Hello! I’m still in Anaheim for the IDEA World Fitness Conference and Blogfest. I thought this would be the perfect time to share where to run around Disneyland. I live in Orange County and get a lot of emails from readers looking for good running routes near Disney. Luckily we are staying right by the parks!
That rollercoaster in the distance is in California Adventure Park! It’s closer than it appears.
I have a little bad news though, this is not a great area to run. There isn’t a path or park super close so if you don’t have a car you’ll be running along city/suburb streets with a lot of lights.
The good news is, it’s pretty safe and touristy around the parks so there are sidewalks and people around.
Friday morning I woke up early to run 12 miles. I just stayed in this same area a few weeks ago and already took a long walk in the direction toward Downtown Disney. That was about 1.5 miles away.
So, today I went in the other direction. I ran on Harbor Blvd. south. I wanted to go all the way south on Harbor, right on Edinger and make it to Mile Square Park.
But that was farther than I realized and I had to turn back before I hit the park.
Note: There are no water fountains along the way. I stopped at a McDonald’s to refill.
The route is just boring, not fancy suburbs. A lot of stop lights.
Near Disney it’s a little nicer obviously.
I ran out 6 miles (up Harbor and R. on Edinger) and turned back. So, I’m guessing the park is about 7 miles away. Then, you could go around it for another 4 miles. There are water fountains and bathrooms, but it’s a big park so you’re on your own to find ‘em.
If you have a rental car I would suggest driving to Huntington Beach to run as option #1. Option 2 for running around Disney is driving to a park.
When I got back to the room I made a quick breakfast of yogurt and granola from the IDEA World expo and raspberries from home.
And I made iced coffee with some packets I brought, hotel ice and my Big Gulp cup. x 2.
Then, it was back to the IDEA World conference for more fitness fun!
See ya later!
Question: How do you find running routes when you travel?
Hi,
I actually live in the area, behind the Disneyland parking structure. When I run/train, I start off at Walnut to Katella to Harbor to Ball Rd. Its a good four miles around, or if I snake through Disneyland Drive, it adds another mile. If I want to run longer, I start at Walnut to Katella and turn at the Santa Ana River basin. There are alot of runners and cyclists in the basin on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Friends who have been to and run the area or I try to contact the local running group or a blogger like yourself. 🙂
Fun! I love running in new places when we travel. I try to do some research before we leave on routes or join in on group runs in new cities.
I am nervous about venturing too far on my own in the unfamiliar. I did a 12 miler at my sister’s house while staying within a 3 mile radius–did every side street, one driveway (oops)…I get such a bad case of “runner’s brain” on long runs that I take wrong turns all the time…
I travel to a different city every week for my job so I’m always having to find new routes – it certainly keeps running interesting! I use the Nike+ website as you can plot out a run on there and they use Google Maps to do it so you can go into street view and check out if a road has pavements or not. Failing that I just try and find a river or canal to run along!
I found that sites like map my run have users who share their routes publicly. When I was in San Francisco once and needed to do a long run but not wanting hills I found a grreat route at a park about 15 min drive away. It was perfect.
Good tip. For some reason I never really use Map My Run, but I feel like I’ve known about it forever.
Thanks for posting this, it’s just in time! I have to do about half this distance tomorrow morning, so I’ll stick to the area around the parks…
Have fun!
Depending on where I travel sometimes I just suck it up on the treadmill. I won’t run in darkness in a place I’ve never been before. I had to in Vegas a couple weeks ago..It was just too hot outside during daylight to get 13 miles in.
At Disney World. I’ll pick a resort and pick up a running path guide from the front desk.
At Disneyland well I run through the parks..mainly because I go for race weekends and that’s the course. If I needed to do my own miles at Disneyland I’d made a big loop starting at my typical hotel (The HoJo) down Harbor to the Disneyland hotel, through DTD, and back through the park entrance area.
Yeah, it’s a lot better around Disney World, but the last time I went we stayed at Grand FL and there was a lot of areas that didn’t have sidewalks.
Vegas is crazy hot right now.
I usually end up on the treadmill because I get scared when I don’t know the area. Lame, I know.
So how did you make that iced coffee? Did you shake it up in that cup?
Yes, I have packets and just mixed it up with the straw, ice and creamer from the coffee station in the room. Then, I put the top back on and stir it up until mixed.
I have to confess that when I travel I tend to take the less adventurous option and mostly run on the hotel treadmill. I have used Google to find good parks to run at before and I think there are some forums on Runner’s World with tips for good running routes from locals. Enjoy the rest of the conference!
I need to make it to Disney just for some awesome runs!