The marker tells us that Middlefield was settled "around" 1700 by two Samuels and a Benjamin. When…read morewas the town chartered? How about two-hundred and seventy years later, in 1971! It also tells us via a gigantic list what was manufactured here over the years. How about lumber, snuff, black powder, knives, pistols, cotton products, grist, buttons, nails, iron wire, paper, and clothes wringers. That's quite an eclectic list! Now be honest, did you know what grist is? I didn't so I looked it up. It's a processed grain that is ground into meal or flour. This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It is fastened to an exterior wall near the main entrance of Middlefield Town Hall at 393 Jackson Hill Road. The marker was dedicated in 1981 and is in excellent condition

Fantastic Dog Park! Completely unique from any other one around the surrounding area. It does not…read morehave water as previously stated (so be sure to bring your own). The dog park has two area one smaller one for the little guys and a large one for the bigger dogs. The dog park is all natural, it's like letting your dog run through the woods without a leash! My little girl had an ABSOLUTE BLAST there! She explored all over and there also happened to be 3-4 other dogs there today as well, which made it fun for all! Definitely check this park out with your fur baby!

Love it! And so did my frenchie! Only reason it doesnt get 5 stars is cause no one is ever here!…read moreIts hidden and unless specifically looking for it you will never find it. I only found it because i was looking for dog parks on yelp. Wish my baby had someone to play with here but he loves the wooded fenced in area anyways! Hes snorting away, happy little piggy!

Beautiful Park but it really needs garbage cans there's fishing lines and hooks everywhere around…read morethe pond and at first I blamed people. Now, after gathering all this line and hooks to throw away, I've come to realize there's no garbage cans if there are no garbage cans people will just throw them on the ground this is unsafe for kids, animals, and other people. PLEASE PUT GARBAGE CANS IN

Excellent spot for a hike! The waterfall and covered bridge are beautiful, as are the hiking trail…read more Red trail was a bit harder than we expected, especially with a 3 year old. AllTrails marked it as easy, but I'd say it's more of a medium. A boarded section washed out from a recent flood, so it took some maneuvering to get through. Also a few big trees down. But overall it was a really fun and relaxing hike.

I would never recommend this day camp to any parent. My experience showed an organization that was…read moreincredibly disorganized, constantly understaffed, and poorly managed. It often felt like there was no clear communication between staff and administration, which created unnecessary confusion every single day. I was extremely disappointed by how little the camp seemed to value its employees. Rather than supporting staff or listening to concerns, management seemed more focused on protecting its own image than creating a positive environment for either employees or campers. I also found the camp's priorities concerning. Instead of encouraging accountability, respectful communication, and good decision-making, situations were often handled in ways that sent the wrong message to children. It was frustrating to watch inappropriate behavior go unchecked while staff members were blamed instead of supported. From my perspective, this camp appeared to prioritize filling enrollment and collecting tuition over providing a well-organized, well-supported experience for campers and employees. Parents deserve to know exactly who they are trusting with their children. Overall, I would not send my child here or recommend that anyone else work here. There are much better camps that are organized, supportive, and genuinely focused on providing a safe, positive experience for children.

Very fun and really enjoyed with my friends from 8th grade 10/10 would definitely recommend.read more

I'm not a huge fan of baseball at all but I will never say no to a yard goats game because Dunkin'…read moreDonuts park is so much fun! The people that work here are so incredibly friendly and hard working. Everyone from the people scanning tickets, the people at Bears Bbq, and the mini melts stand, to the people making sure the park is clean. All incredible and so hard working. This is a very family friendly venue and they've got everything from a little goat petting zoo to all the ballpark food you can think of. Having a relative that is allergic to peanuts I am so grateful that this is a peanut free facility. There are no bad seats here but some of them are more comfortable than others. Try to get clubhouse tickets during the peak summer dates as the clubhouse is air conditioned!

We came to Dunkin park when the Yard goats weee playing g the Fisher Cats. We got there a tad bit…read morelate but really enjoyed the game as we are a baseball family. We loved the game because it went into extra innings and the Yard Goats ended up winning the game The team store is somewhere that we already had planned on going and ended up shopping for family. I loved one of the Ushers had one. It said "goat herder" which was genuinely what someone in my family does!! I saw some of our family members with food and quite honestly I am sure they enjoyed it. Overall this was great family outing and it was so worth the price . We went on a Tuesday, June 9th, Eras night with Taylor Swift. Great songs and bingo!

4 Stars because of the Suites and Staff. The suites were quite large, couches TV and pool table…read morewith out door seating as well that have great views of the field and stadium. The wait staff was working very hard! The young lady taking and bringing order was working very hard and we appreciated her. She had a hand held tablet she was able to take orders with quickly. Great tool for the staff. Another Positive was the popcorn and of course the ball game was great! The adults and kids alike had fun. Manager note. Understand times are hard but the details was what brought the number down to 4 vice 5 stars. Mostly because The food that was provided to the Suites, needs to be stepped up a bit. The food wasn't warm. Imagine room temp hotdogs, chicken strips and French fries being served to guests that purchased 2 suites. Also the vegetable tray didn't come out with ranch dressing so I asked about it and they made due with what the had. They put it in a bowl with a ladle. The other thing that bothered me was the electrical within the elevator. Screws missing and open holes. We had quite a few little kids in our group riding up to the suites and it would have only taken one of them to stick their little fingers in and zap.

We've gone to Dodd Stadium several times now for drive thru covid testing. Keep in mind that the…read moreline can get pretty long, so we always plan to get there 1-2hrs before they open. There are 2 different lines, 1 for essential workers, priority and then a standard community line. The staff comes to your window before you go in and radio in the information of those testing with your ID. If you have an appt. they have your information in the system and print out the info on your vile. When it is your turn, you drive into the tent and the staff comes to your window to do the test once you confirm the information on the vile is correct (name, and D.O.B.). They are friendly and the process is quick, so it's not a horrible experience. If needed, they have paperwork to hand you to review the process and information. You don't have to touch anything, just roll your window down and they do the swabbing in your nose and put the swab in a vile and into a separate individual plastic bag for processing. Once you're done, they open the door and you can drive out of the tent. Your results come later via the contact information you provided.

We've been to Fisher Meadows a couple of times, sometimes to enjoy the quiet and calm, other times…read moreto enjoy the golden hour, and once to enjoy a warm cup of masala chai surrounded by nature. It is a great spot to witness the magic of different New England seasons.

This recreation center is on 250.45 acres and is open year-round from dawn to dusk. There is a…read moredecent-sized gravel parking lot with a small playground with swings, picnic tables, and a pullup bar. There are two entrances to the trails by this parking lot and playground. I saw a huge field that is used for soccer. On the lake, you can fish and use non motorized boats; a boat launch is available. This recreation area is suitable for walking, jogging, hiking, cross-country skiing, biking, canoeing, bird watching, picnicing, and camping; for camping, you need to get permission from the Town of Avon. I walked the red trail then got off that trail halfway and walked by the well pump building; this brought me back to the parking lot. That walk was about 2.54 miles because I didn't want to do the bigger loop. On the AllTrails app, there are two trails in the park; Spring Lake and Fisher Meadows Loops. The walk was easy but there were some flooded and muddy areas. I have a feeling it is buggy in the summer but on this fine sunny March day, it was very pleasant except for getting my sneakers wet. Overall, a great space to enjoy the great outdoors.

Fire in the…read more sky With the crummy economy and parsimonious town officials forced to do more with less, events like town fireworks and other community celebrations are becoming a increasing uncommon anachronistic phenomenon. Fortunately the town of South Kingstown still ignores the increasing dismal financial reports and puts on a great 4th of July celebration. The event held at Old Mountain Field included food, music, dancing and of course some impressive fireworks. Not just un flousse petit, but some huge and thunderous explosions accompanied by mesmorizing visual pyrotechnics. Quite impressive for a relatively small town. Beside things going boom in the night, the event also had a band, people dancing and of course lots of food. Many people brought there own treats and folks seemed to enjoy passing around homemade delicacies to their neighbors. Even though it was crowded and noisy everyone seemed extremely jovial and convivial and I didn't observe any obnoxious drunks or mental defectives attempting to cause trouble. Even the numerous stinky dogs seemed to enjoy themselves and added to the festivities. One interesting item was the osprey nest located right on a light pole in the middle of the field. The adult didn't seemed especially bothered by the noise and at one point even brought a huge fish back to the nest for her young to rip apart and devour. Quite entertaining to watch in a morbid sort of way. With so many towns and cities forced to cut back everything they can to mollify bean counters, it's nice to see some places still care more about the people of a community rather than some arcane numerical bottom line. This was a great celebration by some great people in a great town and a great time was had by all.

M.K. Wilcox Park is located in Bloomfield, CT. It's approximately 118 acres with about 2.3 miles of…read moretrails. There was a medium sized parking lot and a path up to the kiosk. On the kiosk, there were some information and maps of the area. There was a large lawn which would be a great spot to picnic on. I went in December so I didn't see any picnic tables, unless they put it away for the winter. There are a few hiking trails, lookout areas, and it connects to the larger Metacomet Blue Trail. I walked across the field to the yellow blazed trail entrance. Based on the map, it's a loop trail with an overlook area. At the fork, to the left goes to the overlook, to the right goes to an old chimney. The trail was pretty easy and wide. It's winter so no greenery or ticks, yay! I decided to go left at the fork and saw a large hill. It was a warmer winter day, around 38 degrees. I saw some black shadows on the hill so I stopped to investigate. I noticed it moved a little bit and I decided to zoom in on my camera; it appeared that I came across a mama bear and some cubs! So I decided to walk back to my car, very slowly. Overall, it was an enjoyable and easy hike, from what I completed. I didn't get to do the whole trail because of the Bear scare. I do look forward to going back and exploring some more, hopefully without bears next time.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a new place to hike and enjoy the beautiful weather. We…read morehappened to find MK Wilcox park while driving through Bloomfield and it is delightful! It's kind of in the middle of nowhere, which we loved because we basically had the park to ourselves; there were only three other people there during our visit. There's a flat parking lot with a Porto Pottie for visitors. You walk up a winding paved path to a stunning meadow where you find the trail map. There are four different trails (I believe) to choose from, a picnic area, and an obstacle course. We chose the yellow trail, which started flat through the meadow and then steadily inclined into the woods. The final descent was a little steep, but we ended up at a clearing with a fire pit, old fireplace, and an incredible view. We are so grateful we found this hidden gem and plan to go back to try a different trail. Highly recommend!

This 787-acre park was established in 1944 and connects with Talcott Mountain State Park, which is…read moreacross the street. Curtis H. Veedor donated the land to the state and asked for it to be preserved the way it was. Most of the trails were blazed by him. The parking lot was large. There are multiple trails including the Metacomet Trail and picnic areas. I took the first trail I saw behind the gate, which was the blue blazed trail. The trail was on an incline and paved; there was a bunch of potholes so it looked like it was never kept up with since it was originally paved. However, aside from the pot holes and rocks, it was a peaceful and easy hike. I saw a couple of people on it with their dogs. Overall, a decent hike with some good views!

BLUE TRAIL ONLY…read more "Forty Miles of Bad Road" was a rock and roll instrumental and #9 hit for Duane Eddy in 1959. Now, bad roads don't necessarily have to be 40 miles long. And bad roads don't necessarily have to even be a conventional road. For example, a bad road can actually be a paved hiking path within a State Park. Within Penwood State Park's 800 acres you will find a wide variety of trails -blue, red, orange white, purple and yellow. The blue trail, also known as the Metacomet Path, runs straight up the park's gut like a North to South central artery. We walked a few miles of it this morning. First we parked in the main lot on Route 185, pretty much on the Bloomfield/Simsbury Line. The blue trail is flat and wide and paved, so it's an easy low impact hike for out of shape beginners like us. We started off with some pretty water views of Gale Pond and the back yards of some nice properties. But as we walked deeper into the tree line, we were very taken by the terrible conditions on that paved path. Cracked pavement, crumbling pavement, missing pavement, deep holes in pavement, etc. I couldn't tell if it was plain old wear and tear or frost heaves or water damage or old age, but the trail had some abysmal sections that seemed plain old hazardous to me. So you'd better keep a sharp look out if you value the health of your ankles. There were a few sewer or drain covers rising above the trail's surface like sea creatures or the shells of mutated turtle monsters. The hazards were spray-painted yellow, so someone is aware of their dangers. For a State Park, I sure expected better conditions on that trail.