While driving around in East Granby and seeing the beautiful colors of fall, I ended up at this…read morelittle park, Granbrook Park. This park is perfect if you want to let your dog run, if you want your kids to play, if you want to bring a picnic, or if you just want to be outside. There is a full playground for kids, with the swing and slide, there is also a basketball court. As well as some additional swigs for little kids and big kids. I also took a swing my self, and that is something I haven't done in a long, long time! There is a little pond at Granbrook Park. There's numerous benches and even a grill. There's plenty of exercise one can do here. Unfortunately, this isn't the park for hikes. This is a relaxing, child friendly, beautiful and easy park that's very well maintained.

3.5 stars. I came here for the playground and there were lovely views of the bridge and brook…read more There was plenty of parking and a porta potty onsite too. Amenities include basketball court, baseball field, playground, gazebo with picnic tables, grills, and fishing. There was a person in the middle of the brook fly fishing. The playground was on the smaller side but it had swings and slides; the playscape looked old. The playground was on mulch. My only complaint was that it was very buggy. Overall, a decent little park and my toddler was happy with the playground.

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.

A quiet and peaceful park with a one-half acre pond, small beach, and an older looking playground…read more There was a picnic table and outdoor grills nearby. The pond is fed by a stream and there is a mini waterfall under a small bridge. Once you cross the street, there is additional parking, picnic tables under a pavilion, trails, and a youth baseball field. There are picnic tables and concrete bleachers. There is another small bridge by the pavilion. Dogs are allowed but on a leash. I saw a few other hikers using the trail. Overall, this is a lovely park!

We spent an hour or so wandering around to take a break from being housebound by the 'Nova…read more It's a very pretty park with gorgeous woods, hiking trails, a half-acre pond with a beach, picnic pavilion and a baseball field. This was a very nostalgic visit for me for two reasons, namely my two sons. Twenty years or so ago, my younger son's Cub Scout Den used to have overnight camp-outs here. That was so much fun, and the highlight of the night was the dads sitting around a campfire, shooting the shit and passing around a brandy bottle after the boys had fallen asleep. That's a sweet memory. My older son was a pretty good baseball player and we followed his league and tournament games all over the state. When he played in the Babe Ruth League, we enjoyed many an evening and afternoon game in our lawn chairs at the full-sized baseball field at the end of the parking lot. So there are a lot of compelling reasons to visit the park for the recreational activity of your choice.

Cute little park. Very easy walking trails, well maintained. The bridge is great for scenic…read morephotos. Small pond with a beach. Restrooms fairly clean.

Great place to spend family time and enjoy the sun or go for walks very relaxing place to be and…read moregreat picnic grill area

J.B. Williams Park is over 160 acres of hiking trails, woodlands, streams, wooden bridges, and a…read moregorgeous lake. I attended a private party at their Pavilion that was very cool. The pavilion is a big 40'x40' covered wood structure with lots of picnic tables and benches. They also have a companion building with a kitchen, refrigerator, sink, service counter, and stove. The grounds are gorgeous and I spent an hour or so wandering around the hiking trails and over the wood bridges and enjoying the tranquil beauty of the lake before my event started.

A Forest Spa for the Mind: This is a Gem of a local park and a must stop for people wanting a…read morecasual hike with instant forest immersion only a few feet after leaving the parking lot on the trail right side entrance. This will not be your longest hike but as the co-head of a hiking group of over 2000 in USA and canada - this is a treat for the senses and a forest spa for the mind. Love sunrise at this park and how the light highlights the beautiful tall trees along the main trail. Treat yourself: Breathe, Admire and Appreciate the beauty around you

This 787-acre park was established in 1944 and connects with Talcott Mountain State Park, which is…read moreacross the street. Curtis H. Veedor donated the land to the state and asked for it to be preserved the way it was. Most of the trails were blazed by him. The parking lot was large. There are multiple trails including the Metacomet Trail and picnic areas. I took the first trail I saw behind the gate, which was the blue blazed trail. The trail was on an incline and paved; there was a bunch of potholes so it looked like it was never kept up with since it was originally paved. However, aside from the pot holes and rocks, it was a peaceful and easy hike. I saw a couple of people on it with their dogs. Overall, a decent hike with some good views!

BLUE TRAIL ONLY…read more "Forty Miles of Bad Road" was a rock and roll instrumental and #9 hit for Duane Eddy in 1959. Now, bad roads don't necessarily have to be 40 miles long. And bad roads don't necessarily have to even be a conventional road. For example, a bad road can actually be a paved hiking path within a State Park. Within Penwood State Park's 800 acres you will find a wide variety of trails -blue, red, orange white, purple and yellow. The blue trail, also known as the Metacomet Path, runs straight up the park's gut like a North to South central artery. We walked a few miles of it this morning. First we parked in the main lot on Route 185, pretty much on the Bloomfield/Simsbury Line. The blue trail is flat and wide and paved, so it's an easy low impact hike for out of shape beginners like us. We started off with some pretty water views of Gale Pond and the back yards of some nice properties. But as we walked deeper into the tree line, we were very taken by the terrible conditions on that paved path. Cracked pavement, crumbling pavement, missing pavement, deep holes in pavement, etc. I couldn't tell if it was plain old wear and tear or frost heaves or water damage or old age, but the trail had some abysmal sections that seemed plain old hazardous to me. So you'd better keep a sharp look out if you value the health of your ankles. There were a few sewer or drain covers rising above the trail's surface like sea creatures or the shells of mutated turtle monsters. The hazards were spray-painted yellow, so someone is aware of their dangers. For a State Park, I sure expected better conditions on that trail.

This recreation and conservation area in Harwinton has a pond, playground, picnic pavilion, beach…read morevolleyball net, benches, and trails. The trails are used for hiking and mountain biking; trailheads are located at multiple locations, such as Bentley Drive and South Road. The trails were a little muddy and buggy since it just rained; it was easy to walk on with a few roots here and there. I saw a structure that looked a like a teepee. These trails are connected to the library, sports complex, and town hall. There were plenty of parking and the road going into the parking area was narrow and on a hill; it almost looked like a private driveway. The entrance was in front of a traffic light. We went to the playground shortly after it rained so it was damp. It was a small playground on mulch. There were a couple of slides, a handful of swings, and ladders. The pond was beautiful with all the water lilly pads and flowers; I saw quite a few fish. Per the town's website, it's stocked with trout every spring. There was an old looking tennis court; it appeared to be run down and taped off, so I'm not sure if it's open. Overall, a great conservation and leisure area.

"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.