Best places to run in Denmark

A wild nature park near the city centre with over 25 km of meadow, wetland and wooded trails, home to a Saturday parkrun.

Denmark's only mainland limestone bird cliff, a 47 m bluff above the North Sea with a short clifftop walk and dramatic views.

Rolling glacial hills beside Hald Sø with steep grassy slopes and viewpoints, reached on hilly stretches of the Hærvejen.

A lush wooded ravine on Bornholm holding Denmark's highest waterfall at 25 m, with shaded paths along the stream to the sea.

A vast white-sand beach of the finest fine sand backed by dunes, perfect for long flat barefoot walks and a lighthouse climb.

A UNESCO-listed royal deer park of ancient oaks, great lawns and free-roaming deer with endless wooded paths just north of the city.

A 170 m hilltop crowned by a memorial tower offering 360-degree views that on clear days reach Samsø and the Lillebælt bridge 50 km away.

Bornholm's largest rift valley, a two-kilometre canyon of sheer rock walls and echoing acoustics threading through Almindingen forest.

Denmark's second-largest lake bordered by the Gribskov forest, with shoreline and woodland paths for long flat walks.

A Wadden Sea island with one of Denmark's widest beaches plus dunes, heath and pine woods for long shoreline walks.

A grand romantic landscape garden with canals, lawns and tree-lined avenues, a favourite flat loop for city walkers and runners.

Denmark's deepest lake, circled by a varied loop trail through forest, lakeshore and beach with sweeping water views.

A 74 km coastal trail along the old border-guard patrol route, following the Baltic shore through woods, beaches and villages.

Denmark's northernmost tip, a long sandy spit where two seas visibly collide, reached by a flat beach walk to the very point.

One of Denmark's largest forests beside Esrum Sø, laced with woodland trails and lakeside routes in the royal North Zealand parklands.

A long riverside trail following Denmark's longest river through springs, forest, lakes and meadows from source to fjord.

Denmark's historic pilgrim and droving route down the spine of Jutland, a long-distance trail through heath, forest and rolling countryside.

A scenic lake ringed by the hilly Dollerup Bakker, with undulating trails linked to the Hærvejen offering full-day hikes.

A rugged granite peninsula on Bornholm's northwest tip with cliffs, heath and sea views making for a challenging rocky day hike.

Northern Europe's largest medieval fortress ruin set high on a coastal rock, with steep clifftop paths leading up to the walls.

Bornholm's striking 'sanctuary cliffs' of weathered granite rising from the sea, linked by clifftop coastal paths into the Døndalen valley.

One of Denmark's most famous hills at 147 m, rising 121 m straight above Lake Julsø with a tower at the top and forest paths down to the lakeshore.

A historic mill and monastery site on Lake Mossø surrounded by reed beds and woodland walking paths along the Gudenå.

Northern Europe's largest raised bog, with boardwalks, towers and the 38 m Kællingbjerg Klint giving views over wild wetland teeming with wildlife.

Denmark's highest natural point at 170.86 m, reached by a gentle field walk with sweeping views over the rolling Søhøjlandet countryside.

Denmark's most dramatic landscape, with white chalk cliffs rising over 120 m above turquoise sea and steep stairways and ridge paths that make for the country's toughest coastal walking.

One of Denmark's largest lakes with a 28 km shoreline of reed beds and woods, and peaceful lakeside paths from the Klostermølle mill site.

A national park of glacial hills, open heath and coastal viewpoints near Aarhus with looping trails that mix steep climbs and forest for rewarding day hikes.

Denmark's first national park, a wild stretch of dunes, heath, lakes and Atlantic coast with long sandy trails and big open horizons.

A UNESCO World Heritage tidal landscape of marsh, mudflats and dune islands, where you can walk vast open flats at low tide.

A rocky, hilly maze of forested ridges and narrow ravines rising 30 to 50 m, offering some of Bornholm's most rugged inland hiking.

Northern Europe's largest migrating dune, a 40 m sand mountain you can climb and cross on foot between two coasts for a unique desert-like walk.

Heather-clad hills on the edge of Rold Skov with springs, ravines and undulating paths perfect for a hilly walk or trail run.

One of Denmark's largest forests, mixing old-growth woodland, steep hills and springs with a network of trails linking to the Rebild hills.

A lighthouse perched atop a giant shifting sand dune, reached by a sandy walk with sweeping clifftop and sea views.

A long town lake at the heart of the Lake District with flat shoreline paths linking woods, beaches and the city centre.

A wild trackless peninsula of marsh, dunes and beach in the Wadden Sea, offering remote open walking with big skies.

Denmark's most water-rich river winding through a restored delta and meadows, with riverside and wetland paths rich in birdlife.

A 40 m white chalk cliff and UNESCO World Heritage site stretching along Zealand's east coast, with an easy clifftop path past the half-collapsed Højerup church.

Wooded coastal cliffs and dune plantation above a wide North Sea beach, with paths winding between forest, heath and shore.