Best places to run in Lithuania

Lithuania's oldest national park of pine forest and over 100 interconnected lakes, with trails linking ridges, mounds and traditional villages.

The 216 km Lithuanian section of the Baltic Coastal Hiking trail from Nida north along beaches, dunes and pine forest to the Latvian border.

Historic riverside garden below Gediminas Hill with ponds and tree-lined paths, a gentle stroll in the heart of the Old Town.

Lithuania's largest raised bog, viewed from a boardwalk and observation tower for an otherworldly flat wetland walk among rare wildlife.

Lithuania's largest national park of vast pine forest, sandy dunes and wooden villages, with quiet trails for long forest hikes.

The castle hill in the centre of Vilnius, a brisk climb to Gediminas Tower with sweeping rooftop views over the Old Town.

A 293m moraine hill 500m from Aukštojas, long held as Lithuania's highest, with a flat trail through highland terrain.

The Hill of Crosses, a small mound covered by over 100,000 crucifixes, crossed on a wooden path in a short but deeply moving walk.

UNESCO-listed sand-spit national park with a ~50 km coast-to-lagoon trail network through pine forest, towering dunes and beaches from Smiltynė to Nida.

Lithuania's largest regional park, 80% forested with around 70 lakes and well-marked easy trails for long quiet woodland runs.

A 176m former pagan shrine hill reached by a short climb, with a celebrated panorama over six lakes of Aukštaitija National Park.

The Baltics' only treetop walking path, a 300m elevated walkway rising to 21m and a 35m tower over Anykščiai pinewood and the Šventoji River.

A southern lakeland park around Lakes Metelys and Dusia with shoreline and forest trails and a wetland observation tower.

The 'Dead Dunes', a wild grey-dune landscape between Juodkrantė and Pervalka explored on a 1.8 km circular trail of sandy paths and wooden boardwalks.

The 'Dutchman's Cap', a steep 24m coastal cliff north of Klaipėda reached through coastal forest, with sweeping Baltic Sea views from the top.

Seaside Regional Park protecting coastal dunes, forest and cliffs, crossed by the Baltic Coastal Hiking trail with boardwalks through fragile dune terrain.

A 52m-high sand dune above Nida topped with a stone sundial and observation deck, reached by a steep sandy climb with panoramic Curonian Lagoon and Baltic views.

A green ravine park on the eastern edge of Vilnius with steep wooded trails along the Vilnia River and its dramatic exposures.

Baroque monastery on the Kaunas Lagoon shore surrounded by 4-5 km of waterside and forest paths for a peaceful walk.

The largest and deepest lake in Samogitia, ringed by well-marked forest trails offering peaceful lakeside walking and wildlife.

Lithuania's tallest geological exposure, a 65m sandy cliff above the Vilnia, anchoring a cognitive trail through wooded Belmontas valley.

Lithuania's second-largest boulder on the left bank of the Šventoji River, an easy forest walk reached from the Anykščiai pinewood trails.

The Hill of Witches, a forested dune with around 80 carved wooden folklore sculptures along shady trails, an easy and atmospheric woodland walk.

A sacred Baltic ritual hill above the Nemunas River in Rambynas Regional Park, with sweeping views across the river into the Kaliningrad region.

A green riverside park at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers with flat scenic paths in the heart of Kaunas.

A wide quiet Baltic beach where the Šventoji River meets the sea, ideal for long flat barefoot runs and walks along firm sand.

Forested regional park on the northern edge of Vilnius with trails along the Neris River bluffs past a neoclassical manor.

A 160ha wooded park on a bend of the Neris River with an extensive flat path network, the city's prime spot for running and cycling.

A hill above the spa town of Birštonas climbed for a sweeping panorama over the town and the great Nemunas river bend.

Samogitia's lake-and-forest national park around Lake Plateliai, with marked lakeshore and forest trails linking to a former Soviet missile base.