Giddings Park
72 acres in Franklin, CT
Parking: Large lots near 191 Pond Rd, North Franklin, CT
Trail Map Trails: 1 mile Trail Difficulty: Easy Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Giddings Park is everything you want a town park to be. There are ballfields, a horse ring, tennis and basketball courts, a playground, picnic pavilions, and a tiny lending library. Then in the woods behind all that, there is a loop of trails with fitness obstacles. The trails are wide and flat and total about 1.25 miles.
There are about eight obstacles that remind me of Ninja Warrior lite and a couple are legitimately difficult. I ran the trails stopping at each obstacle which I will call:
Swinging Steps, Swinging Hands, Rope Climb, Wall Climb, Tire Climb, Tunnel Run, Monkey Bars, and Webbed Wall.
There is a large hornet’s nest above the swinging steps, one of the handholds on swinging hands has been knocked loose, and when I went back two days later the rope from the webbed wall had disappeared. All obstacles are fixed and working as of September 2018. The center trail also has a recently cleared area with a new mystery obstacle being constructed! As of July 2024, all but the swinging steps are in working order and the mystery obstacle has yet to be completed.
As far as I know, there isn’t anything else like this around and it’s a fun way to enjoy a walk and test your body at the same time.
Giddings Park is also the site of an annual Tuff Run which takes place in August.
History:
Links:
- CTMQ – Giddings Park (2019)
- Town of Franklin – Plan of Conservation and Development
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Last updated July 24th, 2024
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