Date visited: 6/13/2020

Manchester has a ton of trails. We've visited most, if not all of them. There are so many, I'm not going to get to all of them here. Case Mountain is the most popular of the hiking areas in Manchester, at least judging from the amount of cars in the lot! This is a nice place, and it's also a pretty nice climb. The popular viewing spot is actually called "Lookout Mountain". We did hike up to that spot, but the best photo opportunity was in front of the waterfall at the end of the hike.

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Dates visited: Too many to list

The Hockanum River Linear Park consists of a number of trails that follow the Hockanum River through East Hartford, Manchester, Vernon and Ellington. They are not all connected, but they are all very interesting. I love these trails, they have so much unique character. These are not your typical "escape to nature" trails. Some of them pass under highway under passes, and near water treatment facilities, behind shopping plazas, apartment complexes and landfills. They are not for everyone, but I like how different they are from your typical trails. I decided to give these trails their own pages, so go here to read about them.

Dates visited: 7/15/2020, 7/29/2020, 8/1/2020 & 3/3/2021

Wickham Park is another popular spot in Manchester. While there are some trails, it's more about the different gardens here. I thought they would make good photo opportunities, but I never seemed to get a really great shot. I tried a few different times during the summer, and finally got tired of paying the parking fee and gave up. We did hike in via the bike trail one time over the winter, but the gardens were closed.

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Dates visited: 5/16/2020, 6/8/2020, 6/28/2020, 2/4/2021 & 5/21/2024

We visited Center Springs Park a few times. It consists of a paved loop trail around a stream, with a rather large hill. There is an open area that is used for sledding in the winter, and fountains in the pond. It's a pretty nice place, right in the center of Manchester.

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We returned to this park 3+ years after our previous visit. We parked at the Broad Street Parking Lot, and used the park to access the Cheney Rail Trail, which in turned was used to access the new Path To Wellness Preserve. While we were here, we did walk around some of the park. I noticed that they replaced the old sign that Mandy and Lexi posed in front of back in 2020. We of course, took pictures with the new sign, and a few other pictures as well.

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Dates visited: 6/23/2020, 6/28/2020, 2/4/2021 & 5/4/2021

Cheney Rail Trail is a classic stone dust rail trail that runs from near the intersection of North Main and Main Streets, south to the historic mill district. Much of the trail passes behind peoples backyards. There is a large bridge over Bigelow Brook near Center Springs Park. The trail was recently completed to the mill district by utilizing the old railway bridge over Center Street.

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Dates visited: 10/24/2020 & 11/4/2022

This is a little known trail that forms a narrow loop running along side Bigelow Brook, an off-shot of the Hockanum. The part of the loop that runs along the brook may be incorporated into a future section of the Hockamum River trail. There is a plan out there to connect the short Hilliard Trail to this trail and continue behind the old Parkade and eventually connect with Center Springs Park.

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Date visited: 10/21/2020

This has nothing to do with the sneakers. Evidently, this was a control site for a missle silo located a short distance away in Glastonbury. There are about a dozen of these sites scattered throughout Connecticut. They date back to the cold war. The trails were okay, but they didn't really line up to the map on my phone, and we weren't able to do the loop we were trying to hike. The trails are actually part of Globe Hollow Reservoir trail system. The highlight was the stone pile, also known as a "cairn". Rumor has it, that this is the largest cairn in the state.

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Date visited: 10/24/2020

I tried to do walk this trail prior to this, but was scared away by the "No Trespassing" signs. This time I gave it a go. I guess the signs don't really mean anything, because there are a series of trails here, that are used often.

Date visited: 11/11/2021

This is another quick lunch break stop, which is the only way we can get out during the work week since Daylight Savings Time ended. There is a half mile loop around the pond. Despite the name, this is not in the same area of Buckland Hills area. This pond is located in the southwest corner of the town near the Glastonbury border. Just as an aside, I thought it would be convenient to grab lunch at one of the local fast food spots nearby on Spencer Street. The drive through lines were crazy, so that didn't happen! That's probably a good thing, as I shouldn't be eating that stuff anyway!

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Date visited: 5/18/2022

This is a brand new Manchester Land Trust Trail located at the end of Barnwood Road. The area is also known as Griswold Park. The trail has a very nice wood chip surface. There are wooden trail signs at either end of the trail, and a plaque at the Hill Street end. There are two nice bridges over streams. It really is quite nice. The problem is that it's only a tenth of a mile long. Yeah, that's right, a tenth of a mile. The Buckland Pond Trail is nearby, which is another short trail (not nearly as short as this one). So you could always walk down Barnwood Street and across the street to reach the pond if you wanted to combine the two spots I suppose.

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Date visited: 2/15/2023

We visited here before, at the start of the pandemic, but I don't think I took any pictures. It was before this website was a "thing." There's a short paved loop trail that circles the park, running between athletic fields and the "Barks and Rec Dog Park". There's a connecting walkway that runs under I-384 and leads to Charter Oak Park and Greenway. There's also a stone dust path that leads across the street to Globe Hollow, which is where we headed next.

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Date visited: 2/15/2023

I knew there is a swimming area here, but I wasn't sure about the existence of any trails. Since we were just across the street at Mt. Nebo Park, I decided to check it out. There are in fact trails here. There's a loop trail behind the swimming area that runs right along side Globe Hollow Reservoir. The other side of the loop is a very wide, straight trail that cuts through the woods. There are connecting trails that lead to an elementary school, but we steered clear of them since school was in session. It was another unbelievably mild February day. It was 60 degrees in Manchester when we arrived just after noon. This made for a great short hike (about 2 miles with the loop at Mount Nebo Park) during my lunch break from work.

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Dates visited: 7/11/2020, 11/15/2020, 3/23/2021 & 7/17/2021

This is another very popular hiking spot in Manchester. Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed in the sections right down by the reservoirs. They are allowed on the rest of the trails, and down by "Dog Pond" where they can go swimming. (Dog Pond looks pretty gross to me... Mandy and Lexi won't be going in the water here.)

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Date visited: 6/23/2020

This is a nice short trail that I didn't know existed before I saw it in the All-Trails app. The trail is situated in the Highland Park section of Manchester, and features a cool covered bridge.

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Dates visited: 6/25/2020, 7/18/2020, 2/15/2021 & 9/22/2023

Not to be confused with Northwest Park in Windsor, this is a small park on the Northeast (I know) corner of Manchester near Union Pond. The nicest section of the Union Pond Trail crosses this park. There is also a nice flower garden.

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It had been over two and a half years since our last visit to the park. We came back for the "Lights In The Sky" event, part of Manchester's Bicentennial Festivities. The event included live music, vendors, food trucks, a 1998 Time Capsule Display, play areas and games for the kids, and a few different art exhibits. One of the exhibits was called "Pups In The Park". I was wondering what that would entail when I read about it. As you can see, there are a number of different painted porcelain dogs on display. The folk band was actually playing songs about Manchester. The lyrics for one of them had something to do with the "Mighty Hockanum!" The "Lights In The Sky" part was a live drone show that started at 8PM, bit we did not stay for that. We also went on a short walk on some of the park trails. One of the trails has become "The Great Northwest Faerie Trail" since our last visit. There are a few small "fairy" displays along the short trail now. It is nowhere near as extensive the Fairy Trail in Grafton, MA, but this one is probably way better for the environment! All in all, it was a fun way to spend the final evening of summer, and we didn't have to travel very far... a rarity for us these days!

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Date visited: 11/5/2020

This is a really nice place. It too, is probably one of the lesser known hiking spots in Manchester. It's a Manchester Land Trust property, and it's actually situated on an active farm. The farm animals were very inquisitive! Part of the trail crosses the border into Glastonbury. There is also a section of the property known as "Frog Hollow". You can see that in one of the pictures below.

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Dates visited: 7/7/2020, 10/31/2020, 11/1/2020, 12/9/2020, 12/28/2020 & 12/31/2020

See Also: East Hartford, Manchester, Bolton

The Charter Oak Greenway is a multiple purpose trail that runs from East Hartford, east through Manchester, ending at Bolton Notch. The entire stretch is part of the East Coast Greenway. This isn't my favorite walking trail. It mostly runs along side of I-384 throughout the Manchester stretch. There are some nicer spots east of Charter Oak Park, and through the MCC Campus.

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Date visited: 8/18/2020

The Hop River Trail is a linear State Park that follows an old rail line running east from Manchester, and through the towns of Vernon, Bolton, Coventry, Andover, Columbia, finally ending in Windham at an intersection with the Air-Line Trail. We walked the entire distance in 7 days over a 10 day period (missing a few days because of weather). The 7.2 mile section from Manchester to Bolton Notch we did in one day, being dropped off at Bolton Notch and picked up 2 1/2 hours later at the trail head in Manchester (see photo below). At that point, it was the longest walk we did in one day. The Manchester section is actually really short. It's not that far over the Vernon line.

Date visited: 11/7/2020

This is a quick loop trail around Salter's Pond, that most people don't know exists. It is another Manchester Land Trust Property.

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Date visited: 11/14/2020

Here is another trail around a "reservoir". I hope this reservoir isn't still used as a water source, because it looks pretty pathetic. The trail was okay, but there are far better ones in town.

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Dates visited: 6/8/2020 & 12/21/2021

This was one of the first trips we took outside of our neighborhod during the lockdown. This was a walk around the Manchester Historic District (near Cheney Hall), and downtown Manchester. We returned a year and a half later to take some Christmas photos.

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Date visited: 5/18/2018

We visited this spot so you don't have to! The trailhead is at the end of Winthrop Road. The trail is unmarked. In fact, the entire preserve is unsigned. I only found out about by visiting the Manchester Land Trust page. The trail starts off okay. It splits into two paths, one goes into the woods, the other goes out to the power line cut (which probably leaves the preserve property). The wooded trail is overgrown, and doesn't appear to be well maintained. The stream crossing was very muddy, and there was no good way to get two small dogs across it, so we turned around. I could have carried them across, but it just didn't seem like this spot was worth the effort. We walked out to the power line cut to add some steps, but it really didn't add that many. We only walked about a half mile here. There are many better places in Manchester to visit.

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Date visited: 3/3/2021

See Also: Windsor, South Windsor, Manchester, East Hartford

We used this trail to get to Wickham Park without having to pay for parking, but it does require a long walk to get there.

Date visited: 5/21/2024

This preserve wasn't around when we were visiting Manchester regularly in 2020 & 2021. We kind of visited every place that we could during that time, so it's nice to find some place new. This is a small preserve on property that was donated to Manchester Land Trust from ECHN, owners of nearby Manchester Memorial Hospital. There is a short, well maintained and blazed loop trail off the Cheney Rail Trail. The loop is good, but the trail that leads to another trail head on Anderson Street is overgrown in places, with some challenging short hills. It's an okay trail to check out while on the Cheney Rail Trail or nearby Center Springs Park.

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Date visited: 5/21/2024

I noticed this place while passing it on the Cheney Rail Trail. There is a short trail, down a steep hill that leads to this very nice garden from the rail trail. It's part of the Root Center For Advanced Recovery. According to the sign, the garden is a "Tranquil Place for Reflection and Remembering". The garden is dedicated to the family and friends of those lost to overdose to remember their loved ones. It's a nice spot, and there are painted rocks with messages from family members to the loved ones that were lost. The garden opened in 2022. It's nice that places like this exist to bring awareness to an important cause.

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