Laidlaw Recreation Area
43 acres in Coventry, CT
Parking: Medium sized lot near 999 Merrow Rd, Coventry, CT
Trail Map Trails: 0.7 miles Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Laidlaw is about 75% of your standard town park, there’s an short easy walking path, a couple of sports fields, a pavilion, a playscape, and ample parking. The only things missing are some courts and amenities.
Hiking
I was lucky enough to hike just a couple weeks after a volunteer work party spruced up the trail.
The path here starts from the right side parking area either heading left directly into the woods on a wood chip trail or right crossing the entrance woods to reenter the forest. I chose to head left down the wood chip path over a small mound and onto a well traveled forested path. The trail is largely clear (1 or 2 downed trees to step over) and wide and flat enough for easy walking. The backside of the loop comes out along the fence line of the soccer fields and follows the length of the fence until reentering the woods.
There is a connection of white blazes here to the Rolling Hills/Windy Hills loop, which is about half trail and half roadwalk that I chose not to explore.
The trail passes close to private property and then enters a evergreen section before descending into a gully just north of the fields before returning to the parking area.
History:
The property’s first 37 acres were acquired by the Town of Coventry on October 12th, 1968. An additional 6 acres was acquired in May 2000.
Links:
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Last updated August 27th, 2024
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