A park with a…read moreschool Eisenhower Park opened back in 1969 and was initially in a pretty isolated place. A nice little neighborhood park that fit in nicely between the streets. That all changed in 1971 when the new high school opened right next door. The park is still a nice place but definitely not as quiet and peaceful as it was during the first years of it's life. It can actually be difficult to find the park because of the large high school athletic fields right next door. The park does have two swimming pool, basketball courts, baseball field, soccer field, picnic area and lots of room for running around. Some really good hoops use to be played here in the past but I'm not sure if such competitive games around still around. One of the five neighborhood parks in West Hartford and perhaps the least known to people outside of the area. It still is a nice park to play some ball, go swimming and just spend some time outside.,

This 137-acre property is a wildlife management and training area for hunting dogs. The Farmington…read moreRiver runs besides it and it was a farm that was purchased by the state in the 1970s. The dirt road going into the area is a little conspicuous. The road was very narrow and had potholes that could take you to Australia; just drive really slow. There's a paved bike trail right beside it too. When I went, I parked on the first parking area to the left. I walked down the dirt road (which was muddy due to rain) and saw a huge pond to the right. The pond was clean and pristine with a little beach. There was a long walking path near a giant field that was being mowed the day I went. I saw other people walking, walking their dogs, and even a kayaker. The park was quiet and very serene. There are many recreational activities to do there; hunting, fishing, hiking, and kayaking/canoeing. The main use for this property is field trials; hunting dogs are trained for speed, style, and locating/retrieving of game. The field and water are crucial for this type of traning. When there are field trial trainings, the park will be closed. There is a schedule you can check online to see if the park is available for the public. During the fall and winter, it is advised that visitors and their dogs wear orange vests due to hunting season; however, discharging of ammunition is allowed daily. Overall, it was a lovely area to take a stroll! We had a fun time walking and relaxing by the water.

One of a kind open space to stretch your human legs and your Canines legs, too. My review comes…read moreafter steady visits through all four seasons. Every season has its pros and cons, but this wanderer has to say Fall is my favorite. Important to keep in-mind this is State Open Space for ALL forms of life and they must co-habitat while visiting. This means our canine friends must be well trained and stay within command, so all may enjoy the space. Humans, please monitor your canine and their droppings. Leaving these, no pun, BEHIND, can dampen the experience for other nature lovers. A good practice is to be aware of regular schedule of permitted game clubs and field trials. The following CTDEEP website is my regular reference before setting-out: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Hunting/Field-Trial-Dates#NODBROOK Generally spring, summer, and fall are the busy time for the fields or sections where they are closed for safety. Fear not, there are plenty of other times to visit, hike the looping trails with canines off-leash, given well behaved, observe the beautiful natural surroundings, especially the paralleled flow of the Farmington River and view of Heublein Tower off across the valley.

This review is specially for the splash pad. Clearly newly renovated and absolutely beautiful! My…read moretoddler loves this splash pad the most out of all the ones around the area. The bright colors will immediately captivate your children! The countless buckets and sprinklers are so fun. I especially love how there are parks and rec staff on site which also give you piece of mind in case accidents happen. One staff member even gave my daughter a little mermaid sticker which made her day! I also love the fact that this is completely gated so running around with a toddler isn't as stressful here. Would 100% recommend!

I was lured to this park after seeing there was a football scrimmage game going on. Fall season…read morecoming soon, yeah! This place has a baseball field, basketball court, playscape and sprinklers. The sprinklers here are cool. There is also a picnic area and awning.

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!!

It's a great park for the area, the town is trying to keep it nice and clean, I guess. It's only…read morebeen here for a couple years now but it's definitely used and appreciated by the locals. They have basketball courts, soccer, football and baseball fields. Not sure why the town is asking for huge amounts of money for the same town games of soccer. Last year my kids' school was asked $500 for 1 game of soccer only ..So many random people that I see every day coming and using the fields without having to pay anything .Really confused about that ..

When looking for a place for a quick walk and a picnic, we were excited to check out Filley Park…read more Although the park is quite small, it was really enjoyable to walk around the wooded trail before walking around the pond and gardens. The wooded loop trail is probably about half a mile and the walk through the garden is probably another ~.15-.25 miles; both are mostly flat. There are tons of benches and a few picnic tables to enjoy the scenery and do some birdwatching. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and the park wasn't too busy. We were able to find a picnic table, that was pretty clean, and enjoy a picnic lunch. All-in-all, we really enjoyed our time and we will definitely be back on a regular basis as it's conveniently located in between all of our errands.

Tremendous progress has been made in the reclamation and renovation of Filley Park…read more When I first visited and posted in 2013, the place was a mess. The Pond was full of silt, and needed to be excavated and restored. Massive populations of ducks and geese had done their things and fouled up the area. When I next visited in 2018 a lot of progress had been made. I saw all sorts of construction activity, heavy equipment, and big piles of dirt and gravel. Improvements to sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting were underway, as was the dredging and refilling of the Pond. And when I visited yesterday, I saw much more! The sidewalks and benches and seating areas are finished. The Pond looks great, The ducks and geese are mostly gone, and a few straggles were clustered way off to the side. There's still some construction equipment on site, and excavation continues, but the overall progress is quite remarkable. We walked around the Pond as far as we could and took a stroll on some of their hiking trails.

This place is just great. We visited last night for a kids Valentine's Day event. The staff was so…read moregreat with the kids. Arts and crafts. Play room. And we can't forget all the animals. Such a great time.

What a sweet little nature center! I wandered in this afternoon after a very un-fun visit to the…read moreDMV across town. If you are ever stuck at the DMV for a few hours, visit this place to unwind. ;) I happened to be the only visitor at the moment, so I got to chat for a while with the woman working there. She introduced me to all the birds (Merlin, Thomas, and Bonnie) and got to try to make them talk to me. Merlin (the gorgeous red macaw) said a couple of words in response to my cell phone's alarm. Thomas (an African Grey) wished me a good morning and then mumbled at me a bit. ;) I also was allowed to hold Bonnie and she showed me her trick of climbing from one hand to the other if you hold your fingers out like ladder rungs. There are bunnies, ferrets, lizards, turtles... I tend to turn to mush around animals anyway, so this was the best place to possibly do to clear my head this afternoon. They also host birthday parties for kids... I asked if I could come back and visit for my 34th. The woman there said there was no reason I couldn't. ;) My friends may be getting some animal-themed invitations this year! :)

I stopped here today for my picnic lunch. The park is quite large at 237 acres at the south end of…read moreHartford and extending into the town of Wethersfield. The Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 - August 28, 1903) who was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his senior partner Calvert Vaux. There are multiple entrances into the park where you will find tennis courts, basketball courts and a softball diamond. There are two trails, an Olympic sized pool and picnic areas. The playscape and spray pad are pretty cool though there was some litter. The separate golf course https://www.yelp.com/biz/goodwin-park-golf-course-hartford-3 is over 6000 yards. Limited parking and no fences at the street edges or around the playground. Trash cans were overfull today. [Review 15181 overall, 683 of 2021, number 33 in Connecticut.]