Author: Stephanie Stroud

Keney Park is a place with a fascinating history. It is one of the biggest designed landscapes in the United States, and it was designed by the famous “Founder of Landscape Architecture,” Frederick Law Olmsted, in his very own birthplace of Hartford, CT! 

Today, this gem of a park offers woodland trails, sweeping grassy views, playgrounds, golf, and much more. It is the home of the Keney Park Sustainability Project, where founder Herb Virgo is working to create the next generation of healthy, productive, and environmentally conscious citizens. Keney Park may also be the missing link to safely connect North Hartford residents and visitors with their local riverfront for recreation—whether by foot, bike, scooter, wheelchair, or other modes of travel!    

The City of Hartford has been awarded a grant of planning assistance from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) to help explore options to safely connect North Hartford neighborhoods and Keney Park visitors to the Connecticut River. Sometimes people may not know that they have an incredible park in their own neighborhood, and even if they do visit the park, they may not know all of the great amenities it has to offer! We hope to share all of the close-to-home opportunities that are available at Keney Park with Hartford residents, while also exploring community ideas for how to improve connectivity and discover what else their local park may be able to offer. 

This past June, members of the PATHS (People Active on Trails for Health and Sustainability) team joined the Keney Park Sustainability Project and the City of Hartford on a bike ride to explore Keney Park. CT Trail Finder and Trail Census coordinator, Kimberly Bradley, and Stephanie Stroud took some awesome photos shown below!

We are looking very forward to the journey to Keney Park!  As always if you have any feedback, please let us know at trails@uconn.edu.