Five More Urban Walks

December began with a suggestion for Five Urban Walks one could take if bored, seeking more experiential learning opportunities, or wanting something like exercise. Here are another five suggested routes, with more to come in the future.

Keney Park North: At nearly 700 acres, Keney Park is ginormous. If you have not been before, it can be easy to get lost, particularly if you don’t have a strong sense of direction or the ability to pay attention long enough to remember which entrance you used. The best option for beginners prone to getting lost might be taking the Windsor Avenue entrance and then following the park road until you see a sign for the Leadership Trail on the left. It’s a not terribly long wooded path that empties into a part of the park that looks abandoned. It seems to connect with the Beech Grove Trail. I don’t recall seeing much labeled, but the path was clear enough to follow, as in, you know that you are on a path and not simply making your own trail through the woods. From there, look to pick up a path and head toward Journalism & Media Academy Magnet School. (If you miss this, you’ll just end up a bit down on Tower Avenue) You can take Rosemont Street, then any of the north-south side streets to get to Tower Avenue, and follow that east. This means going through a residential neighborhood. As long as you’re not snooping around, there’s nothing wrong with that. In this neighborhood, the norm is for residents to maintain their homes and yards. At Main Street, go north until you return to Keney Park, walking along the park road. Be sure to shake your fist at the highway structure that cuts through the park. This loop is an estimated 2.5 miles and not super adventurous except for the part that requires hopping across Meadow Brook. If you want more fun and to extend the walk, go to the northwestern side of the golf course and from there walk west, then south through the woods. Some of this is Windsor, technically, but there are no “Welcome to Windsor” signs in the woods so we’ll ignore that detail for a moment. There are also no clear paths and lots of rusty things out here. Make sure you are current with your tetanus shots and don’t blame me if you get very lost. Look for dunes.

Keney Park South: Using the entrance at Edgewood Street and Keney Terrace, you can pick up a well-marked nature trail near the pond, just beyond the pond house. If you stray from the path to go look at the horses (between Rockville and Winchester Streets) and also walk around the pond, the entire loop should not go much beyond 1.5 miles. That’s not much. Try exiting the park to the west and walking down Westbourne Parkway, up Granby Street for a few blocks, and then looping back via one of the side streets between Granby Street and Ridgefield Street. I’d definitely recommend that extended route for anyone who is under the impression that the West End is the only “nice” neighborhood in Hartford.

North Riverside Park: You could be out here for over an hour and not see another person. This could be a quick walk. It could go for over five miles. You could figure out how to go from here to Keney Park, with minimal time spent walking on streets. For now, try the middle option. Begin north of the boat house in Riverside Park. There are signs marking the paths. You can walk on top of the dike for a few miles, but this options requires you keep an eye out for any signs (actual signs, not clues) indicating the area is closed for eagles nesting or that the shooting range is active. What I’ve heard is that they will get on an intercom of some sort and let you know to move it along if you somehow ignore the lights alerting you to the active shooting range. If your aim is peace and quiet — aside from the ever-present ambient sounds of the interstate — that would kind of harsh your mellow. Most days, there are no eagles a-nesting or cops a-shooting to worry about. You are walking north when the industrial views are on your left and the woods and river are on your right. When you feel you’ve had enough you can carefully amble down from the dike and pick up one of the dirt paths. Unlike the trails in Keney Park, these are easy to follow and you are also kind of contained in the area so the opportunity to get really lost is taken away. When on one of the lower trails (not the dike) look for the island.

River and Lunch: This entire walking loop is around 2.5 miles and includes the suggestion of a break at Coyote Flaco on New Britain Avenue at Mountain Street. Begin on the paved path at the southeast corner of the Flatbush Avenue and Brookfield Street intersection. Follow this south. The paved path connects to Brookfield Street before you reach Dart Street, but ignore that by following a dirt path that continues along the south branch of the Park River. Look for rabbits. Listen for roosters. This eventually empties onto Newfield Avenue. Take that south to New Britain Avenue, then go east (toward Hartford) until you reach the lunch spot. Or ignore that suggestion if you don’t like margaritas. Cross New Britain Avenue to Chandler Street and take either Broadview Terrace or Arlington Street west for one block, picking up Stone Street for a block or two until it becomes Brookfield Street. Continue until you get back to wherever you started.

Downtown-Asylum Hill-Clay/Arsenal Loop: When the weather is more agreeable to most people, free walking tours are offered in Asylum Hill. Those are a few months away. In the meantime, go for a self-guided meander that begins downtown in Bushnell Park (because it’s an easy-to-find starting place is why), then cross over Asylum Street toward Union Station, taking Union Place. At the end, take a left onto Church Street and follow this up the hill as it becomes Myrtle Street. Turn right onto Garden Street and follow for a few blocks. Take Ashley Street to Sigourney Square Park. Be sure to read the sidewalk on Ashley Street. After poking around the park, go east on Sargeant Street. Take Garden Street north for one block, then go east on Walnut Street, taking a right onto Edwards Street. This will connect back to Myrtle Street. If you need to mix it up, go back on Spruce Street instead of Union Place. This loop is around 2.5 miles depending on where in Bushnell Park you start.