My husband and I recently started kayaking. As beginners, we aren't comfortable yet kayaking in…read morerivers, so we decided to search for a nice lake to begin our kayaking adventures in. A few friends highly recommended Mansfield Hollow Lake (boat launch), so we made the drive to Mansfield. We were not disappointed! The parking area, in front of the lake, is large, and easy to find a space to park, even on summer weekends. It's easy to get in and launch a kayak or paddleboard from the shallow shore area. The lake itself is clean and beautiful! I love the fact that swimming in the lake is not allowed (because this lake supplies drinking water) and that motorboats must maintain a speed of 5 mph or less. We haven't yet kayaked in any other lakes, but I'm sure that Mansfield Hollow Lake (boat launch) will remain a favorite of ours. Such a beautiful place!

Beautiful and scenic, nice and clean tranquil. So many lakes in the area it is well worth the trip.read more

Backledge Falls is an 80-acre park with hiking trails, a pond, and yes...a waterfall. You'll find…read moreit on Route 93 (Hebron Ave) just on the Glastonbury side of the Glastonbury-Hebron line. There's a small parking lot at the trailhead. The trail is rather thin and has an extraordinary number of rocks and tree roots, so you really have to keep your head down and watch where you're going. Streams crisscross the park, so that explains why we found three small wooden bridges to help us navigate the wetlands. Two of those bridges had no railing, and one (a Boy Scout project) had a nice Trex railing, but just on one side. It was 81 degrees yesterday, but the high tree cover kept direct sunshine off of us for pretty much our whole time out there. There are some pretty steep inclines that had me huffing and puffing and thank the lord we had our hiking poles for balance and leverage. We walked most of the Blue and White trail, which is marked, but the paint is fading and in need of a refresh. We met around half a dozen groups of hikers, and each group was nicer and friendlier than the one before.

It was a beautiful late November day and perfect for a hike. Blackledge Falls is right in town…read morethough I've only been one other time after a snowfall. The hike is fairly easy with a small incline but a lot of small rocks on the "blue-white". As it was November, leaves covered the trail and made some spots slippery. The falls themselves were disappointing ... more like a dribble than a falls but it was still a nice walk in the woods. Perhaps springtime after the thaw is the better time to come if seeing a waterfall is your goal.

"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.

Wonderful park for cookouts and swimming in season or for hiking around the lake anytime of year. I…read morerecommend hiking the The Split Rock trail which is not difficult and is only about an hour long trek which eventually leads to the split rocks high on a hill, a real wonder of nature most likely a glacier formation. The trail leads around the entire perimeter of the lake affording you different views and vantage points of the lake and surrounding forest, eventually you will cross a small bridge over the damn at the lower end of the lake which brings you back to the main beach and swimming area. Great hiking, great views, great Connecticut outdoor resource!

Spent the afternoon walking the white trail and the red trail. Trails were well marked and wide…read moreenough to walk without any issues. The trail was hilly in some spots but not exhaustively hilly. Because of all the rain we have been getting the streams and cascading falls were definitely a bonus for our hike. This was the first time visit in the park and I would have to say "Two Thumbs Up". The only thing I would recommend are more trail maps along the trails.

It was 26 degrees today, but nevertheless we bundled up in layers and spent a really nice hour or…read moreso walking deep along the main trail. The trail is wide and pretty flat with a slight decline going in and a slight incline going out. The terrain was easy to navigate, with just a handful of rocks and tree roots. Of more concern were the sporadic sheets of ice on the trail so you'd better be careful if you are hiking in nasty cold weather like we did today. We passed a few water views, and wanted to get down to the lake, but since the trails are not marked at all, and taking any of the side trails seemed like playing Russian Roulette, we never got close to that lake before we decided we had enough, made a U Turn and walked back to the small parking lot. We encountered maybe 4 or 5 small parties of all sorts -walkers, bike riders, pet owners, etc. I didn't see a lot of masks out there, but we both wore one, as much for protection from the weather as from the COVID.

Serene extensive, easy level hiking trails. Mainly carriage trail; some is single track. Trails…read moreused by mountain bikes also however we've rarely crossed paths and we do hike here often. A few stream crossings to cool off your pups or toes, the reservoir is calming, and it's easy to navigate (All Trails suggested because these trails are not marked). Small parking lot. Please respect houses along the entrance road and next to lot. Oh, and for a short walk in, you hear the barking dogs from nearby kennel. Those sounds subside shortly into the walk. Spritz with bug spray for gnats and you'll be fine.

Love hiking here! Great views, beautiful forest, easy parking, dog friendly.read more

We've made a couple of visits to the Salmon River State Forest since we moved to CT. There are a…read morecouple of parks and trails that go through the forest - The Air Line Trail and Day Pond State Park are both inside the forest, and the Salmon River Trail goes through it, around Day Pond park and over to the Comstock Covered Bridge. The trails are well maintained and well signed, and this is overall a great place to spend time hiking or fishing.

Well maintained hiking trails. Beautiful and scenic whichever way you decide to hike. Make sure you…read morewear proper fitting as the terrain can get rocky and steep in some areas. If you are lucky enough to find the falls, it's worth the hike!

Another visit to this state park though this time we only walked our dog around a small section…read more There were a number of people sitting around enjoying the nice weather or having a quick lunch at one of the numerous picnic tables. We will be back

Amazing playground. Clean, wheelchair accessible, they have playground toys I didn't even know…read moreexisted, but I wish they did when I was a child!! They use rubber playground matting and the playground is easily accessible for parents and or grandparents to navigate around the different play areas with their kids.

It's truly a blessing living less than a five minute drive away from this playground. My daughter…read moreloves to go here and always has a blast. The amazing thing about this park is that it is ENTIRELY capable of allowing handicap children and children in strollers. How beautiful!!! My heart aches for the Martin family who this park was constructed for, they're all so nice. Honestly you'll find my daughter and I here 4/7 days a week, it's THAT nice. There's hardly ever any trash there. The ONLY thing I would change well-- suggest about the park is I think they should have installed a water fountain for when it's hot during summer. Then again, I don't have any clue on how difficult that would have been!

The boat launch is a little awkward to use if you don't have a boat trailer, but entirely…read morefunctional. It is a wide ramp, with enough theoretical room for at least three vehicles abreast, at a time. However, the parking area is a few hundred feet away, back up the road. The Lake itself is very nice. The water is pretty clean (likely thanks to ongoing cleanup efforts). I just hope that there aren't any herbicides in the water I should be worried about. I haven't used the beach, here.

Fed by Aborn Brook, located at the south end Crystal Lake is replaced about once every year…read more The entire shore is lined by residential property with only one public beach located on Sandy Beach Road (Rt. 140) Off of Route 30 in Ellington, the State operates a boat launch on the west shore of the lake. However there is no public boat docking. There are also no restaurant or sanitary facilities located on the lake to the public. Occasionally ice cream trucks roll through for the little ones. If you're looking to kayak, paddle-board, relax and go tubing -- and you aren't a resident or local, I recommend finding street parking or walking over to the lake. Be careful, as some residents can be very picky about the parking situation The beach is open to the public from June 16-August 17. If you decide to park in the small beach lot, residents pay $5 and non-residents pay $10

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