Owen Bell Park
53 acres in Killingly, CT
Parking: Large lot near 580 Hartford Pike, Dayville, CT
Trail Map Trails: 1 mile Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Killingly’s flagship town park is as good as any town park should be with multisport playing fields and courts, playground and playscapes, hiking trail, walking track, stage for events, summer splash pad, pond, and pavilions. The park is open dawn to dusk and even features an ice cream shop at the far side.
Hiking
The hiking trails starts at the far end of the track which means hiking across the fields or following the paths from the main parking area. The trails are unblazed but are so wide, well used, and the network so compact that blazing is unnecessary. Trails head off in about 4-5 directions from the end of the track and they all interconnect so it’s hard to go wrong making a choice.
The trail is also definitely park of a cross country or 5k course as white spray painted arrows and safety orange painted on to troublesome rocks and roots. The trail is fairly level overall though there are plenty of rocks and roots throughout. There is also a fair amount of road noise from I-395 especially on the easternmost trail.
I was pleasantly surprised by both the amount of trails they squeezed into this small wood and how much I enjoyed the park overall. On a nice summer afternoon there were walkers on the track, a guy playing guitar in the field, kids on the playscape, and a couple sitting by the pond. Very wholesome all around.
History:
Owen Bell Park was constructed in the 1970s largely in part thanks to Ralph Brennen.
Links:
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Last updated September 12th, 2022
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