A short walk from the parking area (equipped w an outhouse). Very well constructed stone and…read morewooden steps / stairways going gradually downhill. Hand railings help. Both upper and lower falls not very forceful in the dog days of summer, especially w little recent rain. Probably a better time to visit is spring. Still, very scenic and well shaded on a hot summer day. And there are many opportunities to cool off in the babbling brook! Note approx 130 steps total, broken off in sections. Not really handicapped accessible.

A gorgeous place to go for a hike, swim or picnic. It is free to enter, has free parking and a…read moreporto potty. The trails are clean. When I went there was a steady stream of people. I saw two small waterfalls. I enjoyed getting my fill for the day of nature here.

5 stars for the magnificent beauty. I had to deduct a star because the paved trail was closed. It…read morelooks like an awesome trail but I think it's closed due to hazardous water conditions based on the sign. There are three parking lots total. However, there are no sidewalks across the dam. You can walk on the grassy part of the dam, it is high and there are no railings; you can either fall into the street or down the dam face, which would probably hurt a little lol. If you bring small children, hold onto their hands. So many people are there on a nice day to gaze at the wonderful views of the reservoir and hills. Now please open up the trails, it would be an awesome place to take a walk in nature.

Picturesque, bucolic atmosphere. Limited parking areas on both sides. Today, with full sun and…read morecloudless skies, absolutely beautiful. I imagine during any type of weather, it's beautiful. Makes me want to take up painting.

This 4,400 acre nature preserve was owned by the former senator and governor of Connecticut, George…read moreP. McLean. It opened in 1932 and per Mclean's will, it was to be used as a wildlife sanctuary and opened to the public. There are two horse trails and 20 miles of hiking trails. This land is mainly in Granby and parts of Simsbury and Canton. People are allowed to walk, hike, run, walk leashed dogs with the exception of certain trails, snow shoe, cross country skiing, photography, and scavenger hunt. Waze took me to one of the side entrances and not the main lot; parking was on the side of the road. There was one parking spot which is a little bit safer but it was taken. Upon walking into the sanctuary, the trail was blazed and goes down a hill. There was an entrance to a trail at the beginning. We walked on a small bridge over a brook and up a hill. This hill was slightly steep and you can see a large pond at the bottom. It was beautiful and peaceful! I can't wait to explore some more. Next time, I will go to the main lot which had plenty of parking spaces.

McLean Game Refuge was my 2nd hike of the day, and as a novice hiker, I enjoyed this walk. The…read moretrails were wide and well maintained, aside from a few large BMs left on the trail that could've been left by a big dog, animal or another hiker (hopefully not). We also checked out an abandoned cabin against my wifes better judgement. If you aren't looking for a challenge, and prefer the company of trees, birds and squirrels, this place is for you.

This is a .5 mile trail and if you make it a loop, it will total to 1 mile; it's on yellow and red…read moreblazed trails. This short trail connects to the longer West Mountain Trails. The parking lot was spacious and it could fit a few vehicles. There was a kiosk and right next to that, a trail that forks; one is yellow and goes down the stairs and the other is red. We took the yellow trail which brings us down some rock stairs, and it was flat and easy after that. The trail was blazed nicely and it had some roots but it wasn't too bad. We got to the wooden bridge that goes over Hop Brook; there was an old stone wall and remnants of a dam. There is another other set of stairs and a picnic area if you do the loop back to the parking lot. Overall, it is definitely one of my favorite short trails. I look forward to going back and hiking this short trail again; as well as the West Mountain Trails, which is connected to this.

This was one of the best hiking experiences we've had…read more The scenery is absolutely beautiful, you are deep in the woods and the quiet solitude and gorgeous views are quite a combination to behold. The trail is a one-mile loop so its not very challenging at all. There is a moderate incline on the way back to the parking lot, regardless of how you start the loop, and you do have to be pretty careful on the stone staircases, and you have to be quite vigilant and look out for stones and roots on the path. But the path is very well marked and for the most part level and easy to navigate. There's a stream, a picnic table or two, a one-person-at-a-time wooden bridge, an old and very cool stone wall, but mostly there is beautiful forestry and serenity all around. This was one of my favorite hikes to date.

Completed a three day, 37 mile loop trail hike with Mat. The Taconic crest loop. Mat had all of the…read morebases covered, provisions, itinerary, safety and comfort. He knew all of the trails in the surrounding area and would often recommend an applicable trail or hike when I asked him about some kind of hike I was interested in. He's very personable and accommodating. I would highly recommend Reach Your Summit to anyone interested in a great experience. A+ in my book.

Matt has been our hiking guide for an annual hiking excursion I take every fall in the Berkshires…read more He is extremely good at what he does! He is so good, I wanted to introduce my love of hiking to my family and thought he would be the best person to guide us on a post-Xmas hike. We hiked up Alander Mountain, which was slightly challenging but very doable for my husband and son who are relatively new to hiking. Matt's knowledge about hiking in general, as well as hiking in the northeast, is extensive. He is thoroughly prepared and carefully tailors the trip to suit the skill and fitness level of the group. To top it off, he supplied us with the most delicious homemade dried bananas, as well as hot chocolate once we reached the spectacular summit. I highly recommend Matt to anyone who loves to hike, and even to those new to hiking who want to have a safe and informative introduction. I can't imagine a better hiking guide than Matt!

This park is on 116 acres and provides many recreational options. We came here for the playground…read more The tot lot playscape was nicely maintained and is on mulch with a couple of benches. This playground is for children ages 2-10 and is a fenced in area. Over by the basketball courts, there is the playground for children ages 5-12. Parking was plentiful. Across the street are the restrooms. There are tennis courts right nearby and a huge soccer field. There are ball fields, a bandshell, basketball courts, bathhouse, children's memorial garden, dog park, horse exercise area, horseshoe game area, pavilions, volleyball courts, veteran's wall memorial, swimming in a pond, snack shack during games, and a pond house for events. This place has got it all for your recreational needs!

We visited Salmon Brook Park by parking in the hiking trail entrance so we could wander through the…read morevery pretty area. The hiking trail is very easy to follow and navigate. No rocks, no tree roots, and not too much animal waste except for one enormous deposit that had us wondering if it was squeezed out by a Great Dane or a bear!! We took one of the side trails to the right and entered the river basin where we saw some jaw dropping beautiful vistas down in the valley. Five stars for a photo op, believe me. We walked all the way to the event meadow, but things were quiet today. Salmon Brook Park has a lot to offer - a Band Shell, an Event Room, Baseball Fields, Basketball, Volleyball, and Tennis Courts, Field Hockey, Soccer and Lacrosse Fields, a river, a playground, 2 picnic pavilions, and that very nice network of Hiking Trails. Come to think of it, it has pretty much everything you need to spend a few very nice hours in the great outdoors.

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.

M.K. Wilcox Park is located in Bloomfield, CT. It's approximately 118 acres with about 2.3 miles of…read moretrails. There was a medium sized parking lot and a path up to the kiosk. On the kiosk, there were some information and maps of the area. There was a large lawn which would be a great spot to picnic on. I went in December so I didn't see any picnic tables, unless they put it away for the winter. There are a few hiking trails, lookout areas, and it connects to the larger Metacomet Blue Trail. I walked across the field to the yellow blazed trail entrance. Based on the map, it's a loop trail with an overlook area. At the fork, to the left goes to the overlook, to the right goes to an old chimney. The trail was pretty easy and wide. It's winter so no greenery or ticks, yay! I decided to go left at the fork and saw a large hill. It was a warmer winter day, around 38 degrees. I saw some black shadows on the hill so I stopped to investigate. I noticed it moved a little bit and I decided to zoom in on my camera; it appeared that I came across a mama bear and some cubs! So I decided to walk back to my car, very slowly. Overall, it was an enjoyable and easy hike, from what I completed. I didn't get to do the whole trail because of the Bear scare. I do look forward to going back and exploring some more, hopefully without bears next time.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a new place to hike and enjoy the beautiful weather. We…read morehappened to find MK Wilcox park while driving through Bloomfield and it is delightful! It's kind of in the middle of nowhere, which we loved because we basically had the park to ourselves; there were only three other people there during our visit. There's a flat parking lot with a Porto Pottie for visitors. You walk up a winding paved path to a stunning meadow where you find the trail map. There are four different trails (I believe) to choose from, a picnic area, and an obstacle course. We chose the yellow trail, which started flat through the meadow and then steadily inclined into the woods. The final descent was a little steep, but we ended up at a clearing with a fire pit, old fireplace, and an incredible view. We are so grateful we found this hidden gem and plan to go back to try a different trail. Highly recommend!

Bunker Hill Trails are owned by Canton Land Conservation Trust (CLCT). The trailhead is on Bunker…read moreHill Road in Canton. There was parking on street, on the shoulder; maybe one or two cars can fit, tops. There was a sign showing where the trail starts. There were two trails; red and yellow (Scout Trail), 1-mile out & back and easy, based on their website. There are 54 acres with three parcels; Sweeton Pasture acquired in 2006, 4-acres donated by the Goodwin family in 2018, 12-acres purchased by CLCT in 2020. We went on a weekday evening and it was quiet. The bugs weren't too bad, I think because we had bug spray on. The trail was hilly, rocky, with tree stumps; some spots were overgrown. A pair of good hiking sneakers and a walking stick would've made this walk a little bit better. I am not a professional hiker by any means, but they labeled this trail as easy and in my opinion it was more moderate. There were steep inclines and declines on the trail; I wore my baby so that added an extra element. The woods were peaceful and the brook was exquisite. There was a brand new looking wooden bridge that goes over it and takes you through the yellow trail. Overall, an okay trail that needs more blazing in some spots. If you like a little bit of a challenge and sweat, I recommend it.