Running in Halifax: Best Routes, Local Tips & the Dartmouth Side No One Talks About
I used to run marathons. Five of them, in fact. Then life got in the way — new country, new priorities, new everything — and for a long stretch, running sort of fell off the radar.
What got me back into it wasn’t a training plan or a sign-up deadline. It was moving to Downtown Dartmouth in 2024 and suddenly having a waterfront, a lake, and a network of quiet streets right outside my door. I started running again, just 6–7 km a day, no race on the horizon, and I haven’t stopped since.
Halifax — and the Dartmouth side of the harbour that most running guides barely mention — is a better city for running than people give it credit for. The terrain is varied, the scenery is actually good, and if you know where to look, there are routes here to suit every pace and every mood. Whether you’re visiting for a few days and want to get some miles in, or you’ve just moved here and you’re still figuring out where to run, this guide covers the routes I’d point you toward first.
The Best Running Routes in Halifax
Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk — Flat, Fast, and Great for First Mornings
If you’re staying in downtown Halifax and you want to get outside before breakfast, the waterfront boardwalk is where you start. The route runs from Casino Nova Scotia along Upper Water Street, with a dedicated boardwalk beginning around the Ferry Terminal and continuing south past the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, the Seaport Farmers’ Market, and Pier 21. It’s mostly flat, the surface is good, and the harbour views don’t get old.
End-to-end is about 4 km one way. You can extend south along Marginal Road toward Point Pleasant Park if you’ve got the legs for it, or double back and keep it easy. Either way, this is the run you do when you want to cover ground without thinking too hard about where you’re going.
Point Pleasant Park — When You Want Trees and Ocean at the Same Time
About 3 km south of downtown, Point Pleasant Park offers 75 hectares of forested trails with views of the open Atlantic at the southern tip. It’s a proper park run — not a boardwalk stroll. Some trails are flat, others climb. The interior paths are shaded and quiet, and the waterfront edge of the park has open views that feel a long way from a city.
If you’re only here for a few days and want one run that gives you a real feel for Halifax, this is it. Go in the morning before the dog walkers take over.
The “Runseeing” Loop — Landmarks, Hills, and About 8 km
For first-time visitors to Halifax who want to see the city on foot, there’s a well-worn route that takes in Citadel Hill, the Public Gardens, Dalhousie University, and the Halifax Common before looping back downtown. It’s roughly 8 km and the Citadel section will remind you that Halifax has hills. Not Cape Breton-level hills, but enough to work for it.
This route works well if you’re trying to do two things at once — get some exercise and get your bearings. The best things to do in Halifax include most of what you’ll run past on this loop.
Don’t Sleep on Dartmouth — Running Routes on the Other Side
Most running guides spend three paragraphs on Halifax and then mention Dartmouth as an afterthought. Having lived there for over two years now, I’d push back on that.
The Lake Banook & Sullivan’s Pond Loop — My Daily Route
When I moved to Downtown Dartmouth, my first instinct was to run across the Macdonald Bridge into Halifax and back. It works, the view from the bridge is actually impressive (more on that in a second), but it’s also just a bridge. Not a lot of variety.
The route I ended up settling on goes from Downtown Dartmouth up Ochterloney Street, along Crichton Avenue, through Brookdale Crescent Park, and then around Lake Banook before looping back. It’s quiet, residential in places, and opens up into a proper lakeside stretch that feels like running through a park even though you’re minutes from the city centre.
The Lake Banook and Sullivan’s Pond Loop is about 3.9 miles if you extend it to Sullivan’s Pond — which you can, since the pond connects directly to the lake via a short path. The trail passes through wildflowers in summer and, come December, the lakeside park section gets decorated with Christmas balls along the path. It’s the kind of detail that makes a familiar route feel a bit different.
This is the run I’d recommend to anyone staying in Dartmouth or crossing the ferry for the day.
Dartmouth Harbourfront Trail — Three Kilometres of Waterfront, Views Included
Running directly along Dartmouth’s waterfront, this 3 km flat trail connects the two Dartmouth ferry terminals and includes parks, boardwalk sections, and open water views of the Halifax skyline across the harbour. It’s a bit shorter than the Halifax waterfront run, but the perspective you get — Halifax in the distance, the hills behind Dartmouth behind you — is worth it.
You can combine it with a ferry crossing too. Run the Dartmouth Harbourfront, jump on the ferry to Halifax, pick up the Halifax waterfront boardwalk on the other side. About 8–10 km total depending on how far you extend, and actually one of the better urban runs in the region.
If you’re wondering where to stay in Halifax and considering both sides of the harbour, know that the Dartmouth waterfront is accessible from Halifax via the ferry in under 10 minutes. It doesn’t require a car.
The Macdonald Bridge Cross — Do It at Least Once
Running across the Macdonald Bridge gives you views of the harbour in both directions — the open Atlantic to one side, the two lakes behind Dartmouth to the other. It’s not a run I do every day, mostly because crossing a bridge and back isn’t the most interesting loop. But as a one-off, it’s worth doing.
The bigger opportunity is the Medavie Blue Nose Marathon in May, where the bridge gets closed to vehicles and the full course crosses it. That’s the one time you run it as part of a proper route rather than a there-and-back. More on that below.
What About Trail Running Near Halifax?
Shubie Park — Canal Trails Without Driving Far
Just outside downtown Dartmouth, Shubie Park runs alongside the historic Shubenacadie Canal — a 19th-century waterway built to connect Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy. You can still see the original locks. The trails here are well-maintained, mostly flat, and wind through forest and along lakeside paths connecting Lake Micmac and Lake Charles.
For a trail run that doesn’t require a car or an early morning drive, Shubie is the answer. Accessible via Halifax Transit from downtown Dartmouth.
Further Out — When You Want Something Harder
If you want proper trail running with elevation, the options outside the city are excellent. The Bluff Trail is about 20 minutes from downtown Halifax, a 7.7 km loop with steep sections and views of the surrounding watershed. Long Lake Wilderness Trail (11 km, mostly flat) is good for distance without too much climb. The BLT Trail heads west from the city and covers about 14 km of mixed surface — popular with cyclists too, so worth knowing when you’re planning a Nova Scotia itinerary that includes active days.
Is There a Running Community in Halifax and Dartmouth?
Yes, and it’s more active than you’d expect for a city this size.
Dartmouth Runners meet every Tuesday at 6:30PM at the Sullivan’s Pond Gazebo, near the corner of Crichton Avenue and Hawthorne Street — right in the heart of what locals call “the Darkside.” It’s a 6 km group run, free, open to everyone, rain or shine. If you’re new to the area and looking for company, Tuesday evenings are a good place to start.
Heart & Sole Running Club is a free, not-for-profit Dartmouth club that runs on Sundays at 9AM. A mix of pace groups, different routes each week, and the kind of club where it doesn’t matter if you’re there for your first run or your hundredth.
And then there’s the Medavie Blue Nose Marathon — the largest running event in Atlantic Canada, held every May across Halifax and Dartmouth. The full marathon and half marathon both cross the Macdonald Bridge. It’s Boston Qualifying, draws over 10,000 participants, and if you want a reason to train with a goal in mind, this is the one.
When Is the Best Time to Run in Halifax?
Summer and fall are the sweet spot. Mornings in July and August run around 15–20°C, the humidity is manageable, and the light on the waterfront from around 6–7AM is something else. Fall is probably the best of all — cooler temperatures, quieter routes, and the colours along trails like Lake Banook and Shubie are worth running for on their own.
Spring is wet. The waterfront routes hold up fine, but trails can be muddy well into April. Stick to pavement until May unless you don’t mind the slop.
Winter is the part people worry about, and it’s worth being honest: Halifax winters are variable. Some years bring heavy snowfall and ice storms, others are surprisingly mild. Freezing rain is the real enemy — not the cold itself, but the invisible ice it leaves on paths. Yaktrax or similar traction devices are useful from December through March. The waterfront boardwalk and the Dartmouth harbourfront trail tend to get cleared faster than residential streets, which makes them the safer winter choice. Layer up, cover your face on the windy bridge days, and you’ll be fine.
Running in Halifax doesn’t require much planning — just pick a direction and you’ll end up somewhere worth seeing. The waterfront is the easy option. Point Pleasant Park is the classic. But if you’ve got a bit of time and you’re willing to take the ferry or cross the bridge, the Dartmouth side opens up a whole other set of routes that most visitors never find.
The Lake Banook loop is where I’d start. It’s where I started, and two years later it’s still the run I come back to every day.
If you’re visiting for a few days, bookmark this alongside the best things to do in Halifax — the waterfront and the park are easy to combine on the same morning. And if you’re local or thinking of moving to the area, Tuesday evenings at Sullivan’s Pond are worth putting in the calendar.
Have you run in Halifax or Dartmouth? Drop your favourite route in the comments — I’m always looking for an excuse to try a new one.
