Serene waters surround you once you set off on the paved trails around our central CT reservoir in Farmington, CT. In addition to the super fresh air, you can bird watch (saw a bluebird Monday!), walk your pooch, and scout for deer and other friends. Come as early as you can - before 8:30 a.m. - for the best chance of parking as the MDC has restricted spaces and sometimes closes it on a busy warm day. Good to bring water and a snack as the Red loop can take one hour. Happy walking or riding!

Incredible trails, and beautiful views. The hike up to the top is somewhat difficult but is well work it for the views. The trail was covered in occasional fallen branches/trees from hurricane Isaias, but nothing you cant walk around. The day we went, we saw a baby deer on the trails and it walked right up to us!!

Great place for a long walk with the dog. The only problem is parking. The lot is way too small and closed often.

Comming from NYC, this park is one of my favorites. A tranquil escape from city life. The weather couldnt have been more perfect. There was just enough color in the leaves to make the view gorgeous for memorable pictures. Well worth the drive to get here. Great for biking as well.

This park is amazing looking well kept, awesome trails oh yes plenty of trails so be ready for some excersize and a beautiful view

A beautiful community resource with many accessible trails, including the 3.4 mile asphalt Red Loop.

Beautiful, calm, serene and relaxing. Good trails and safe area.

Great trails. Friendly people. Patrolled regularly. Great for all.ages and abilities.

Great trails paved and not! We had a blast!

I saw bears!!! Lol no kidding. So after hearing about this place for years the bf finally got me to go and it was amazing. We werent going to do running or a strenuous exercise and hike just for a walk. And after walking for three hours and getting turned around a bit we ended up seeing 3 black bears sleeping against trees on the side of the paths that werent heavily traveled. Parking was a bit crazy but we lucked so good luck with that on the nice days. Overall nice place to get some exercise in and be with nature.

Very beautiful cant wait to go back

It was my first time and literally a big black bear crossed path with me . I have a video of it.

If you like an early morning walk in the woods along some tranquil and picturesque bodies of water and mainly want the sounds of nature in your head, this is the place. (Ok, you can don your headset and your favourite retro soundtrack if you so choose - just please dont break out into chorus accompaniment for the sake of the nature lovers around you.) You have a choice of trails/ distances to choose from and you can also find side-paths to keep it interesting if you wish.If youre the patient and lucky kind you can see deer and sometimes big predator birds. (It is also possible to spot bears if youre really lucky.) The really nice thing is, it is kept neat and in order and you should have cell reception throughout the area.Im holding back on 5 stars, due to 2 things. There seems to be some restricting of parking space at the moment (May 2020). The main entrance was closed earlier in the year too - longer than I thought was necessary. I consider these to be issues in 2020 as people do need some places to go and recreate in spite of the pandemic restrictions local authorities wish to enforce.

Nice road trail. (Watch out for snakes.) Plenty of space for biking. Picturistic spots and nice shade while walking. Saw some deer.

This is our routine place to go now. The red loop trail is a perfect distance for exercise. The beautiful trees help for shade and breathing. You even spot a deer every now and again. Nature at its best.

Great place for an hour long walk to get a covid-19 lock down break. Close but takes you far away.

Beautiful park. Scenery is second to none. Perfect place for a bike ride, stroll, walk or run.

Such a beautifully maintained park with a wonderful walk around the reservoir.

Absolutely beautiful and well-maintained outdoor recreation area. Both paved and dirt road/trails for all sorts of adventures. Can get a bit crowded on particularly nice days, but who can blame anyone for wanting to walk among these pristine natural scenes of wood and water.

Absolutely beautiful with lots of trail options!

Love walking here so peaceful and relaxing.

The perfect place to take a nice walk with the family.

Can be busy, but beautiful and well maintained.

Nice active paved trails!

Incredible views for a walk, run, or family time!

Beautiful scenary with amazing trails. The result was a great workout.

This place is great. Alot of trails that are well marked and a ton more if you want to explore. Great for hiking and mountain biking.

Perfect place for hiking, walking, running, bike riding and photo shoots.

A great place to go for a run. It does have some hills. The views here are great!

The parking lots have been reduced to get less people to be in the park at the same time. My 8yo and I had a great time.

Set in the hills near West Hartford, the park attracts walkers, bikers, runners, and dog walkers in a forested area surrounding the reservoirs. There are paved trails for activities as well as unpaved. Parking is sufficient except at peak times on the weekend. Dogs must be on leashes. Paved trails great for strollers or other wheeled transport.

I went for a long walk along the trails is was nice the people are all friendly calm vibe

Gorgeous clean park!! Well maintained

Beautiful renovation... Almost got lost

There are a lot of trials in which you could walk, bike, whatever floats your boat. it’s amazing scenery and i occasionally see pictures being taken here. i think a normal walk is about four miles.

Great cement paths. Bikes, walkers, runners and strollers all fit for a beautiful 4 mile loop.

Little crowded for a Wednesday night, but the red loop is fun.

The bike trail is an hour and a half walk if you go slow. Great views everywhere.

Nice place to jog n walk .. just beware of small snakes

One of the best places to exercise in the area.

Absolutely beautiful. A jewel in the Hartford area.

Amazing place for your morning walk!!

Nice quiet peaceful walk with the wife. Makes for a nice afternoon.

Love this park, clean and beautiful location to hike.

The MDC Reservoir Park or The Res as locals call it is a natural oasis of trees, trails and water with many levels of walking and biking paths to partake in. One can do an easy under an hour walk or ride on pavement or a much longer trek into real woods. It always seems amazing this block of land is set amongst suburbs and city. If youre going to bike remember your helmet!

Beautiful walk. Saw a momma bear and a cub.

Nice trails for walk or biking

Beautiful peaceful place to go and walk !!

Easy hike, beautiful views, and the paths are spacious. Good for running, hiking, and biking.

Absolutely good place for walking, jogging, and biking, in really good condition. The only thing is the small capacity of the parking lot so most of the time is full.

Beautiful, well maintained paved trail around water. Tree lined paths with options to make a longer or shorter walk. Some of the trees are labeled with species for an educational experience as well. Lots of bikers and walkers on a gorgeous weekend.

A quiet place for hiking and biking

Great place for a walk on a beautiful day.

Go herelook it is nice

Beautiful place with paved walk/bike trail and also side paths for hiking.

This park can satisfy any active person, hike, run, bike all good for you. Safe place to be and close to WeHa Center.

Outstanding place for a quick hike or walk.

A great place for an epic mountain bike ride. The trails have great variety.

Beautiful place

Perfect place for walking, running or bike riding

Very peaceful walk with many different paths

Great place for a relaxing walk with your dog, there is a average walking path and a long path. The shorter path takes about 1/2 hour, the longer path takes approximatly 1- 1.5 hours.

Perfect place to walk or ride a bike

Great running trails, mostly paved, with wonderful lake views. Hills throughout to add a challenge. They are a bit strict on closing down the park and the gate is usually closed 30 min before sunset

Great walk location

Awesome place to hike

Beautiful walks on paved trails. Stay out of the bike lane if you are walking. The views of the water are lovely..

Hiked for many years. Dog friendly, well maintained. Popular. Auto opening gates if you cant get out before they close. For a more challenging & Rocky hike, look for Kilkenny area. I love it.

A wonderful place. Options for all fitness levels and likes. So then why only the 4 Stars? Well, one because I cannot set it to 4.5 Stars and two because the Mountain Bike trail (a very sweet intermediate trail) was not marked terribly well, but worse the entry points to the Trail was not so good and the supporting map also could use some work. Then again it is the very gracious MDC to be allowing us all to use their wonderful place for FREE, so I cant really complain. Hint: find someone to take you through the first time or two and youll be all set :)

Great biking trails

Ive been going here for over 20 years. Great place to walk, run or ride your bike! Port o Johns and free parking available. Opens at dawn, closes at dusk. You need to wear a helmut on bikes or wheeled transport.

Beautiful place to bike with nice paths

Very quick hike with plenty of trails off the main road. I like the variety of the terrain. Too many people at times but an easy commute from my house.

Awesome! Great place to go with family and friends! Also, dogs. The only thing I will say is that you need to be careful with the bears.

Great view, fresh air, exercise, easy trails for beginners and more advanced as well. Be careful bringing novice / very young cyclers because if they have trouble staying on the trail they could be severely injured by 40 foot steep hills without guard rails.

I love this place everytime i go. Beautiful walkways, birds, turtles, fish. Favorite walking place

Annoying that when I got there the gate was closed even though there were plenty of parking spots open!!

Peaceful, beautiful views. Easy paths to walk, or more difficult ones if you are looking for a challenge. Nice variety.

A slice of memory lane and a great (and beautiful)place to walk run or ride!!

A place for peace and quiet blessings.

Great place to Walk, hike or bike. Bring enough water. Try the yellow trail first. Is shorter, 2 miles. the red trail is 4.7 miles

Beautiful park!! Great place to walk and dog friendly.

Our favorite place to stroll any season!

My little secret and happy place for fresh air, nature and peace from the outside!!

My dog and I love it. Clean, scenic and a nice trail

Definition of scenic views on a trail.There are bike trails.

Beautiful and peaceful walk did red trail for my first time there. Will be back!

The weather was perfect for this scenic walk around the park.

A great place to get away for a walk/ run. Beautiful.

Wonderful Trails a nice relaxing walk

Im aware of the many other areas with trails and scenery, but this one is my favorite to go for a spring or fall walk. Easily accessible, which is a huge plus because who wants to drive far just to go for a walk? Ample dog stations. Passer-byers always seem friendly.

Beautiful ppace. Nice quiet trails.

Very peaceful and some interesting older architecture

A great place to go for a hike or bike ride in a wooded setting. This is essentially a drinking water reservoir with a few trails around it so its more of a relaxed walk than a strenuous hike. There is a combination of gravel and paved trails so you can ride or walk. Overall, a great place to go to get away from the city and get in your dose of nature.

Great place for a walk. I always do my morning walk here.

Always a great place to take a pause and be in nature.

Great place to run or bike. Wish I had something like this where I lived

Great place to ride bikes, walk, run, and enjoy nature.

Awesome place to walk/run/bike

Wonderful place to enjoy nature.