Race list
Scenic Marathons
Marathons people run for the view: the Big Sur coast, old-growth redwoods, red-rock canyons, Lake Champlain and Acadia in the fall.
Races on this list
| Race | Place | From the list |
|---|---|---|
| Big Sur International Marathon | Big Sur, California | Highway 1 from Big Sur to Carmel with Pacific views, over Bixby Bridge at halfway. |
| Avenue of the Giants Marathon | Weott, California | Under old-growth redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, beside a creek on paved roads. |
| San Francisco Marathon | San Francisco, California | Across the Golden Gate Bridge and through Golden Gate Park, finishing under the Bay Bridge. |
| Kauai Marathon | Poipu, Hawaii | From Poipu by the Tunnel of Trees and up to ocean views at Kalaheo, back to an oceanfront finish. |
| Maui Oceanfront Marathon | Kihei, Hawaii | A January race from Wailea through Kihei and along the ocean to Launiupoko Beach Park. |
| Anchorage Mayor's Marathon | Anchorage, Alaska | On the summer solstice, along Cook Inlet on the Coastal Trail with views of the Alaska Range. |
| St. George Marathon | St. George, Utah | Downhill from the Pine Valley Mountains to the red-rock canyons of St. George. |
| Steamboat Marathon | Steamboat Springs, Colorado | Through the Yampa Valley beside the Elk River, past ranchland under the snow-capped Rockies. |
| Missoula Marathon | Missoula, Montana | Point to point from Frenchtown through the countryside to a finish past the Beartracks Bridge downtown. |
| Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon | Deadwood, South Dakota | Point to point from Rochford on the Mickelson Trail through the Black Hills to Deadwood. |
| Vermont City Marathon | Burlington, Vermont | On the bike path beside Lake Champlain, with views of the lake and the Adirondack Mountains. |
| Mount Desert Island Marathon | Bar Harbor, Maine | Bar Harbor to Southwest Harbor past Somes Sound, with Acadia behind it in peak fall color. |
What makes a course scenic
Each marathon here was picked for what you see on the way, as its own course description puts it: the Pacific from Highway 1, old-growth redwoods, the Golden Gate Bridge, Cook Inlet and the Alaska Range, red-rock canyons, the Black Hills, Lake Champlain, and Somes Sound with Acadia National Park behind it.
Scenic courses are rarely the fastest. Big Sur rolls and climbs Hurricane Point, Steamboat's own site calls its course challenging with many rolling hills, and Mount Desert Island saves a climb for miles 20 to 25. St. George runs downhill, which is quick but hard on the legs. Check each race's course profile and typical race-day weather on its page, and go for the day rather than a personal best.
Big Sur, Missoula and the Mickelson Trail are point-to-point courses, so plan how you will get to the start on race morning. For ocean and Great Lakes shores, see Coastal Marathons; for races in and around the parks, see National Park Runs; for the coolest marathons to travel for, see Bucket-List Marathons.
How this list is chosen
Hand-picked by RaceRove. Each race is on the list for the reason given beside it, checked against the race's own website.
Using this list
Open Scenic Marathons in the race finder to search it by race or place, narrow it to one state, sort it, or save all 12 races to your plan. Each race has its own page with its next date, distances, registration and course details.