at each trail.

Best Jogging Trails at Disney World

We’ll start with what I consider to be the best jogging trail available at Disney World. This trail is situated around Crescent Lake in the Epcot Area Resorts. Anyone staying at the following resorts can easily access this trail.

There are several options for jogging this trail. The first option is to stay in the circle around Crescent Lake.

However, I often add in an additional loop across the Swan and Dolphin Resort grounds. Then I’ll run up to the overpass toward Disney’s Hollywood Studios before turning back and heading around the Boardwalk.

Additionally, a second jogging trail goes around the outer parameter of these resorts. This trail is a long loop that runs along Epcot Resorts Boulevard.

I’ve run the outer parameter in the afternoon’s heat and once in the evening. It is a more challenging run, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. The jogging path is not near as scenic, and you have to deal with cars and theme park buses constantly passing.

Here is the map that shows different options. They paths range from a 0.8-mile loop to 2.4 miles depending on your route.

Next we’ll look at your jogging options at a few other resorts in the nearby area. We’ll start with Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Riviera Resort.

Both of these hotels have grounds that connect. Therefore, they share the same trail.

This Disney jogging trail loops around Barefoot Bay, a large lake that centers the property. If you decide to take the whole circle, you’re looking at about 1.5 miles from one end of the property and back.

This trail is beautiful, especially in the morning and again at sunset.

Next door sits Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Pop Century Resort. They also share a lovely trail around Hourglass Lake.

It’s a pleasant trail and fun to see the resorts and Skyliner from each side of the lake.

On the Art of Animation side, you’ll run along beside the Little Mermaid, Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars section of the resort. And on the Pop Century side, you’ll pass by the different decades.

These fun facts signs around the lake are one of the best things about this trail. For example, on the Art of Animation side of the lake, the signs provide details about the different animated films showcased at the resort.

And on the Pop Century side of the lake, the signage shares events and pop references from years past.

Before moving to the next resort area, I wanted to mention that the resorts we’ve already discussed all have excellent running paths.

In addition, if you are staying in any of these specific hotels, you can use the Disney Skyliner to get between these trails. As long as you are running during the Skyliner’s operating hours.

For instance, you might stay at Pop Century and run the trail there. Then, on another day, you might take the Skyliner to Caribbean Beach and run that trail.

Likewise, you could take the Skyliner to the Epcot Resorts on another day and jog that trail. Then you’ll have to decide which is the best jogging trail. It’s a difficult choice.

For me, the jogging trail at Crescent Lake is the best, especially at sunset. Being able to jog along the water and see Disney’s Boardwalk in the distance is extraordinary.

And the scenery changes a good deal here as you jog. You might even get in a run after 9:00 pm when fireworks are going off, and there’s music playing all over the grounds of the Swan and Dolphin.

Next, we’ll move over to the Magic Kingdom Resorts area and look at their jogging trails.

First, we’ll pop into Disney’s Polynesian Resort and the Grand Floridian, which share a jogging trail. I like to extend this trail and get in a long run when I visit. Here is the map of the route on the Polynesian side.

What I do is start at the walkway that leads to the Transportation and Ticket Center from the Polynesian. I then take the pathway that leads straight out toward Seven Seas Lagoon. You can run the entirety of the large walkway that runs along the water and the bungalows.

Eventually, the path appears to run out at the Polynesian’s boat dock. You’ll turn and pass the volcano pool area towards the Great Ceremonial House.

Once you reach the Polynesian’s lobby, you’ll make a hard right and continue toward the Grand Floridian. The path at the Grand Floridian continues along the shoreline.

Formerly, this trail would run out near Gasparilla Island Grill at the opposite end of the resort. However, you can now take the trail even further.

How far? Since the new Grand Floridian walkway opened, you can go to Magic Kingdom.

And if you really want to push it, you can go all the way to the Contemporary. First, however, you will have to walk through security at Magic Kingdom. But that’s a simple process.

Then you can continue in front of the theme park and join the walking path to Disney’s Contemporary. Once you reach the Contemporary, you can join their jogging trail. However, it is under refurbishment for several months in 2022.

I haven’t mapped it out, but I estimate it to be around 1.5 miles between the far end of the Polynesian to Magic Kingdom. And to continue to the Contemporary and run their path, it’s probably an entire 3 to 3.5 miles.

If you double back, you’re running approximately 6-7 miles. So you might want to catch the monorail and take it back to wherever you started.

Next up is Disney’s Contemporary Resort. This hotel has a reasonably small loop. It’s made up of two small circles that wrap around the resort. So you can easily start and stop anywhere.

I jogged about four full loops around the resort at sunset on my last run here. You’ll jog across the backyard of the Contemporary before making your way around Bay Lake Tower.

Related: Bay Lake Tower Review

Here’s the map of the running trail at the Contemporary.

During this trip, we stayed in the south garden wing of the Contemporary.

Moving on, we’ll talk briefly about the Wilderness Lodge. This trail used to be my second favorite option for running trails at Disney World. This trail was incredibly long because it joined the course at Fort Wilderness.

Below is an image of the updated .5-mile trail available at Wilderness Lodge.

Unfortunately, the trail between the two resorts closed a few years back due to the construction of the Reflections Resort. However, that resort never came to fruition.

Thankfully, Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort does have some decent running options. If you are looking for a long trail, you can take a boat over from Wilderness Lodge or Magic Kingdom to access it.

You can start at the boat dock and make the entire loop around Fort Wilderness. At the end of my jog, I always like to walk over to the horse stables (the ones on the same end of the resort as the boat dock) and visit the horses.

So if you want to see the horses, make sure to get to the stable before they close at 3:00 p.m.

Since the Fort Wilderness Campground is massive, you’ll want to take a picture of the map of the resort. If you were to get turned around, you can reference it on your phone.

One of the things you’ll probably enjoy is that most of the trail here is shaded since it goes through a wooded area. But make sure you have a form of payment on you in case you were to need to stop in for water at one of the resort’s canteens.

Or you can always request free ice water at the counter service. A cast member might take pity on you as they did me and give you the largest cup available.

Moving on to the Animal Kingdom Resorts area, we have one jogging trail to preview. Unfortunately, the All-Star Resorts and Animal Kingdom Lodge do not have great jogging trails.

You could get in a jog at any of these if needed. However, when I stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, I usually take a bus to Hollywood Studios and then start my run on the walkway to Crescent Lake.

Anyway, Coronado Springs is set up similar to Caribbean Beach. I consider this another one of the best jogging trails at Disney World.

The trail at Coronado Springs loops around the large lake, Lago Dorado. There are several options here to make the length of the trail longer.

For instance, you can run through the villages or loop out near the parking lot. I have done both and prefer to run through the villages and see the different landscapes.

However, I didn’t care for the option to run along the parking lot. Usually, I’ll run toward the lot and then turn around and get back on the loop around the lake.

Lastly, there are several running trails in the Disney Springs Resorts area. I have had the opportunity to jog between the Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter Resorts.

This trail is another pleasant option that offers some shade. Additionally, it’s a relatively long trail that runs along the waterway. On the map below the purple portion is French Quarter and the green is Riverside.

You can start at French Quarter and run down through Riverside and the Alligator Bayou. Then you can cross the bridge and run up the other side.

You’ll need to cross back over a bridge to get back to French Quarter. But that’s pretty easy to do since there are several bridges.

Other than the Southern charm, you might enjoy seeing the horse-drawn carriages chauffering guests around the resort. They usually start around 5:00 p.m.

In addition, there are two trails that I haven’t had the opportunity to jog yet, but I think are worth a mention. The first is Saratoga Springs, and the other is Old Key West.

I have walked part of the Saratoga Springs and can vouch for it. You’ll get to see a variety of scenery, including Disney Springs and the golf course.

When I have a little extra time, I’ll get back over this way and add a few more details.

Hopefully, this review gave you an idea of some of the best places to jog at Disney World. When I’m at home, I know I look forward to the next time I’m able to run any of these trails.

For more information about the Disney World Resorts, you might enjoy a few of these other articles:

Have you had the opportunity to run any of these jogging trails at Disney? What are your thoughts about running while on vacation? Share your thoughts below in the comments.

2 Comments

Brooke says:

July 19, 2023 at 2:35 pm

What about running from Shades of Green?

1. Amber says:
  
  July 19, 2023 at 3:50 pm
  
  Hi, I’m not familiar with that path. But I do know the walkway between Shades of Green and the Polynesian closed earlier this year.

Best Jogging Trails at Disney World

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