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.

I thought this would be a great place for a date, and it is beautiful, however some areas are not…read morevery well kept. The museum/nature center was very dirty, dead bugs in most of the exhibits. The gardens were beautiful, however three of the main ones I wanted to see were reserved on the day we went. I wish it was advertised somewhere which gardens are available on which day, I assume they get reserved weeks or months in advance, so it was disappointing when we assumed they were open to the public right up until we almost walked in on someone's party. Some of the other areas are very worn and need work. In addition the birds are kept is very small cages, and it broke my heart :/

Stunning park! I've always heard such great things about this area and it was nice to finally check…read moreit out for myself. I went for a picnic and sat for a bit in the grass near Lot E. I would say this was the most peaceful part of the park as it seemed most people didn't really come out that far or if they did it was just to turn around. After we took a nice stroll through the Irish, English, and Oriental gardens. My favorite parts had to be the tree maze and hydrangea garden. I also got the chance to touch lamb ears for the first time... What an interesting experience! Can't wait to return to this park to explore more of the gardens and finally see the view of Hartford that everyone is always talking about.

Beautiful scenic nature with hidden gems throughout! Definitely a great place to bring the fur…read morebabies to have a swim! The park is clean and litter free Just be careful as some of the areas near the "island" are dirty and littered partially due to wash up and rising/sinking water levels. This is the only part that is concerning.

was looking for a picnic spot to eat some sandwiches and saw on there sign there was a picnic area…read morebut the gates were closed and we saw people walking with there dogs, seemed like nice spot. until we started to walk in the direction of the pinic spot and it was a very very far walk and it was very cold, we gave up on walking to the picnic spot and we ate on the road instead. would not recommend going if the gates are closed and the weather is cold.

"Same hurt in every heart Same trailer, different park"…read more(Kacey Musgraves) Charter Oak Park was unexpectedly one of the biggest and best parks we've seen in Connecticut. When you pull into the parking lot the park doesn't look that big, but as we walked around we were so surprised to see it keeps going and going on and on like a peaceful Energizer Bunny. We saw a playground, a dog park, basketball courts, murals, the East Coast Greenway walking/biking path, a waterfall, and a bridge to name just a few. The Greenway was beautiful, very flat, very wide with lots of pretty scenery and water views. If you want a low impact place to walk, its perfect. We saw a second path up to the Dog Park, but that was on a rather steep incline, so we passed on it. But the two very coolest things we saw were a student decorated fence and a Rotary Musical Garden. The fence project involved a five foot high vinyl chain link fence collaboration between the Cheney Tech Carpentry Program, Country Carpenters of Hebron, and Home Depot. Students had painted squares of wood to represent their interests, so we saw hockey, music, nature and books among the hundreds of miniature works of art. The squares were mechanically attached through the fence into a second square on the other side of the fence, essentially locking them into place, The musical Garden has multiple big xylophones in all kinds of shapes and sizes and big colorful bongo drums. You can have a blast making cool noises as you engage with each of the music stations. Truth be told, Charter Oak Park was fantastic.

Charter Oak Park is definitely a diamond in the rough. Though it's not located in the most…read morebeautiful neighborhood, it's new and has so much to do! The park has a playground with 2 main play structures (one for 2-5 year olds, one for 5-12 year olds), baby and regular swings, a music garden, 4 basketball courts, 2 tennis courts, 3 baseball fields, a great paved walking path, several picnic tables, real restrooms, and a big empty field. I visited on a Wednesday morning with my toddler and we had a blast! We spend most of our time on the playground and in the music garden. The play structure for younger kids is on the small side but still has some fun features. It has a rock they can climb up, ladders, some fake stumps, and 2 slides (including a side-by-side). There's also a cool thing about 4 kids can sit in while it is being spun by an adult or another child from outside. My almost 2 year old navigated this whole structure with ease. The second play structure for older kids was very fun. It had a lot of different obstacles to climb including rock walls, different nets and webs, ladders, a balance beam... the list goes on. It also had a very cool swing that was almost like a zip line with a seat to sit on. The two play structures are not divided by anything, so my toddler moved back and forth between the two. He could navigate some of it by himself but I definitely had to stay close by or climb with him. There are many places for a smaller child to fall from and climbing obstacles that were just too big. However, this playground would definitely have more for a 12 year old to do than many I have seen for this same age. Finally, we visited the music garden. It was beautiful, even with the cooler weather setting in. The landscaping and shrubbery was well done and kept and all the instruments were still in great shape.

I'm amazed by the beauty of this place!…read more MDC operates the water treatment plants located at this reservoir. This is a privately owned area and not a public park. There was MDC Police that patrolled the area when I was there. Parking was plentiful when we went on a beautiful spring weekday. There were clean porta potties onsite. There were trails in the woods and out in the open; the trails were paved and gravel. It is opened daily from sunrise to sunset and closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were two trails; 3.4-mile loop red trail and 2.0-mile loop yellow trail. We started off with the gravel yellow trail that has a slight incline. Then we got onto part of the red loop which was near the bridge overlooking the water. We saw a couple of deer in the woods, geese, and turtles in the water. This is where we walked on pavement. Some of the trees were marked by type. The trail was busy with walkers and bikers. Overall, I really enjoyed the hike/walk and can't wait to go back.

Beautiful path to walk around the reservoir in every season. I wish there were a few more benches…read morealong the path.

Parking for this trail can be found behind the Canton Public Works building on River Road. There is…read morea public restroom available and a small baseball field. This is a nice paved path for walking, biking, scooting, etc. right on the Farmington River. If you cross River Road, that takes you on the Farmington River trail and a portion of that is the Collinsville Pollen Trail. If you follow the trail along the river, there is a small park area. You can rest on the benches and under the gazebo. There is a small native garden and the centennial Canton tree that was planted. Further along the trail, you will find the Canton Flower Bridge. During the spring and summer time, there are beautiful displays of bouquets along the bridge. At the end of the bridge, starts the Farmington Canal Heritage trail which runs through historic Collinsville. There is an old train bridge that goes over the Farmington River; it goes into the town of Burlington. Overall, an easy path with lovely views of the river.

"Exit light, enter night Take my hand…read moreWe're off to never-never land" (Metallica) What do you look for in a town park? Well, maybe your design plan would include plenty of open green spaces, baseball, soccer and lacrosse fields, basketball courts, maybe a few walking trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, a Fitness Station, a skatepark, two ice cream trucks, an all-inclusive boundless playground, and a gazebo for groups and barbecuing. And you'd probably want an easy to find location with a few different entrances and parking lots, right? Well, if you're looking for such a town park in South Windsor, CT, look no further than Nevers Park, because it has all of the above plus more. Today was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and there was plenty of activity going on at Nevers today. The playgrounds and splash pad were packed, there was a big group at the gazebo barbecuing lunch, we saw plenty of well-behaved dogs on their leashes, and we saw one cute little guy shooting baskets on a Munchkin-sized hoop that must have been four feet off the ground. We walked a leisurely loop around the property on their wide flat paved trails which took us to their ball fields, playground, splash pad, skate park and fields. What a wonderful park!

This is far and away the best playground and splash pad combination in the Greater Hartford area…read more The playground offers different options for younger and older kids, with some new additions mixed in with some older playground gear. There is a cool basketball shooting area with poops of different heights. The splash pad is really the selling point during the summer. It's clean, offers seating with Adirondack chairs in the shade and sun, and a variety of different water play activities. We love having play dates here and there's always a lot to do. We haven't ventured over to the field area or the skate park, but I'm sure those are fun as well.

The parking lot and entrance for Nepaug State Forest is 3.1 miles from the point where route 202…read moreand route 44 merges in Canton. This forest is not to be confused with the Nepaug Dam & Reservoir Trail. The parking lot was spacious but can be easily missed because the sign is small; I saw one handicap spot near the trail entrance. There are multiple trails in this forest. Other activities besides hiking include biking, camping, fishing, cross-country skiing, letterboxing, and hunting. The Tunxis Trail is a blue blazed hiking trail. The blue trail was wide and flat with a slight incline. I enjoyed the easy hike through the forest. It was serene and peaceful; there were a few vehicles in the parking lot but I didn't see anyone on the trail. Based on the AllTrails app, it is a 1.7-mile loop trail and rated at moderate. I saw some people walking in with their dogs when I was leaving. It appears to be a popular spot for dog walking and mountain biking. Overall, a quiet trail if you're looking for some solitude and fresh air.

Love this park. Lots of trail options with challenging hills. Excellent workout, it's our go to if…read morewe want to skip the gym and get out in nature.