This little hidden spot is a gem if you're looking to get away from the busy life. It is peaceful,…read morewith manicured grass, a little stream of the Connecticut River, and some geese staying cool in the water. It is super easy to access, just an easy drive down the road from Old Wethersfield and past the dreaded DMV. You can bring your lunch here and have it on the bench. Be sure to dispose of your litter in the trash can. There was a very kind older gentleman who was working to pick up the litter of the ground, he said "it gives me something to do". There's no reason for this, as there's a substantial amount of trash cans. This is a nice place to go on a boat ride down the Connecticut River, and to try to catch some fish. The Wethersfield Cove is a beautiful place to rest your mind and your eyes.

Wethersfield Cove is an inlet which connects to the Connecticut River. There were warehouses built…read morein the 1600s, to store goods such as food and lumber to be sent out to trade with places like the West Indies; products traded in return were rum, molasses, and sugar. The Cove Warehouse Museum still stands today and is open seasonally to the public. There is the heritage trail that runs through it, a boat ramp, rocky beach, picnic tables, porta potty, and a huge parking lot. As far as beach goes, I wouldn't advise swimming in it because of a huge sewage leak back in the 1990s. It is a beautiful spot to walk, picnic, and just enjoy the vista. I'm sure it's fun to go boating on it too. Overall, a nice little neighborhood park with tons of history.

July 2016. I am downgrading the spot to 3 from 4. I have been seeing parasites on the fishes…read morecaught here. Most recent trip m, 4?sun fish & one bass, everyone of them got parasites. Either yellow like grain of rice type or tiny black spots in meat. Do not eat fishes caught at rainbow reservoir! If you like fishing, I am sharing my fishing spot especially because I need to write good & useful Yelp reviews :) My spot is to the left of the rainbow reservoir boat launch. The boat is infrequent but the jet ski is a bit annoying to fishermen. However, the spot is productive if you can cast far enough, there is a steep drop off that goes down about 15-20 feet, all kinds of fish there. I've taken my kids there many times, caught sun fish, bass, carp, catfish etc. all at the same spot. Don't eat the bass!!! High Mercury content. Ok to eat sunfish & carp, but carefully check the fish for parasite as I've seen them last year, they look like little grain of rice but yellow in color, yikes! Other than that, it's really fun spot to take the kids & you can BBQ right there as well!

There is so much potential here for great Kayaking, Stand up paddle boarding, or canoeing given the…read moreconvenient location, decent parking area with a boat ramp and flat water. However: 1, The long straight shape of the reservoir makes it an irresistible place for jet skiers to do full throttle high speed runs and boats towing skiers. 2. Between the warmer waters we're seeing and the summer and all the lawn fertilizer runoff from the adjacent houses, I don't think I've ever seen a more algae-choked lake, especially one that is technically part of a river (see photos). It's really unsightly and there are signs warning against contact with the water. It looks like I photoshopped the pictures, but yes --the water is literally this green. You'll have better luck in the pristine upstream parts of the Farmington river or the Connecticut River itself.

The owner is just a complete and total jerk in my opinion and that makes dealing with them very…read morestressful and upsetting. Everything is an argument, everything is a hassle, everything is based around it being a problem for him and them. He always wants you to know how much he is doing for you and what a pain you are with your boat. I cannot stand this kind of self-referential person and for this reason I would just never return to buy a boat here. In the end I decided to get a new boat because dealing with this place is so misery inducing and the owner is just too much. You must know that if you buy a boat you need a strong dealer to back you up and with A&S you have the opposite. Run don't walk.

I recently purchased a new 23' recreational runabout & ski boat at A&S Boats. The experience far…read moreexceed all expectations. These people listened to my requirements for quality, performance as well as adequate seating for a large family and friends. We decided on a 23' Chaparral with a 250 Yamaha VMax. (The beast does 59MPH at 5900rpm - Redline is 6000) Massive pulling torque too for skiers) Having been boating for over 40 years and having owned multiple boats, I have much experience regarding overall performance, quality & related customer service. I'd like to say the sales experience was top notch. Having spent about 10 hours with the new boat the thing exceeds all expectations. The motor is a torque machine, a beast and so quiet! The handling is incredibly smooth and stable. The hull is the best I've ever experienced! Overall quality of hardware, accessories and trim are excellent. During the sales process the entire staff (Sales, Parts, Service) was excellent. Everyone was highly communicative via email, phone & text. Very easy to talk to real people who actually care and return calls in the most courteous and professional way. One special event that occurred right after delivery was I "short turned" the trailer and gouged the side of my brand new boat! Ughhh. I went crawling back to A&S expecting to be treated like a burden, having committed such a "freshman" move. Was I ever wrong. Both the owner, service manager and my salesman (Captain Joe) made me feel like a normal human being. They shared equally embarrassing personal stories which really put me at ease. They followed up by putting my boat as a top priority and, working late and extra hours hours (in the middle of their busiest season!!) returned my boat within days looking brand new! If I had been sent to a fiberglass shop I'd have waited 4-6 weeks missing much of the short New England Season. I could go on. In short, this dealer is straightforward, honest, hardworking and highly professional providing the best customer service I've ever received. I highly recommend considering A&S Boats for all your boating sale, service and parts needs. These people are true professionals under the excellent leadership of Mark, the owner.

The Farmington River Watershed Association was founded in 1953 to protect the Farmington River and…read moreits coastline. It covers an impressive area of 600+ square miles in CT and MA that includes 33 towns and seven recreational areas. All those square miles can accumulate quite a bit of unwanted trash, so once a year the Association holds an Annual River Clean-Up for volunteers to clean up what our thoughtless neighbors have tossed aside. Today, we were part of a massive 250 person swarm of those volunteers from across the Farmington Valley. We signed in at the Association office and were offered breakfast; fresh bagels and cream cheese (courtesy of Brookside Bagels) and coffee (courtesy of Starbucks). We chatted with some of the other volunteers and noticed a group of 8 kids who were there for a birthday party. The birthday girl was 9 years old today. How cool is that? We received our work gloves and trash bags and set off for our destination. Some of the places that were targeted for clean-up were the Tariffville Gorge, Curtis Park, and Iron Horse Rails to Trails. We headed over to Curtis Park, and walked the soccer fields, brush and shoreline. Scraps of paper, cigarette boxes, soda and beer bottles and cans, Dunkin Donuts cups and bags all found a home in our trash bags. One thing that didn't make its way into our bag (hell, we couldn't even lift it!) was a humongous truck tire and rim that some considerate litterer dumped near the shoreline so nature lovers wouldn't back into it while parking their vehicles. Curtis Park wasn't too bad for litter, so we headed over to the Tariffville Gorge where we found a more generous bounty of trash. While the litterers at Curtis Park mostly seemed to be beer drinkers, the litterers at the Gorge seemed to prefer hard liquor because we found a bonanza of nip bottles and pint bottles. We also found an old rusted fender and a hunk of a car muffler. Some of the other things we found were drink boxes, a plastic quart of motor oil, and quite a few supplies for the do-it yourself smoker. We filled our bags and headed back to the Association office for a very nice lunch donated by Simsbury businesses, Little City pizza donated ten pizzas, Antonio's Restaurant chipped in with fifty grinders, and Fitzgerald's Supermarket provided a huge amount of cookies for dessert. What a great day we had. We chatted with dozens of civic minded community service minded folks, we met two very dedicated leaders of the Association, we observed great support by the business community, we saw some spectacular scenery, and we picked up a lot of nasty trash that will never find its way into the river to harm the fishes and pollute the watershed. That's a pretty good day in my book.

I had heard of pedal taverns but never a pedal cruise. What a fun concept. Although most of us were…read moretoo lazy to pedal, we still had a wonderful time. They have 10 seats set up at a bar top style long table where you can pedal away and reach into the coolers in front of you to grab your drinks, which are BYOB. We brought lots of snacks and sandwiches also. Although there are only 10 seats, there are plenty of extra seating areas on the cozy boat. We had 19 guests with us. Captain Dave and first Mate Michelle were great hosts. We hooked up our phone to their Bluetooth speaker to play all our favorite songs. We went on the Sunday afternoon Cruise, which took us out along the shoreline out to the Island area and back. It was a lot of fun, laughs, and an overall enjoyable afternoon.

Bring ear plugs to save your hearing. Bring motion sickness pills to save your stomach. Don't sit…read morein front, cause you will get wet. Really an annoying boat right.

I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful experience we had during our Mother's Day cruise…read more As visitors from the Hudson Valley, we were unfamiliar with the area and found Mystic quite crowded. We initially struggled to find parking, which was a significant concern as my wife has disabilities. We were worried we would miss our departure, but the gentleman in your office was exceptionally helpful and kind. He assured us that he had coordinated with the captain to hold the boat, and he even ran out of the office to personally guide us to the dock. The captain and crew on the schooner were professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable about the sights around Mystic Harbor. I was a beautiful sunny day and, despite the wind picking up, it was a very relaxing, smooth and enjoyable sail. Thank you for your outstanding professionalism and for making sure we didn't miss the boat. We had a great time and highly recommend your cruises.

We took a sunset cruise on the Argia, which is the last commercial sailing ship left in Mystic,…read morewhen we were visiting Mystic with a couple of friends on the Fourth of July. The boat has different seating options - wooden benches and cushion seats without backrests. We reserved two of the cushioned areas and showed up ready to check in on time (they ask you to show up about 30 minutes before boarding to check in). You board at the dock just next to the bridge in Mystic, so it couldn't be more convenient if you're exploring Mystic for a day or a weekend. The Argia allows you to bring alcohol (wine and beer) on board (although they ask that you not bring large coolers - there's no room for them), so we brought a couple of bottles of wine bought from the great wine shop down the street. The sail is partly narrated. Our sail was two hours long, and the staff narrated for some of the sailing time - pointing out historic and interesting sites along the sail (islands with an interesting history, homes with interesting architecture, etc.). Between the gorgeous scenery, some narration of fun and interesting facts about Mystic and its harbor, the great wine we'd brought aboard, and great company - it was the perfect way to spend a couple of hours in Mystic. What a beautiful way to enjoy Mystic and its harbor!

Brought 2 small outboards in for servicing that had sat around without be properly preserved for 2…read moreyears. The smaller out board they fixed but charged me more than half what a new one would cost. Had I known that I would have just done it myself or bought a new one. The other one, a Suzuki 15 which was only 2 years old they told me was in horrible condition and not worth fixing and that the repairs would cost over $2K, whereas a new one could be bought for $2800. I am not a professional mechanic and never have been, nor have I ever worked on a fuel injected outboard but in the space of 4 hours and less than $100 in parts, including a injector testing tool I got it running fine. Very disappointed in this company. Not likely to do business again.

I left "exact" instructions on what I wanted done. They did other things (not requested) instead…read more They did a compression check on my motor (not requested) and said it was bad. I did my own compression check. All 3 cylinders were good. They pulled my water separator filter (not requested) and didnt replace the seal or tighten the mount bolts. They left my bilge pump motor running and killed my battery. Not going back there.

Have past by the Mill Pond Park crossing over the bridge with my former 4H'r on our way to the Fair…read moreGrounds. Often thinking, this Historic Mill Pond and upstream stretch of the Scantic River must be tackled. That day finally arrived. A later Monday afternoon in July. Should be quiet. Wrong, the Park was bustling. Busy with Park goers: Nature people by the pond, one person enjoying their laptop on a shaded picnic table, kids on the playscape, other kids fishing with a parent and some with a grandparent, and then there were the kayakers loading and others unloading bound for and some returning from the same adventure. A great Small Town feeling. I unloaded and hiked my kayak & gear down to the boat ramp. Chatted with a few, the usual, the great weather, did you fish, how far did you go or plan to go. Public Safety Notice: 1. The upper side of the Mill Dam is dangerous and boaters are warned to stay clear. 2. If you're a first timer like I was, bring a GPS to track your route out and back. There are many dead-end coves and depending on the water level numerous ways to lose the River. There are Orange markers/blazes to follow the River Trail. 3. Wear your Personal Flotation Device (PFD). The Pond, in July was weedy and there was a great deal of surface algae in sections of still water. The main flow of the Scantic was fairly clear and on this trip the water level allowed easier passage across sunken or semi-sunken obstacles. Yes, bugs abound, but so do fish for anglers and foul for watchers.

The playground fits into the park perfectly...a tree house and more…read more... Provided by Premier Park & Play from Newton, MA

"Sunrise, sunrise I see we made it through another day"…read more(Norah Jones) A definite 5-Star experience. Sunrise Park is beautiful. It has 134-acres of woods and trails circling gorgeous White Pond. Besides the hiking trail around the lake, we saw a playscape, canoeing/kayaking facilities, fishing areas, a beach with a lifeguard chair, a volleyball court, horseshoe pits, benches, dozens of grills and picnic tables, a pavilion, a clubhouse, and two swimming areas - one for people and one for dogs. How's that for recreational variety? Our walk around the lake was scenic and tranquil, with one gorgeous view after another. The terrain is mostly flat and clear, with the occasional tree root or rock and a muddy patch here and there. It was a totally enjoyable way to kick off a Friday morning.