wickham park

Wonderful. well kept park. Great for all ages from the frail to young children. Spend a short time or the whole day.

Great place for a walk, to sit back and relax with an option of taking in the Hartford skyline or have family or group activities. This is a good size park in Manchester, CT. We've been here to spend a few hours wandering around and relaxing in the fall and for work related softball, kickball or volleyball activities. There is a small area for children to play and an area which includes caged birds. There is a disc golf course. A very good place to get outdoors and enjoy.

Excellent stay...super clean, well maintained grounds & buildings, friendly, helpful staff. Stayed at site #14, campground 'A', spacious. Sites 32-55 in center are randomly spaced and tight. All other sites in 'A,B,C' are spacious for big rigs. Sites 89-108 are very deep and spacious, but open with few trees, but background vegetation. Roads throughout park are paved (except campground 'C') and flat. Sites are mostly level. Restrooms and laundry rooms are spotless. Grass, sand, and long needle pine groundcover. Miles of walking and biking within park. Car ride to A1A and Rt 1 to beaches and shopping. Staff is professional and helpful. Keep in mind this park does not have a heated pool (non in fact), bingo, or any fancy amenities. Just beautiful surroundings and a great price! Highly recommend it.

This is not an amusement park.It's several acres of land with one or two large hills great for sledding or a blanket picnic in better weather. There is a dedicated frizbee golf course that a large number of people use, several picnic areas with tables and some grills with close pay parking, a very good aviary (bird zoo), world gardens such as a Japanese garden. Nice place to relax and be with family or some one you love.

Living in Manchester, CT, we had heard of Wickham Park. It was several years ago, when we decided to begin walking and hiking, that we learned a bit more about it. Still, we never seemed to get there. We drove by on several Sunday's and saw a line of cars down the road and thought, we would try again later. During our staycation, it was #1 on our to do list. We wished we had gone much, much earlier! Our visit took place in October, during the off-season and we are not sure how busy the park is during peak times. We drove there on Monday in inclement weather, just to take a look around. We found out then that you pay $4 on a weekday to park, which we had no problem with; especially now that we know what that $4 gets you! We had researched the park before we went and downloaded a map from their website to familiarize ourselves before hand. I will do my best to fill you in. We stayed on the paved road throughout the park and were amazed at what we saw. Large rolling green hills, ample parking, gardens, cabins, views, playgrounds, you name it. We only went around the smaller circle and realized we had seen enough to know; we were coming back tomorrow when it was sunny! Tuesday was here and the sun was shining, perfect day for Wickham Park. Since it is set on 250 acres (to put that into perspective it is 100 acres larger than the Magic Kingdom and only 50 acres smaller than all of Epcot). We had made a game plan of our must do's for day one as to appreciate everything, you need more than one day. We started on the Wetland Garden walk, which is the first of 8 gardens here. This walk takes you through marshlands with waterways and beautiful mature trees of all types great for relaxing, bird watching and getting lost in the beauty. Most of the trail is boardwalk style with benches to sit on to relax and take photos. You can spend as much or as little time here and you can go at your own pace. We went from the Wetlands to the English Gardens. At just about 2 acres, they are amazing. You will not believe the condition of all the gardens, I mean top notch, stunningly gorgeous, you can see the time that goes into maintaining these works of art for us to enjoy. There is a beautiful rose garden and a large open lawn area featuring large gardens and hedges with a gazebo. Perfect place to get married! Once again you can meander to appreciate everything or walk through faster to cover more ground. From there we went to the Scottish Garden with it rows of columns, statues and flowers to the Oriental Garden in all it's beauty. At 8 acres, it is large and dates back to 1920. It offers a beautiful pond, structures, statues and a beautiful bridge. Almost surrounded by trees and flowers, it is a private oasis of serenity. We moved onto the Italian Shrine, which was built in 1920 by the Wickham family for a place for their servants to worship. Just next store is the gorgeous Lotus Garden. Offering a pagoda, fountain, water feature and statues all surrounded by beautiful trees, plants and flowers. All the gardens are immaculately maintained and a beauty to see. Behind the Lotus Garden is the rhododendron garden, which was not in bloom but with 130 of them will be a gorgeous sight to behold next year. We walked up the big hill to the top so we could see the Cabin; it's garden and the amazing view of downtown Hartford over beautifully colored Fall trees. It is a sight to behold! There is an outdoor amphitheatre set up and other benches so you can stop, relax and enjoy the view. With the HUGE rolling yard, enjoy acres of open land to picnic, play games, sunbathe, you name it. The Cabin is only open for special occasions but it a gorgeous building with it's own beautiful garden with hedges, plants, flowers, gazebo, benches and the view of Hartford. We walked down what we thought was the trail to go back to our car and that concluded day 1. At 2+ hours, we had covered a lot of land and got in a good workout to boot! The next 3 days were spent seeing what the rest of the Park had to offer. We hiked the fitness trail (the shorter route) which it a nice hike out in the woods. We were trying to find the bird sanctuary and missed it somehow. We also drove to see the tennis courts, volleyball area and the 2 softball fields along with gorgeous open spaces and large mature trees. We eventually hiked the longer fitness trail and found the sanctuary only to find out that it was cut off from the trail by the storms we got over the past few years. They have not had time to cut the trees and brush back yet. Hopefully it will happen soon as it looks like a cool park of the Park. We hiked the trails that go through the center of the Park. We enjoyed a quiet walk through the woods as other visitors hiked, jogged or played disc golf as we went by. The aviary is a nice place where they house birds that have been injured and cannot be released back into the wild. From peacocks and roosters, to birds with more colors than the rainbow, and for .25 you can feed them! The Nature Center, right next to the aviary offers an interactive nature experience with real stuffed animals ranging from bear to fox and squirrel. The Sensory Garden is just down the walkway. You can enjoy one of the largest Sensory Gardens in the country at ¾ acre and evoke harmony for the senses. Throughout the park there are 3 playgrounds, all generously sized along with many places to have a picnic. There are several places for snacks and drinks from vending machines as well as restrooms and water fountains. On many occasions, I felt as if I had left Manchester and gone to some great destination. Then reality hits and you realize this great destination is in your own backyard for you to enjoy when you want. Whether you are a local or come from a distance, Wickham Park is a place you can spend the day with family and friends or relax on your own. I highly recommend!

Really nice hidden areas in this part such as the Asian Garden. The swans are always a pretty sight. There are plenty of areas for walking, picnics and to explore The park is nice and tidy. On occasion you might see a setchty person wandering about (just a few...nothing like Central Park in NYC). You feel as if you are away from the hustle and some of the urban areas of East Hartford CT.

This is such a lovely area. Japanese Gardens, mini zoo, picnic areas and walking trails abound. This a place to spend a lovely afternoon, or just an hour or two. We head to this park, mostly to see the various lovely gardens and take in a stroll.

We have gone to the cabin at Wickham Park for many years to visit with Santa, first with our own children and more recently with the grandchildren of good friends. It is a local tradition with great atmosphere.

Very nice park...with lots of open space. There is a huge sidewalk around the whole park, dog park, pavilions, etc. There is a lot to do there with a wide variety. They have a great Christmas light show as well.

I had an hour to spare and decided to check-out Wickham Park. What a great place to stroll through and find little "sorprises". A real treasure!

Nice Park, great place to bring guest visitng from out of town. Lots of places to take nice pictures. Worth Checking out.

This is a great for photo ops, especially now with the leaves changing. There's the aviary and the oriental gardens. You could fill an SD card here. Beautiful views.

If you want to spend a day in the park during just about any season, this is it. There are picnic tables in little secluded areas all over the park. There is a little animal zoo on the premises. Plenty of plants and flowers, along with fountains and stone walk ways to and from different places. In the winter kids go there to sled down the mountains. We even attended a wedding there. They have venues you can rent for your party. Really great place to spend time with family and friends.

Open wooded parkland with patio area overlooking Hartford and excellent seating a perfect setting for our family wedding.The shrub garden provided a nicecsetting for photographs.The reception was held in a marquis set outside the timber building which provided drink and dance facilities after thecreception.Perfect, perfect, and perfect

Wickham park offers a great retreat for all seasons. In the Spring, the winds are perfect for kiting. In the Winter, it offers the best sledding around. The rest of the year, the bird sanctuary, hiking trails and themed gardens are wonderful spots to relax and enjoy the day.