Friends of West Hartford Parks will hold the second annual Park Walk on Saturday, Oct. 26.

By Ronni Newton

Phases 1 through 7 of West Hartford’s Trout Brook Trail have now been completed, and the just-completed section will be included in the second annual Friends of West Hartford Parks Park Walk, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, 2025, from 9 a.m. until noon.

The walk will begin at the Elmwood Community Center gazebo, and participants will head northwest along one of the first sections of the Trout Brook Trail, winding through a pastoral section of the trail before crossing South Quaker Lane near Beachland Park onto a section of trail that was completed in 2015 – and will then traverse the newest section which was completed just this month.

What’s officially termed “Phase 3” – from Jackson Avenue to Park Road – completes the original plans for West Hartford’s linear park. The design and construction of that nearly three-quarter mile phase was more complex because it involved narrowing Trout Brook Drive’s travel lanes and shoulders, eliminating on-street parking on one side of the road – and navigating past several I-84 overpasses.

The first section of the Trout Brook Trail opened in 2008.

“The latest small section of the linear park completes the trail as it was originally envisioned,” said Helen Rubino-Turco, director of Leisure and Social Services. “The whole route is approximately 3.6 miles – just under 4 miles in all. We continue to explore additional extensions, but we’re still in the planning stages.”

Rubino-Turco added that while “the new section isn’t particularly bucolic – it runs under the highway – it is an essential link between the southern part and the central and northern parts of the trail.”

The starting point of Saturday’s walk, near the Elmwood Community Center, is one of the loveliest sections of the trail, Rubino-Turco said. “I’ve seen numerous species of birds there, including a bald eagle and several herons. The weather should be great, too. I enjoyed last year’s walk immensely, and had a great time meeting and conversing with other residents,” Rubino-Turco said.

The event is free, but registration is encouraged through Eventbrite.com.

The weather is expected to be pleasant, but the rain date is Sunday, Oct. 27.

Some additional signage will be installed, Assistant Town Engineer Jim Brennan said. The trail is available for use by the public, but the official grant opening will take place at a later date.

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