I’ve run well over a thousand miles in Prospect Park. Most of those have been on the outer loop. Lately, the loop has been getting a little dull, so yesterday I decided to switch it up. The idea for the run was to not run on the main loop at all, but keep entirely to the trails which crisscross the park. Turns out, this isn’t so easy, but still it was a fun exercise.

There are a large number of trails in the park. Some of them are paved, some of them are dirt, and some of them are paved turning into dirt. The smell of marijuana was thick in some places, and the looks of confused lovers as I barreled past were memorable. This run was scheduled to be 11 miles (I ended up with 10.5), and getting the miles in proved harder than I thought. When you take out the great lawn, the park just isn’t that big. I found myself running into chain link fences, or roundabouts, and having to double back. It proved all but impossible to not be on a main loop for at least part of the run.

 

Still, if was fun. I think I covered a lot of the dirt trails on this run, but not all of them, and I got lost a number of times. I climbed Look Out Hill a couple of times, which put the hurt on the quads. There are some good trails in the area between Flatbush ave and the loop and in the area around Look Out Hill. Not surprising the highest point in Prospect Park doesn’t have a monument or anything, just some overgrown bushes. I still have more to explore around there. I’m looking forward to knowing those interior trails as well as I know every bump of the outer loop.