Crandall Park has a lot going on for a little park in a small (at least population wise) town…read more Tennis courts, playscapes/swings, baseball fields, soccer fields, volleyball, pavilions, hiking/biking trails, including a fairly short handicap-accessible (and stroller friendly) paved path through the woods, ponds/fishing, rentable rec hall/cabin, a beach with a pond/swimming area and float, restrooms, plenty of paved parking. I wouldn't suggest driving too far to visit, but it's a good place overall for a quick bit of afternoon activity for anyone fairly local. The trails are admittedly confusing at times if you go into the back areas due to too many hikers and clearly mountain bikers creating their own alternate routes, but the park is small enough that you should be fine even if you get lost. Bring some water and a cell phone just in case, and ideally print out or take a picture of the trail map if you start in a location where there's a sign. The trails are also notably non-rewarding other than in terms of getting out in the woods get getting exercise. The park also feels generally safe, and the paths and trails are wide enough (particularly the main ones near all the amenities, that you can easily pass people, walk multiple people side-by-side, etc.

Clean,fun park off of I-84 in Tolland Ct. most notably this park contains a trail for ADA,…read moreproximately 6/10 of a mile all paved for those that are unable to ambulate!

Beautiful hiking spot. Spectacular views…read more We found two parking lots that you can start your hike at. One is visible from the main road and the other you need to drive down an access road. We tried both ways and enjoyed the visible parking lot more. Well marked trail that isn't too difficult (well maybe the part with the views is a little harder).

This is a nice little CT State Park, that's recently had some (at least online) improvements,…read morecoinciding with it being featured in the Sky's The Limit Challenge. There's a couple of ways to access this park, depending on if you're here for boating or hiking. If you're here for boating, there's a large lot on Ross Road, between Old Furnace and Ross Pond. If you're here for hiking, there's a nice large lot at the northern end, off of S Frontage Road. There are a number of trails here, and you can make a pretty good day out of it if you want to take a decent hike. The west side of the pond is up on a ridge, where rock climbers have attached ropes at the vista areas, possibly semi permanently. There are some nice views here of the pond, and the trails are mostly well blazed. The Blue Blazed Old Furnace Trail could use some reblazing, but the other trails were fine. A nice little park to check out if you are at this end of CT.

We were looking for a short hike with a water view and decided to check out the Quinebaug Lake…read moreState Park, and the Quinebaug Lake Loop Trail. According to Wikipedia, the Quinebaug Lake State Park comprises 181 acres in the town of Killingly, Connecticut. The state park offers fishing, hiking and non-motorized boating on the lake (aka the Wauregan Reservoir). Google Map directions took us to a dead end street, which does offer access to the trail, but you may/may not be able to park there. There are no signs indication that you can park here. However, they park does have a large, free to park, parking lot though it can be tricky to find. Look for a paved access road off of Shepard Hill Road, which is about a half mile long, and takes you to a large gravel parking lot. The lake trail which is a fairly easy trail and 2.1 miles long, takes about an hour to circumnavigate. Traveling clockwise, the footing is initially rocky, but gets progressively easier after the first quarter mile. We had no problem on this trail, but did notice that Camp Quinebaug is located about half way across the lake. Since it was closed, we walked through the camp and continued on the trail. There are no trespassing signs there, so we're not sure if you can cut through the camp in the summer, or if there is a longer way around it. We looked up the camp and found some interesting information: Camp Quinebaug is a summer Day Camp in Killingly. It is a camp for children with developmental disabilities, funded and operated by the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services and The Friends of Camp Quinebaug. It provides a unique summer camp experience for school age children with developmental disabilities and has the only beach on the lake. Approximately 90-100 campers per season enjoy the benefits of this 6 week fully accessible camp environment. We enjoyed our Quinebaug Lake Loop Trail hike though we found Pulaski State Park, which is about 20 minutes away, to have a more beautiful setting and interesting hike around their pond. Pulaski also has picnic tables and a rest room, but it's likely much busier in the summer!

Baseball hoops and…read moredogs Preston Community Park is a great local recreational center. They manage to put a whole lot of features in this park and it is well used in the warm weather and a pleasant place to visit in the winter. The park has sand volley ball courts, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, basketball courts and even a little pond for skating in the cold weather. The park also has picnic tables and nice pavilion with benches, places to cook as well as bathrooms. There is also a walking path around the park as well as a dog walking trail. A nice community park that really does have something for everyone.

Nice place. There's a playground, track, trails, tennis court, basketball, base ball fields, dirty…read morepond like in all parks

Hopeville Pond continues to a tale of two cities. During the week it is occupied for the most part…read moreby people enjoying the park for what is , the outdoors, nature, kids playing and having fun, fishing and canoeing/kayaking. For this it excels. On weekends it is whole different world . It is occupied by a larger crowd of Inconsiderate people. The general ignoring of the quiet hour rules , not cleaning up after themselves in facilities , playing music at volumes that be heard several sites away, and a new one: The constant running of generators from8:00 AM until 10:00 PM. Really unless someone in your party is on a medical device that needs constant power , I can't understand why you need to run your generator all day. An ice chest can keep your food cold at fraction of the cost of the gas required to run a generator all day. While there are no rules against this , common sense and consideration for others should be all the rule needed. The worst part is the generator people put the generator on the other side of the RV from where they sit so the RV blocks some of the noise . On the other hand it is right next to my site I get the noise from it further amplified by what bounces of your RV. None of these are by any means only issues at Hopeville but I notice a lot more of it here The staff this year were all pleasant , friendly and helpful. The facilities during the week were spotless and they did a good job of trying to maintaining decently clean facilities on weekends . Next year I retire so I will never have to come on weekend again and will be to enjoy Hopeville. Hopefully the inconsiderate will keep their attendance to weekends . It is is nice park but weekends it is not relaxing .

I stayed here 3 nights in a tent. Check-in process was smooth but they did not provide much…read moreinformation as far as any amenities or map/layout of the area. The first night was a struggle considering the ground was almost all gravel and because of this, staking my tent was a tedious task. As long as you have good tent stakes and not the typical ones that come with all tents like I did, you should overcome the terrain. The bathrooms on our loop could have been a little better. We used the cleaning products we had on hand to take care of ourselves but my worry is that the bathrooms were not kept to the highest standard. The flies were overwhelming. The bath houses were private and free but the shower did take a second to warm up. Hopeville Pond State Park offered a welcoming atmosphere and if I ever decide to stay here again, I hope that the experience improves.

This is a lovely little park settled along the meandering Quinebaug River. It is part of a 4 mile…read moreloop I run, as the bike path goes directly through it. There are benches, as well as sprawling grassy areas. There is free parking in and near the park. Overall I have no complaints!

Love the stories they have for the kids to read in the glass boxes my grandkids loved itread more

I hope someday that CT will get enough money to be able to upgrade some of its parks…read more We came here as part of their Sky's the Limit Challenge, and it was a really interesting experience. On paper, this trail goes 5.8 miles from Moosup to the RI border, where it joins the RI Trestle Trail. It starts out at a nice, beautifully framed railroad bridge in Moosup, and then heads off, as a nicely paved path. Then, at Barber Hill Road, about 3/4 of a mile in, the paved part stops. It gets kind of fire road like for a while, and, well, it gets GNARLY. We were there in winter, and there was a lot of frozen and semi frozen water on the path. I am guessing it might stay that way year round (wet at least) because there are plenty of desire trails along the sides at times, allowing you to bypass the wettest parts. Eventually, it starts undulating, and this is because a lot of dirt bikers seem to like to use this trail, in opposition to what the regulations say the trail is meant to be used for. One dirt biker politely made his way past us, so they at least have some etiquette, even though they're doing some erosion damage to the trail. We didn't hike the full path, and I'm really glad we didn't try to take our bikes on this, as it would have been impossible. Like I said, maybe someday there will be money to turn this into a real rail trail all the way east. Until then, make sure you wear good hiking boots!

This trail runs along side moosup river. There are a couple waterfalls that can be viewed. Sections…read moreof trail are paved this is a small section behind Rogers Corp. On River Rd. Trail runs into Rhode island.

Both large and small dog areas . Wood chips on approximately 1/2 of area and grass on the other 1/2…read more. Small structure in the center with benches to each side of the structure for pet parents to relax while their pups are at play . Nice sized park for dogs to run freely . A bit of mud in spots at this time of year , but the local dog parents say that the wood chips are replaced a couple of times a year .

It's a great dog park. Lots of Conscientious dog owners…read more It's perfect everyone is friendly and helps each other out. It's a social event for owners and dogs