Beautiful hiking trail! Muddy in the beginning, so wear hiking boots or shoes with good grip. The…read moreoverlooks are amazing and worth every minute. About 1 hour and 20 minutes to and from The caves. Rugged terrain towards the caves Not for the beginner, so plan accordingly. Snacks, water and maybe a walking stick

Trail has some lovely views, some steep up and down sections but no actual rock scrambling…read morerequired, and if you plan ahead you can find the elaborate rock etchings done over 200 years ago by patients of an 18th century small pox inoculation center! Also, when I went most recently, somebody built a pretty sick rope swing in the woods. Not sure how safe it is, but if it doesn't crap out on you it's a nice little adrenaline rush if you start your swing at the tree branch. Now for some tips to get the most out of your hike: Pro tip #1: if you're doing this as an after work hike, park yourself at Alliance Occupational Health and catch the trailhead across the street. Can't speak as to whether this would be ok during their normal business hours tho. Pro tip#2: go to the local library where they can provide you with a map on how to find hospital rock, just off the trail, with stone carvings made 200 years ago. -side tip- bring flour with you to dust the rocks with so you can make out thyme carvings better for pictures Pro tip #3: Bugspray.

Hidden gem alert!…read more This waterfall is located in the Mclean Game Refuge. It's about 18-20 ft high. The best time to see it is after it rains and in the spring. Based on AllTrails, the easiest way to get there is off Simsbury Road and Broad Hill Road. That is about a 0.7 one way hike to the falls. I parked at the other end of Broad Hill Road and Cone Mountain. It's definitely the longer way but the trail was nice and flat; it's an old dirt road. I parked on the street. On the other entrance, I read that it can fit about 4 cars. It was a nice walk to the falls maybe about a mile one way. The falls was roaring today (April 29, 2026). I saw a few people walking and even a person on a horse. It's a nice waterfall and definitely worth a visit!

This waterfall is a little hard to find but normally worth the effort. I say "normally" because…read morewhen we have had lots of rain and snow it is a beautiful roaring waterfall. But during my visit Sunday it was a skinny waterfall due to our dryer weather. It's a little hard to find. There isn't an official parking lot just a link fence. It's part of the McClean Game Wildlife Refuge. After following the gravel trail for about 20 minutes, which really used to be Broad Hill Road before this portion of the road was closed, you reach a small unofficial bridge where the falls are and have to bushwhack yourself to the base to have the best view,

If you're looking for an easy paved trail, this is the one. The trail is wide and goes around the…read morereservoir. Many joggers, walkers, dog walkers, and people pushing strollers. Dogs on a leash are allowed, it's wheelchair accessible, and kid friendly. If you bring your dog, signs says to pick up after them. The Nepaug dam has a beautiful waterfall with serene sounds. It was built between 1914 to 1916 and created the 951 acre reservoir about 35 feet deep. There is a parking lot; on nice weekend days, it does get full. Overall, it's one of my favorite trails because I can take a stroller/wagon to lug my babies. Also, the view is amazing!

One of the good things that happened to us from the Pandemic was it got us out of the house on…read moreweekends to visit so many of the parks and hiking trails in our area we had never visited before. We must have hit 30 different venues in 2020, and we started 2021 by visiting another new place that turned out to be a terrific find. The Nepaug Reservoir Trail is a mile long and is wide, paved, flat and about as easy to walk on as any trail we have visited. We parked at the main parking lot on Route 202, walked through a chain link gate, and found the start of the trail to begin our scenic walk around the reservoir and across the historic 100-year old Nepaug Dam. The 600-foot long dam has a concrete spillway in its center. The spillway is over 100 feet tall and is quite spectacular. The trail around the dam has a few cutouts that serve as observation platforms to take you out over the top of the dam. You will love the view ! We saw quite a variety of folks out there today -young families with strollers, couples of every age, joggers, lots of leashed dogs, and even a few hoverboard operators. What a great way to kick off the New Year.

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

"Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is…read moreDo you, Mr. Jones?" (Bob Dylan) I've had the Jones Mountain Preserve bookmarked for quite a while and with yesterday's nice weather we finally made it over. There were a few open spots in the small parking lot, but by the time we left the cars were lined up single file along the side of the road. The forested area really is gorgeous with streams and wood bridges and big boulders and blankets of green moss everywhere. But we also found it to be treacherous to walk on -too many slippery rocks and slippery patches of leaves and too many trees on the path. Even with our walking sticks it was very difficult. We aren't the most experienced hikers in the world and I'm certainly not in primo shape, so although the scenery was breathtaking, the experience was not. We worked our way up to the Red Trail but soon after we hit it, we decided to call it a day, made a U Turn and slowly and carefully inched our way back down. From everything I've read we missed out on the great sites further ahead on the looped trail - a carriage house, a stone bridge, and an overlook with a fantastic view. But none of that was in the cards for us, we were just happy to get back to the car without a sprained ankle or muddy clothes from taking a tumble- which I almost did sliding on a carpet of wet leaves.

A great area for a quick hike that offers many nature scenic viewpoints and quaint trails. There…read moreare many stone walls throughout the hike with wood bridges (photo), a small pond and a scenic viewing area. Take the red dot trail for a longer route to see the fore mentioned areas, with a moderate incline. Parking is at the trail head and should accommodate 7 vehicles but there is overflow along the road. The most important warning is to stay on the trail, since the area borders a private hunting club. However don't let this deter your visit, since Jones Mountain trails offer a great opportunity to visit nature in a lightly trafficked area.

It took me three attempts over three days to make it all the way to the waterfall, but it was so…read moreworth it! I took this journey at the start of February, and there was tons of snow on the ground. On the first day, I arrived at the Massachusetts parking lot around 3 PM I figured I had a good two hours before sundown. I turned back after walking a short way down the trail because it was so steep, I thought I was going to tumble into the river. When I got back, I watched a video of someone hiking on the Massachusetts side, and I realized that the trail is normally full of stairs This makes sense because it's very steep and that's why it's so short but because of the snow, the stairs are covered up I would definitely not recommend using the Massachusetts side in the winter On the second day, I got to the New York parking lot around 2 PM. I made it about halfway down the much more gradual and scenic trail before I turned back. I turned back because the sun disappeared behind the mountain, and it was dark and windy On the third day, I got to the New York side at 11 AM. This time I realized that the top of the trail is just always dark and windy because it's in a corridor between two mountain peaks. So I pressed on. It took me about one hour to get to the end of the trail. I walked pretty slowly and stopped to look at nature a lot. If you are not someone who is super confident staying on the path in the forest, these are fairly easy trails because it's just a straight line the whole way there and you are following the river the whole time. I'm so glad I didn't give up because the falls are one of the most beautiful magical things I've ever seen Instead of water flowing down through the ice, it was snow and slush bursting through the sections of the frozen waterfall the water exploding into 1 million tiny snowflakes from the top to the bottom I plan to come back here in the summer with my kids and I think they will really love it.

Must see if you are in the area! Two parking lots -- one in NY and one in MA. We did the NY one…read morewhich leads up up a gradual, pretty easy hill about 20min until you reach the falls. Looks like the MA lot -- you go down a steep, shorter hill to reach the falls. Along the way you'll pass by a stream and an array of Fall leaves. When you reach the falls, there were many people who climbed the little railing and took the rocky steps down to the falls. It's worth it -- as it's beautiful and a great picture spot. Dog friendly too!

We needed a break on our drive from MA to NJ and this was just about the mid-point for us and just…read moreoff the highway. It is a pretty state park for a short visit if you're in the area. Lots of college students throughout the park from nearby Quinnipiac University. There are plenty of open space, picnic tables and trails for everyone to enjoy. Lots of different trail options but the tower trail is the most popular. Not much shade on the tower trail and a fairly decent elevation change in a short distance. Make sure to check the weather and bring water. Beautiful views from the highest point in the park and you can go inside the tower.

This was such a nice and beautiful hike! We went here end of October when foliage season was coming…read moreto an end quickly. We got to see amazing views and lots of foliage. The hike was not bad and it was super busy. Huge parking lot and lots of people that day. The views at the tower were awesome and it's definitely a nice spot for pictures. A local gem.

This Bog trail is part of the Simsbury Land Trust. It's located on North Saddle Ridge Road in…read moreSimsbury, CT and parking can be found on street. There are two stone pillars and a sign, it can be easily missed if you drive too fast. The trail is 1 mile out and back; one of the shortest and easiest hikes I've done in a while. At first, the walk is in between two houses, continue to walk on the flat and wide esker (glacial stone), you will notice the bog on both sides, which is down the hill. At the end of the trail, on the right side, there is a steep hill going down towards the 150 ft boardwalk made of wood. We went in November, so the leaves were plentiful and slippery. There are educational signs on the boardwalk. The bog is 40 acres and is usually found in England and Canada. The bog water is acidic so there are only certain species of plants and animals that can live there; from the sphagnum moss to Gartner snakes, to name a couple, those species are highly adaptable in that environment. Other animals just passes through for food and shelter. It was a peaceful and relaxing walk, and there were views of West Mountain. I saw some dragonflies, which is a natural habitat for them. If you're looking for a short and easy hike, I recommend it!

"Under the boardwalk, down by the sea" (The Drifters)…read more Mix equal parts of a hike in the forest, a bog, and a boardwalk, and you have one very cool trail to explore. The entrance to the trail was kind of hard to find. We knew from the Simsbury Land Trail book to be on the lookout for two stone pillars on North Saddle Ridge Drive, but even though we were looking for them, we missed them. Turns out the pillars are very small and set back from the road a bit. But we did find the entrance, and soon we found ourselves walking on a beautiful forest trail, under a canopy of tall green trees. The trail was wide, pretty flat for a while, and relatively free of obstacles except for some tree roots that you have to be careful to avoid. About 1,500 feet into the trail there's a right hand turn that leads to a very steep descent. Some well placed railroad ties acted as stairs to make the downhill trek easier to manage. Soon you will pop out of the forest and see a very cool sight- a long elevated boardwalk that will take you out into a 39-acre bog. You'll be thisclose to all sorts of vegetation on both sides and you'll also see a series of informational signs describing the plants and animals all around you. At the end of the boardwalk, there are three benches where you can relax and take in the beautiful views of the trees, the bog, and a pretty view of West Mountain. You enter this trail from a typical suburban residential street, and it just blows my mind that these gorgeous trails are all over Simsbury, pretty much hiding in plain sight.

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.