Best Running Routes in Brisbane 2026

Brisbane offers a genuine river-city running circuit, with a heritage-listed former quarry as its most distinctive stretch. Here are the best running routes in Brisbane for 2026.

Kangaroo Point Cliffs and Riverwalk

The Kangaroo Point cliffs offer about 4 kilometres of flat waterfront running along the cliff base, plus an optional 107 step stair climb for hill-repeat training, extending 1.8 kilometres to Captain Burke Park or 2.1 kilometres to the South Bank Cultural Forecourt. The cliffs are not natural: they are the exposed face of a quarry that operated for roughly 150 years until 1976, first cut by convict labour for the Moreton Bay penal settlement and used to build some of Brisbane's oldest landmarks, before being heritage-listed in 2003.

The Brisbane City River Loop

A larger loop combining Riverwalk, the heritage-listed Story Bridge, opened in 1940, and South Bank runs to roughly 18.7 kilometres on its full tracked version, though shorter city-only loops of about 5 kilometres are common via Kangaroo Point.

New Farm Park and South Bank Parklands

A 5 kilometre one-way route runs from QUT along the river to New Farm, passing Howard Smith Wharves and the City Botanic Gardens, with a 1 kilometre loop option inside New Farm Park itself. South Bank Parklands offers a flat 5 kilometre route linking Orleigh Park, West End Riverside Lands Park and Davies Park, with free outdoor gyms and views of the man-made Streets Beach.

Mount Coot-tha

Mount Coot-tha Reserve is Brisbane's main trail-running hub, with more than 70 nature tracks including the short Summit Track at 1.9 kilometres and Honeyeater Track at 2.1 kilometres, plus a full Simple Trail Running Loop of 9.5 kilometres with about 283 metres of elevation gain, on unsealed forest trails with a lookout cafe over Brisbane and Moreton Bay.

The Bayside Foreshores

Sandgate Foreshore offers a flat, paved 6.5 kilometres from Shorncliffe to the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, while Wynnum Manly Foreshore offers a 5 kilometre return from Bayside Park, both popular sunrise and sunset spots away from the CBD crowd.

Practical Guide to Running in Brisbane

Riverwalk and New Farm Park are the most reliable choices for a flat river run at any time of day; Mount Coot-tha is worth the trip for anyone wanting genuine trail terrain and elevation.

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