Beautiful hike, not too hard, but not necessarily for beginners either. I wood bring water and good…read moreshoes

I hosted a birthday hike at Quarry Park and brought a bag of spray paints- we had a blast! The hike…read moreis fair, not easy but not difficult. The graffiti was beautiful art. The only downfall is that we put bug spray on, but I came home with 42 mosquito bites- but I will go back when there's not as many mosquitoes!!

Decent upkeep and clean playground. Pool and pool area somewhat small. Some benches with covering…read moreavailable. Kiddie pool area available

This park is huge! I only came to go to the dog park, I've heard great things. When I drove in I…read morewas shocked at the baseball fields, skate park, rolling hills, amphitheater, and more! The dog park was gigantic and needless to say the nicest I've been to in Connecticut so far. There's tons of room for dogs to run, lots of friendly people and friendly dogs for the most part. My girl had so much fun running around with the dogs and made some dog friends. The park was clean and peaceful, running water for the dogs. I could sit there for hours, it was so tranquil!!! I've been coming back everyday and my dog loves it!

I come here quite frequently and enjoy sitting on the second story of the boathouse. I also enjoy…read moresitting on the docks, waking on the paved waking paths, and walking on the unpaved trails to the dog park with my pup! I've been a regular here for ages! There are public bathrooms at the boathouse and note that there are often events (like weddings) at the actual structure. This happens all nights of the year (or so it seems and by that I mean random weeknights is when I often stumble upon a wedding). It used to be PACKED during COVID. You will almost always find parking in the main lot but occasionally if there are kids sport games on the fields, and lots of kids on the playground, and boats being launched (boats plus trailers take up two spots)... well then you will maybe need to park in the overflow lot. I'm not sure if both of those lots are ever simultaneously full but there is a little parking garage a tiny way up the road by the Glastonbury library (if needed). It's a quick walk up to town & there are some little free libraries (and Poke-stops) nearby! Thank you :)

This beautiful park in Glastonbury is located right on the Connecticut River. It's not far from the…read moretown center and has many amenities. There's a dog park, boat ramp, picnic pavilion, athletic fields, trail, playground to name a few. There were plenty of parking. There are multiple access points. We walked through a trail which was located off Main Street and past the dog park. Then we walked towards the main entrance which was where the picnic pavilion was located. We also explored the playground and boat ramp area. This was a large and beautifully maintained park.

Loved coming here for the nature hike and exploring the grounds…read more Dogs are no longer allowed on the trails

This is a fun spot that's a little underwhelming in terms of the attractions. Part museum, part…read morepark, when we went it was covered in snow, so we only really were able to experience what's inside. It's $6, and small kids are free, which was an appropriate cost. You'll walk into a few small animals in exhibits - snakes, frogs, etc. - which are fun, and then get to the fossils and stuff. They have one of those topographical sand tables, which are fun for little ones (also saw some teens playing with it, so fun for all ages). They have a bunch of fossils, mostly fossilized footprints, and one mostly complete dinosaur specimen, as well as an impressive room that must've been 100 ft wide that shows tracks that different dinosaurs made over the eons. That part was very cool. But, it's a pretty small spot, and you can walk through it really quickly, probably in 15 mins or so if you're quick. We have a small kid, so we spent probably closer to an hour and ran through it a couple times. Ultimately, it was a good stop, but not something I'd really go out of my way to do again.

Imagine, that you just finished lunch at Kob Jai, Rudy's or the Whole Deli in Rocky Hill, and that…read moreyou need to pick up your CSA from Killam and Bassette ("K&B") in South Glastonbury. You could totally take the Silas Deane to 91 North, get off at the Route 3 North exit, take that to Route 2 East, quickly get all the way over to the left, take the left exit (Number 7) onto Route 17, and then connect up with southbound Main Street, which will get you to K&B. You could do that, but I've got an idea for you. You could type "Ferry Park" into your phone GPS and head down to the Rocky Hill side of the oldest continuously operating Ferry in the US. Sure, it will set you back about $5-$6, but you may see a bald eagle soaring over the Connecticut River. Or a sail boat. Did I mention you'll be taking a boat ride . . . while sitting in your car? How cool is that? And you know what happens when you get to the other side? You're in South Glastonbury, basically right near both the K&B Farm on Tryon Street and the K&B Farm stand on South Main Street. There are various activities near both sides of the Ferry Stops. There's great birding and photography opportunities on both sides. There's a short trail loop with historical lessons on signs on the So. G. side. You could bring a picnic meal or a coffee and just watch the River happenings. Make sure you check the Schedule before you go. But go, you should.

OK class, today's lesson is "Historic American Transportation". Would you believe that somewhere…read morein the US of A you can find a ferry crossing that has been providing unbroken public transportation service since 1655? That's not a typo -that is indeed 1655! That's over 350 years! Well, since a time that preceded the Declaration of Independence by 120 years, that ferry has crossed the CT River to connect the towns of Rocky Hill and Glastonbury, CT. A plaque from the CT Historical Commission reads: Nation's oldest continuously operating ferry. Since 1655, public transportation across the Connecticut River has been provided at this site, connecting the towns of Rocky Hill and Glastonbury, both formerly parts of Wethersfield. Motive power has been supplied at various times by poles, oars, a horse treadmill and a steam engine. Privately operated for 260 years, this ferry became a State facility in 1915. It is now operated by the State Department of Transportation. Crossing time, 4 minutes. State of Connecticut Department of Transportation in cooperation with The Connecticut Historical Commission 1973 It's a 2-sided marker with the same inscription on both sides. It's located at the entrance to Ferry Park with a ship's anchor displayed on the side facing the street. Ferry Park is a pretty area with waterfront access. I saw several crew boats sculling in the river on the afternoon I visited.

J.B. Williams Park is over 160 acres of hiking trails, woodlands, streams, wooden bridges, and a…read moregorgeous lake. I attended a private party at their Pavilion that was very cool. The pavilion is a big 40'x40' covered wood structure with lots of picnic tables and benches. They also have a companion building with a kitchen, refrigerator, sink, service counter, and stove. The grounds are gorgeous and I spent an hour or so wandering around the hiking trails and over the wood bridges and enjoying the tranquil beauty of the lake before my event started.

A Forest Spa for the Mind: This is a Gem of a local park and a must stop for people wanting a…read morecasual hike with instant forest immersion only a few feet after leaving the parking lot on the trail right side entrance. This will not be your longest hike but as the co-head of a hiking group of over 2000 in USA and canada - this is a treat for the senses and a forest spa for the mind. Love sunrise at this park and how the light highlights the beautiful tall trees along the main trail. Treat yourself: Breathe, Admire and Appreciate the beauty around you

Sunny Crest Park has got the Green…read more The entrance to this park is near the intersection of Parsonage Street and Apple Grove Lane. There is a single private parking lot which allow you the full view of the park. The south side of the park has a baseball field. The west side of the park is set up for soccer. The north and east sides of the park makes up one large open field that is large enough to be use for any sort of field sports or recreation. There was a game of cricket being played by a large group while we were here. With its ease of access and large green space this would be a great park for anything that involves playing or relaxing in the sun on some nice green grass.

We come to the playground here and love it. My son calls it the "airplane playground" because of…read morethe airplane play structure. There's plenty to climb on, swing on, slide on, and sand to dig in.

It offers various equipment for different ages. My grandson's favorite was the large shaped plane!read more

Beachland Park used to be a dairy farm owned by the Beach Family in the 1800s. 12 acres were…read moredonated to the Town of West Hartford in 1932. The Vine Hill Creamery building was remodeled to become a clubhouse and storage. There's definitely quite a bit of history here. There's a large pond and a smaller retention pond next to it. The Canadian geese were everywhere so watch your step with their poo. There's a baseball field, soccer field, and basketball courts. For summer recreation, there is a splash pad and pool. On this visit, we went to the playground which had two playscapes; one for younger kids and the other for older kids. There were picnic tables throughout and a short, paved trail. Overall, we had a fun time exploring the park and it's a nice quiet place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the town.

What will you find in Beachland Park?…read more A huge pond, lots of geese on the grass and in the water, soccer fields, a baseball diamond, basketball courts, a swimming pool, splash pads, very pretty scenery, and two playgrounds. There are all sorts of jogging and bike paths that snake through the park including one that took us clear out of the park into a residential neighborhood and then onto New Britain Avenue near Pepe's Pizza. Just a heads up to keep your heads down and eyes peeled on the trails and paths. There was a lot of goose poop on the trails, and I suppose you can't blame the geese for that. But we also saw a lot of canine poop that you can blame the selfish, inconsiderate, slugs of human beings masquerading as dog owners who can't be bothered to pick up after Fido does his thing on the walking path. Shame on them....

If you are ever so lucky as to go here, oh my gosh! What a great hike!! So much to see if you like…read morenature! We do Geocaching and over Covid started doing searches. This was one of our searches. So much beauty here! There is a stream, there is a field, there is a river, there are trails!! Go on line and read what Shoddy Cotton is first so you know why there was a mill.

UODATE We returned to hike in to see the awesome stone dam. It's a short distance in and trails are…read morepoorly marked. At the first option of a fork, head right if you want a quick way in. This trail has a large number of uprooted and fallen trees. Nothing dangerous but could be so much nicer. The dam is awesome; the workmanship amazing and water was flowing! It's def worth a look.