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◂︎ Mandy & Lexi's Connecticut Adventures
Hockanum River Trails - Ellington
Hockanum River Trail: East Hartford, Manchester Part 1, Manchester Part 2, Vernon, Ellington
Windermere Avenue
Trail
Dates visited: 6/22/2020, 7/4/2020 & 5/26/2021
The Ellington section of the Windermere Avenue Trail continues from the David Smith bridge and the Vernon border, and ends at the trail head on Windermere Avenue. While the bridge in Vernon is the most interesting thing about this trail, the Ellington section has a lot to offer. There are a number of side trails. One of the trails leads out to the YMCA. There is an old radio station building, that has a real X-Files feel to it! The building is just there, covered in graffiti in the middle of a field. The trail ends unceremoniously at a dirt parking lot on Windermere Avenue.
Windermere Avenue Trail
Date visited: 11/24/2025
It had been a while since we walked this trail, so we took advantage of a nice day during my lunch break and headed back. We started at the new trailhead behind Pinney Fields, which is now clearly marked from the street as the access point for the Windermere Trail. The old dirt parking lot on Windermere Avenue is in pretty rough shape these days, so this new entrance is definitely the better option. There are “No Dogs Allowed” signs at Pinney Fields, but since the trailhead is off to the side and doesn't require crossing any of the playing fields, I assume walking through to reach the trail is still permitted. We hiked most of the main trail and wandered through the maze of side paths as well. The last time we were in this section was back in 2020, before this page even existed. I took far fewer photos back then, so aside from the creepy-looking radio station photo, the photos from today are of parts of the trail we hadn't photographed before. We were short on time and only walked about a mile and a half, but after a stretch of cold, dreary weather, it felt great to get out and enjoy a bright, pleasant day.
More Images
Frankin Street
Trail
Date visited: 10/11/2020
The Franklin Street Trail starts at Franklin Street in Vernon, and continues north into Ellington. It hugs the river here, and there is a unique bench built into the tree. There is a loop at the end which used to be the end of the trail, but the trail actually continues along a stone dust path around the Windermere Village housing complex. Part of the new trail includes a brand new observation deck that looks out over the marshy lands around the Hockanum. The trail ends out at Windermere Avenue with a sign indicating the trail is for residents of the complex only. Of course, there was no such sign where the new section started. I'm guessing the sign is there so people don't park at the complex in order to walk the trail. We met a man who was actively putting down wood chips on the old part of the trail. It's nice to see the trails being actively maintained.
West Road Trail
Dates visited: 10/11/2020
The last section of the Hockanum River Trails starts on West Road, just over the Vernon border, behind the Gold and Diamond Exchange. The trail runs along the east side of the Hockanum ending at Lower Butcher Road. We hit some obstacles on this one. There were some large downed trees we had to climb over. The trees fell during Tropical Store Isaias. Even two months later they were not completely cleared. The end of the trail is near a large farm on Lower Butcher. Since we were there in October, the farm was a giant pumpkin patch. It was quite scenic. In fact, this is where the origin of the main background image for the Connecticut Adventures page.
Thanks for visiting our Hockanum River Adventure Pages. Mandy, Lexi and myself had a great time on these trails. Stay tuned for updates from future visits!