McKinney Roughs Nature Park is often overlooked as a hiking or trail running destination - it's about half an hour from downtown Austin, on the way to the much more heavily used Bastrop State Park. This means that you may have the trails to yourself, especially on a weekday.

The downside of McKinnney Roughs is the horse traffic - although many of the trails are only for hikers (dogs are ok), most of the 18-mile trail system was built for equestrian use. This means there's lots of horse leavings on those trails, making it a little gross to run on. The trails also get muddy after rains, and some areas aren't well shaded. None of this should scare you away from the park though - the most scenic trails don't allow horses!