As someone born and raised in Hartford, I can say this is one of the nicer parks we have. They have…read morean indoor and outdoor pool; separate hours for adults and kids; a gym and basketball court; plenty of outdoor open space to play; walking paths, and ample parking. Additionally, the staff are super sweet and friendly. I'm kinda bummed I haven't made the effort to come here in years past. I only recently started coming because hubby wanted somewhere to swim once it got cold that didn't cost too much. We found free! I will admit that the outside park can sometimes be a little dirty with litter. The city only does but so much. However, I think it's still a worthwhile place to spend time in Hartford!

For a small park, Pope Park has a lot to offer for locals…read more Despite the media painting it as a haven of thugs and bad guys, it really ain't that bad. In either March or April, there has been a carnival taking place for a number of years. And in the springtime volunteers from non-profit environmental groups in Hartford come out in force for an annual spring cleaning. Must we not forget the the number of amenities that the park offers as well: indoor/outdoor pools, a basketball court, little league baseball field and soccer field. There are picnic tables strewn about and also a playscape for the little ones. During the summer there are also musical performances too!

The playground is huge and has recreation for kids of all ages, and comes complete with athletic…read morefields. The community-wide Trunk or Treat is worth the admission, and comes with a kid-friendly Halloween movie projected at the football field. and on snowy days this is an excellent spot for sledding, bumps and all. It's also great for a quiet walk beside the stream or visiting the butterfly selfie-stands.Food trunks and food vendors like Neil's Donuts have appeared at trunk or treat some years, so it definitely lives up to community park on these nights. This is a great community park all year!

This is our favorite playground for our son, who's now three. We have been visiting this…read moreplayground for about a year. It has been great to watch him grow and explore. While the playground is geared toward the play school age child (up to 12 years old), there is a sandbox and swings for younger children. There are 2 large playscapes. One unit is smaller, for the less adventurous child. They also have a small rock climbing wall, a rope web, a sea dragon to climb, a few bouncing trucks and a bouncing seesaw. Outside of the playground, there is a walking/running track, football and baseball field and a party pavilion. Kudos to the Town of Cromwell for such an awesome, clean and kid friendly park!

I was searching for playground and Kennedy Memorial popped up. It's located in West Hartford near…read morethe border of Hartford. There were apartment complexes next to it and it had plenty of parking when we went. There was a playground area on sand with swings, ride ons, and a smaller playscape. The other playground is about 400 meters away, I found it odd that it wasn't connected to eachother; it was fenced in, but there were no gates. The splash pad and pool is fenced in and closed for the season. I think there is a fee to enter, in the summer. There was a hilly field which might be fun to sled on. The basketball courts were in use when we went; it seems to be a popular spot for leisure. There are also tennis courts and ball fields. There was a porta potty onsite; when nature calls, you have a spot! Overall, a nice neighborhood park to enjoy the outdoors and release some energy.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a park with this high a ratio of recreational choices to total square…read morefootage in my life. This small neighborhood park contains a full-sized outdoor swimming pool, picnic areas, a slide pool, multiple playgrounds, spray pad, a full-sized baseball field and two full court basketball courts. It really is an incredible park with so many entertainment and recreational choices for all ages. We walked around today, saw some kids playing on the swings and two more shooting hoops. The park was clean, and both the paved and unpaved paths were free of litter and 99% free of dog poops. It's a very nice oasis of green that's pretty much on the Hartford-West Hartford line.

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.,

"Same hurt in every heart Same trailer, different park"…read more(Kacey Musgraves) Charter Oak Park was unexpectedly one of the biggest and best parks we've seen in Connecticut. When you pull into the parking lot the park doesn't look that big, but as we walked around we were so surprised to see it keeps going and going on and on like a peaceful Energizer Bunny. We saw a playground, a dog park, basketball courts, murals, the East Coast Greenway walking/biking path, a waterfall, and a bridge to name just a few. The Greenway was beautiful, very flat, very wide with lots of pretty scenery and water views. If you want a low impact place to walk, its perfect. We saw a second path up to the Dog Park, but that was on a rather steep incline, so we passed on it. But the two very coolest things we saw were a student decorated fence and a Rotary Musical Garden. The fence project involved a five foot high vinyl chain link fence collaboration between the Cheney Tech Carpentry Program, Country Carpenters of Hebron, and Home Depot. Students had painted squares of wood to represent their interests, so we saw hockey, music, nature and books among the hundreds of miniature works of art. The squares were mechanically attached through the fence into a second square on the other side of the fence, essentially locking them into place, The musical Garden has multiple big xylophones in all kinds of shapes and sizes and big colorful bongo drums. You can have a blast making cool noises as you engage with each of the music stations. Truth be told, Charter Oak Park was fantastic.

Charter Oak Park is definitely a diamond in the rough. Though it's not located in the most…read morebeautiful neighborhood, it's new and has so much to do! The park has a playground with 2 main play structures (one for 2-5 year olds, one for 5-12 year olds), baby and regular swings, a music garden, 4 basketball courts, 2 tennis courts, 3 baseball fields, a great paved walking path, several picnic tables, real restrooms, and a big empty field. I visited on a Wednesday morning with my toddler and we had a blast! We spend most of our time on the playground and in the music garden. The play structure for younger kids is on the small side but still has some fun features. It has a rock they can climb up, ladders, some fake stumps, and 2 slides (including a side-by-side). There's also a cool thing about 4 kids can sit in while it is being spun by an adult or another child from outside. My almost 2 year old navigated this whole structure with ease. The second play structure for older kids was very fun. It had a lot of different obstacles to climb including rock walls, different nets and webs, ladders, a balance beam... the list goes on. It also had a very cool swing that was almost like a zip line with a seat to sit on. The two play structures are not divided by anything, so my toddler moved back and forth between the two. He could navigate some of it by himself but I definitely had to stay close by or climb with him. There are many places for a smaller child to fall from and climbing obstacles that were just too big. However, this playground would definitely have more for a 12 year old to do than many I have seen for this same age. Finally, we visited the music garden. It was beautiful, even with the cooler weather setting in. The landscaping and shrubbery was well done and kept and all the instruments were still in great shape.

Beautiful playground that is loved by children of all ages! It is far enough off the road with a…read morelarge parking lot and a safety gate that helps help the littles from running out. It is not large but it packs a punch of multiple slides, climbing structures and brand new soft padding to absorb any falls. The playground doesn't have much shade so prepare for that on sunny hot days. Only thing noticeable missing are swings but the kiddos will get over it as there is so much to explore!

Picnics and ponds…read more Veteran's Memorial Park is a 21 acre park that has a whole lot of different activities available including football, basketball and baseball fields, several tennis courts, a playground for kids, a large and wooded picnic area and a swimming pool. There is even a small duck pond located in the park. Most of the facilities are in excellent condition except for the basketball court that has lots of long cracks in the surface from the ice and snow. Definitely time for some repaving. The fields are used by several different leagues but are open to anyone when not in use. In fact everything in the park is open to anyone except for the swimming areas which can only be used by town residents. The park gets very crowded in the summer, especially on weekends, and picnics and parties are very common here. The park can be loud and pretty chaotic with lots of kids running around and people playing various games but is always friendly and pleasant. A nice park that offers a whole lot of different things to do.

Playground is small. Volleyball area and Basketball area are nice. Wish the park was a little nicer…read moreand more up kept

"In and around the lake" (Roundabout - Jon Anderson and…read moreSteve Howe) While walking roundabout the lake at Stanley Quarter Park I realized a few things. #1 - You can't blame a goose for being a goose. #2 - You can't blame a few hundred geese for doing what a few hundred geese leave behind, basically a lot of #2. #3 - As a result of #2, you can't blame me for docking this post for a fifth star. Pretty much across the street from the University of Central Connecticut College's campus you'll find this gorgeous park with a big lake, a multi-station fitness trail, and a nice and easy 0.6 mile looped walking path around the lake. The path took us over a few stone and wood bridges and gave us a great look at hundreds of geese and what looked like seagulls. The geese were everywhere - in the water, on the grassy hills, frolicking and flapping their wings in the lake, and honking so much they made us laugh. But the problem we encountered was the byproduct of those hundreds of geese and the ensuing mess they leave on the path around the lake. You'd better watch your step very carefully or you'll be walking into globs of goose shit. It was everywhere, and there was a shit ton of it. Now like I said, ya can't blame a goose for doing what a goose does, but I feel like someone at the municipal level has badly dropped the ball by not better maintaining things.

Very nice park , there is a nice walking trail around the pond and the playground is very fun for…read morekids.