Such an amazing cool park to take your kids to. It is very serene the background of the hills &…read moretrees & the mountains. A lot to do on the playground for all ages & the big slides Are really cool, they are innovative with alot of things there to do, the swings are across the playground which is a nice set up too. This park is 1 of my favorites to bring my son too

I've reviewed this on the Simbury Farms Recreation page, but I'll add a brief review here also…read more This is a really nice playground located in Simsbury Farms Recreation. It is right next door to the tennis courts. Parking was spacious. The playscape looks new and the playground area was pretty big and fenced in. The large playscape has three levels for the bigger kids. The smaller one is great for toddlers. There is a gazebo with a few picnic tables under it. Down the hill, there are the basketball courts and a smaller, older looking playground. Also, a porta potty is available when nature calls. Overall, one of the best playgrounds I've been to.

"Those summer days Them summer days…read moreThat's when I had most of my fun Hot fun in the summertime" (Sly and the Family Stone) Today was a hot summer day and we enjoyed spending a few hours exploring and walking around in Mill Woods Park. We saw a few baseball fields, tennis courts, a dog park, lots of pretty flowers, a very nice swimming area, and took a nice leisurely stroll on a flat wide newly cut grass walking path. We didn't see a lot of people out there today, but we did see a whole bunch of butterflies, birds and a bunny rabbit perched ahead of us on the path. He skedaddled when we got close. We also heard the public address announcer for a little league game across the lake, and he was a hoot as he did his best Michael Buffer imitations as each new batter came up to bat.

Mill Woods is on our family local park menu. There is a kids' play area. It doesn't have the best…read moreor newest playscape or other equipment, but it's pretty good and I think it may be the most shaded kids' play area around. That makes it a great choice for hot days and a not so great choice when there is morning dew that needs to evaporate from the slides, etc. There are two nice baseball/softball fields, a skate area, a soccer field, a basketball court, tennis courts, mostly flat walking trails through the woods, a bocce area, a pond, a gazebo, a dog park and more. I've seen all sorts of birds including a bald eagle and hawks. Mill Woods is definitely worth keeping on your park list.

A beautiful park which has a playground for kids, trail by the water, also good to host parties…read moreduring spring/summer/fall, perfect outdoor venue, this park has a field for practice and is of a good size. Overall a great place to have fun for all age groups. Located close by the highway. This is one of my son's favorite parks in Manchester.

Great park with lots of space for kids to run around and climb. Picnic tables for snacks or to get…read moreout of the sun. There is a free library with books for kids to drop off/pick up books. They have bathrooms there, but they are not always open, so that can be frustrating if you expect it to be available and it's not. Grounds are usually clean and well cared for.

Mikey's Place is a beautiful playground located in Wethersfield. It has two sections, one is for…read morelittle kids up to age five, and the other section is for older kids. This is a very thoughtfully designed playground for every child, despite their physical abilities. There are ramps for wheelchairs, so wheelchair users can access the playscape. The ground is in part wood chips and in part padded. If anyone should fall the injuries would be at worst minimal. The playground features swings, slides, a sandbox, see-saws, and much more. My friend's three year old son had a great time playing here. I even took a swing on the swing myself. This playground is dedicated to a little boy named Mikey, who died at just under three years old, from a rare neuromuscular illness. Mikey's Place has brought countless kids together, allowing them to play, laugh and build friendships.

One of the larger playground near the DMV. This is a wheelchair accessible playground which is…read morelocated in Standish Park. It's created to honor the memory of Mikey, a toddler with spinal muscular atrophy. There were two areas: toddlers from 2-5 years old, which was fenced in and an older kids section. There is a small parking lot, benches, and adult swings. When you first walk in, you will see a "Grandpa Boat" which is a swaying boat. My toddler loved the cars; you can push your child around the playground. I saw a free little library as well as trash receptacles. I saw a gazebo which is nice to sit in on a sunny day. This is definitely one of the nicer playgrounds I've been to.

"Why do you have to say that there's always someone who can…read moredo it better than I can? But don't you think that I know that walking on the water won't make me a miracle man?" (Elvis Costello) There are four baseball fields in a park where Asylum Avenue and Trout Brook Drive meet in West Hartford. Three of the fields are used by the WH Little League. The fourth field is different. You might say it's a Miracle Field. This field was designed for physically and cognitively challenged players. The playing field is built with a soft rubberized surface that is fully wheelchair accessible. Instead of raised bases and a pitching mound, these features are painted into the field's flat surface. The  base paths, distance from the pitchers mount to home plate, and outfield fence distances are shorter than regular Little League fields. Other than these tweaks and accommodations, the Miracle Field looks very much like a  typical Little League field. Fundraising for the Miracle Field started in 2008, and through private, corporate, philanthropic and governmental entities, over $800,000 was raised to construct not only the field but a playground, restroom and concession facilities that were accessible to all. In 2012, the Miracle League Field opened as the first of its kind in New England. Their website says it's still the only one of its kind in Connecticut.

Wonderful playground in West Hartford, parking can be tricky as you park in the old UCONN parking…read morelot off Trout Brook. Drive to back of the lot where you will see a row of handicap parking spots and a small wooden bridge. The ball fields and playground are extremely well maintained with restrooms for your use. Our 2yr old had a wonderful time, love the ground covering. There are several picnic tables there are well if you want to bring a snack/meal with trash & recycling containers.

"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.

When looking for a place for a quick walk and a picnic, we were excited to check out Filley Park…read more Although the park is quite small, it was really enjoyable to walk around the wooded trail before walking around the pond and gardens. The wooded loop trail is probably about half a mile and the walk through the garden is probably another ~.15-.25 miles; both are mostly flat. There are tons of benches and a few picnic tables to enjoy the scenery and do some birdwatching. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and the park wasn't too busy. We were able to find a picnic table, that was pretty clean, and enjoy a picnic lunch. All-in-all, we really enjoyed our time and we will definitely be back on a regular basis as it's conveniently located in between all of our errands.

Tremendous progress has been made in the reclamation and renovation of Filley Park…read more When I first visited and posted in 2013, the place was a mess. The Pond was full of silt, and needed to be excavated and restored. Massive populations of ducks and geese had done their things and fouled up the area. When I next visited in 2018 a lot of progress had been made. I saw all sorts of construction activity, heavy equipment, and big piles of dirt and gravel. Improvements to sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting were underway, as was the dredging and refilling of the Pond. And when I visited yesterday, I saw much more! The sidewalks and benches and seating areas are finished. The Pond looks great, The ducks and geese are mostly gone, and a few straggles were clustered way off to the side. There's still some construction equipment on site, and excavation continues, but the overall progress is quite remarkable. We walked around the Pond as far as we could and took a stroll on some of their hiking trails.

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.