A park with a spectacular view!…read more Talcott Mountain State Park is a 574-acre park located in Simsbury. Parking was spacious. The trail to the Heublein Tower is 1.25-miles long. The Tower can be seen from various parts of the state. It's a beautiful, white, 165-foot high tower with 360 degrees view. The trail was wide and on gravel. There was recent heavy rains so some of the trails had some washout. The hike was mostly up hill with some flat areas; I'd say it's moderate but it was a little bit more challenging for me because I was baby-wearing my child. My toddler did great on it. There were a couple of benches and logs to sit on along the way; pet waste receptacles were seen. My only qualm were the bugs, so don't forget bug spray like we did. Once we got to the top, there were a couple of porta potties and a kiosk. The view of the tower up close was exhilarating, so much history. There was an informational movie on in the garage with benches. There was a huge picnic pavilion and picnic tables throughout; a giant BBQ pit and another small one. The Heublein Tower was beautiful and built in 1914; it can withstand 100-mph winds. The staircases going up and down were meant to be one way; this was a great way to reduce pedestrian congestion and a fire hazard. There were historic relics and rooms decorated the way it was back in the day. Informational signage throughout the space. The tower used to be the summer home for Gilbert Heublein; a successful businessman whose company acquired Smirnoff Vodka and A1 Steak Sauce. The view from the ballroom was amazing and breathtaking. They had signs showing what we can see based on the direction. The hike back down the trail was easier, becareful though, some of the gravel were slippery and I saw a kid fall. Overall, a great hike and the view was worth it!

Amazing and easy hike with the gals. The view is amazing from the top. It is a great hike to chat…read morewith people and too far from Hartford

What a beautiful place! Even in February at 25 degrees and snow on the ground. There is parking off…read moreAlbany Turnpike and in the other end of the reservoir. The land is on 3000 acres and has over 30 miles of trails and woods. They are open daily from sunrise to sunset. We walked on the road because the trail had some snow on it. My step counter said I walked about 3.1 miles in that loop. There is a water treatment facility in there with parking for employees and vendors. Once we got to the other parking lot, we got onto the paved trail and walked by a dam. Eventually, the trail becomes gravel; the view of the reservoir was stunning (see my pics). I did see some benches at the begining of the trail. There were tons of people walking, jogging, and dog walking, even in the cold. I didn't get to explore all 30 miles of trails yet but I look forward to doing so when the weather gets warmer!

If you're heading down Route 44 from the Farmington Valley toward Hartford, you'll see the sign for…read moreReservoir 6 on the left. We found over a thousand acres of some of the prettiest scenery we've seen in a long time. There is a 95% flat and non-challenging path that circles the reservoir in a 3.6-mile loop. The reservoir is gorgeous, and you'll catch glimpses of Simsbury's Heublein tower and the Hartford skyline on your walk. We ran into maybe 100 people out there today, enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenic beauty of the grounds. A lot of folks had their leashed dogs with them, everything from a huge Great Dane to a medium sized Bichon Fraise to a tiny mini Schnauzer that was being hand carried. I loved the fact that every single dog we saw (that wasn't hand carried) was both leashed and well behaved. But, I hated the fact that on two occasions, we saw a tied blue plastic bag of dog poop laying right on the center of the path. How freaking lazy and disgusting can you be? It's very odd to see the different personalities of the fellow visitors -some were super friendly and loved to chit chat, others wouldn't even make eye contact as we passed in opposite directions. Oh well..... There is a small parking lot shortly after you pull in, but if its full, no worries -just keep driving on the road and soon you'll hit a second lot on the other side of the reservoir. We saw a few MDC police cars on the grounds, so apparently, they patrol the area.

What a beautiful and long reservoir loop!…read more First time coming here. I couldn't do the whole 3.8 mile trail due to time, so I opted in for the scenic view along the water. What a view! There are parts of the trail in the beginning where you get a taste of the woods while still being close to the water on a flat surface. There are a few tripping hazards I did come across so be cautious. There are two trail path entrances in the Albany Ave. parking lot area and plenty of parking, as well as in the other lot, and some spots along the side of the road. Dogs must be on a leash no longer than 7 feet. Leave nothing but footprints, and no littering! The reservoir was very clean with no trash in the areas I walked minus the one doggy bag. There are benches to sit and enjoy the view throughout the trail

I wrote a review for the other Reservoir 6 page but I'll add my two cents on this page as well…read more Reservoir 6 is owned by Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). The reservoir itself is 135 acres. There is a 3.6 mile (red loop) walking path all along the body of water. The yellow paved path, is out and back and is 1.4 miles. The blue Metacomet trail also goes through; you can reach the Hublein tower on this trail. There are two parking spots; one off route 44 and the other located on the northeastern side of the property. I've walked on the yellow and red trails and thoroughly enjoyed it. The view of the reservoir is very calming and pristine. The trail is very flat and easy to walk on. There are many walkers, dog walkers, bikers, and familes with strollers. There are also porta potties, when nature calls. At the eastern parking lot, you can see the Hartford city skyline. It's definitely a relaxing place to get some exercise and fresh air!

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'd like to start by noting the Alsop Meadow is a quiet gem, tucked away off Waterville Road and on…read moreNassau Way in Avon. I have known of this Meadow since the 1980's. I actually lived in the original Alsop homestead on Nod Road with 8 other house mates (32.5 rooms, including 5.5 bathrooms) from 1984-86. The Alsop family was & still well known in Avon and its connection to Uncle Teddy, yes, that former President Teddy! The Alsop Meadow is a gifted land trust to the Town of Avon. The land trust features a Farmington River side trail, a peaceful short wooded walk ending at Private Property, which is very clearly marked. An open frisbee golf course starts near the gateway to the Meadow and winds through the trees and the open meadow. A plot of Community gardens are located on the North edge of the Meadow. The gardens also provide a great pollen source for bees and butterflies. A port-a-potty is available and is maintained by the Town of Avon and its lessor. Located near the Canoe launch, placard noting the Alsop's generous gift, and an information board showing the Farmington River trail. If you bring a pup, leashes are required, you're also required to pick-up and carry out their waste. Despite that small sacrifice Alsop Meadow is worth visiting and bring a few frisbees!

Alsop Meadows is a 56.20-acre park located in the Town of Avon. The entrance is behind the Raymour…read more& Flannigan furniture store. The dirt road going into it is very narrow and can only fit one car, certain spots there is a spot to pull off to let other vehicles go. There is a decent sized parking area and a porta potty. A couple of small trails lead to the Farmington River. This is where people take their canoes and kayaks out. I walked on the dirt road through the gates and on the left, there was a community garden. The scent was lovely; ripe vine tomatoes was what I smelled. The rest of the landscape consisted of woods and meadows; there was someone mowing the large, flat, open space when I was there. Around the garden, you won't be able to see the river in the spring and summer, but I'm sure in the late fall and winter, the views and access to the river is great. The park is open from dawn to dusk, daily. The recreational activities include, jogging, walking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and camping. For camping, permission is needed from the Town of Avon. I walked to the end of the dirt road and back; it was a short walk but peaceful nonetheless. I do recommend wearing sunscreen and a hat because there is minimal shade; bug spray too because the mosquitoes were rampant. I saw other people walking their dog and others enjoying the river side. A peaceful spot; however, if you want a longer walk/hike, this doesn't have it unless you walk back and forth a few times.

This 0.4-mile trail is part of the Simsbury Land Trust. Parking is located on street at King Philip…read moreRoad. It's a wet meadow with boardwalks and small bridges at certain spots. A beautiful native garden can be seen at the trail entrance; there were signs showing what type of plants these were. These plants attracts butterflies and birds. It was a very easy trail and I loved the boardwalks. The plants were pretty with the flowers popping up. I noticed a tree fell down on one of the boardwalks; must've been from the recent heavy rains we had. Overall, a cute spot to embrace nature and take an easy short walk.

Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah On a blanket with…read moremy baby is where I'll be (The Drifters) This was unexpected. in the middle of this very pretty trail you will find a boardwalk, in fact LOTS of boardwalk it will keep your tootsies nice and dry as you walk through the wet grasslands. This is a short, flat, and very manageable trail, less than a half mile in length. Its off to the side of a residential neighborhood, more or less where Hartford Road, Princess Lane and King Philip Roads converge. One of the very cool things we saw was a well-marked native plant garden toward the start of the trail. It was cool to see the names of the plants and earn a little about them. Throw in a very cool boardwalk, a wood bridge, a spectacular view of Talcott Mountain, and you have a very pleasant diversion for 30-45 minutes courtesy of Mother Nature.

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.

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.

The WH Reservoir has been my peaceful playground and refuge since the '70's…read more Hard to believe that State Connecticut had a planned to construct ring highway through the hills beside the Reservoir. Following public protest and legal battle(s) the project was shelved indefinitely back in the 70's. This was also about the time, vehicle traffic was barred on many of the back MDC roadways. What was left, beautiful network of paved and foot beaten paths. Everyday day of the week, the public are welcome to walk, jog, saunter, bicycle these mapped trails. Mountain biking has been throttled down significantly due to excessive wear and tear on the wooded areas. Biking still remains popular long designated routes and in a one-way pattern (for everyones safety). Pedestrians: Please mind the painted walking path, eyes on drifting into the bike path - that way ALL will enjoy. Kilkenny rock has been one of my favorite destinations (refer to an MDC map) this is a nice overlook of the Hartford sky scape. Trails also connect from the Farmington Avenue entrance across to Route 44 passing over Avon Mountain. GPS and one of my favorite apps "All Trails" are helpful even to a season chap like me.

This park is on 162 acres; it's a farm, trail, and education center…read more The coolest part are the barnyard animals and large garden. They are open all year round so it's a nice spot to take the kids or yourself to. There are three miles of trails too; don't forget your duck boots, we went after rain and it was muddy but fun nonetheless. There's even a half mile of that trail that is handicap accessible. There is a discovery room that has reptiles, amphibians, and a parrot! There were plenty of parking when we went. A great spot to explore for sure!

Four cool things we saw at Westmoor Park:…read more Llamas Chickens People snowshoeing A curious black and white cat that followed us around! Even though most of the facility was closed, it sure scratched our cabin fever itch and provided a very nice place to get outside, walk around, and breathe some fresh air. Although the Indoor facilities aren't open at this time, you can explore the park grounds and trails as we did today. We want to come back when things are opened up because this looks like an awesome place with tons of fun things to do. It was pretty cool seeing people snowshoeing today, we never saw that before.

In our experience, sending our child to Renbrook for Pre-K was unfortunate. There were two Pre-K…read moreclasses that, to us, appeared quite segregated, with most minority students and teachers in one class and others in the other. This gave us the impression that the school lacks diversity. Throughout the school year, our previously happy and outgoing child became increasingly miserable, to the point of not wanting to go to school in the mornings. We all felt a significant amount of stress. At the time, we weren't aware that Renbrook does not require formal qualifications for their teachers. It seems that individuals who were formerly teacher's aides or camp counselors are employed as teachers, without any formal education or training in child development or education. This contrasts with local public schools, which typically require a master's degree in these fields. In our view, based on what our child shared, these unqualified "teachers" seemed unable to connect with our child and perhaps others, resorting to strict discipline methods such as yelling, time-outs, and a lack of affection or support. As parents, we were repeatedly pressured through emails and phone calls to use time-outs at home to make our child easier to manage in class. The classroom environment seemed overly strict for four-year-olds, who were expected to sit still in a circle for extended periods and were not allowed to wiggle or make noises without being labeled disruptive. Any attempts to communicate with the school about how well-behaved our child was in other settings were dismissed. We felt blamed as parents, with the school insisting that the problem was with us or our child, never them. It appeared that children of teachers and wealthy donors were given preferential treatment, allowed to misbehave without consequence. Our child noticed this difference and expressed that the teachers only helped certain kids, not her or some of her friends. There seemed to be a bias, with boys being excused for inappropriate remarks or physical transgressions, while girls were expected to remain quiet and compliant. This made us feel very concerned. Based on conversations with other parents, it seemed that families who were not part of the teachers' or donors' circle were often advised to seek psychological evaluations and treatments for their children. This gave us the impression that the frequency of children in therapy at Renbrook was notably high. We never had the opportunity to meet the school counselor, as she was part-time and unable to attend a meeting we hoped she would join. When we attempted to discuss our concerns with the head of the school, we felt that our concerns were again dismissed, with the suggestion that the issue lay solely with us and our child. This was not supported by a subsequent elaborate professional evaluation, which found our child to be highly intelligent and emotionally healthy. Throughout the year, most of the school's communication centered around fundraising and monthly donation requests, with little focus on the educational details of our children. The events were more akin to social gatherings, featuring heavy drinking by some participants and the formation of cliques among parents at golf or social clubs. Notably, Renbrook does not offer tuition refunds if you decide the school is not a good fit and wish to transfer your child during the school year. This made the school year seem long and needlessly difficult for us. Things immediately improved when we enrolled our child in a different school for summer camp and kindergarten, where she now feels respected, supported, and welcome. We are very pleased with this change, and she has returned to being her happy, outgoing, curious, and well-behaved self. Lastly, we have noticed that Renbrook tends to respond to negative reviews by stating they have no record of the student attending, particularly in response to anonymous reviews. We assure you that we did send our child there, regardless of whether Renbrook acknowledges our email address.

Renbrook is by far the best private school - and better than most public schools - in the area…read more It's worth a look for any child between the ages of 3years old and 9th grade. Small class size, diversity, traditional and creative school curriculum and individual attention from teachers is the norm, not the exception.