CONNECTICUT TRAILS DAY: WATERBURY TO FEATURE HISTORIC PARK
WATERBURY, Conn. – Thousands of hikers will step out across Connecticut this weekend for 2015 Connecticut Trails Weekend but only Waterbury will offer the beauty of an urban park designed by one of the foremost landscape architectural firms of the 20th Century.
The Waterbury Parks Department will feature the crown jewel of its collection – Lewis Fulton Memorial Park – when it takes part in 2015 Connecticut Trails Weekend on Saturday June 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to a self-guided 2.5-mile hike, participants can use paddle boats or fish in one of the park’s two ponds. The rain date is June 7.
Fulton Park was designed by Olmsted Brothers Landscaping Architects of Brookline, Mass. The firm included Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York City’s famed Central Park. Fulton Park features a playground, scenic walkways, a pool house and basketball courts.
Waterbury is joining more than 100 cities and towns participating in 2015 Connecticut Trails Weekend. The weekend features more than 200 individual events over Saturday and Sunday.
“We think Lewis Fulton Memorial Park is one of the most beautiful and unique urban parks in the entire state of Connecticut,” said Mark Lombardo, Supervisor of Parks and Golf Courses for the City of Waterbury. “We’re hoping a lot of people will come out and experience its beauty.”
Participants may meet Saturday at the community building, also known as the “Warming Hut” on the north shore of the central pond. Lombardo said more than 300 people visited Fulton Park during Trails Day 2014, the first time Waterbury participated in the statewide event.
“We’d like to see even more visitors this year,” he said.
The event is a true community effort as Waterbury firefighters will stage a rescue unit at the park, the YMCA is loaning the use of its paddle boats, the City’s Recreation Department has gotten involved and members of the Historic Overlook Community Club are also participating.