Mittaneague Park (West Springfield, MA)

DSC_0299

Legend has it the Native Americans called Mittaneague (pronounced Mit-tin-aig) “the valley of falling water.”  The park more than lives up to this description.

DSC_0265

DSC_0921 DSC_0321DSC_0931

Mittineague Park was, without question, the park with the most difficult terrain to travel that I have visited while writing this blog.  The sharp inclines, fences furnished with barbed wire and “no trespassing” signs, overgrown brush, unkempt make shift trails and other obstacles made it difficult to photograph.

DSC_0764    DSC_0320  DSC_0865

It is a shame because Mittineague has some wonderful views.

DSC_0217  DSC_0210  DSC_0208  DSC_0206  DSC_0970 DSC_0950  DSC_0856  DSC_0854 DSC_0853   DSC_0751DSC_0129

Mittineague also has a tunnel under the railroad tracks that run through the park.

DSC_0124DSC_0154     DSC_0170  DSC_0164 DSC_0160  DSC_0167    DSC_0172 DSC_0194 DSC_0184

During my visit, the train passed by on the rickety rails.

DSC_0244 DSC_0190

DSC_0816

and kept going…

DSC_0817

and kept going…

DSC_0818

and going…

DSC_0819

and, well, you get the picture…

DSC_0821

But, the gem of the park must be its stone bridges and walkways.

DSC_0937

DSC_0944 DSC_0924

DSC_0988

Mittineague also has an impressive assortment of trees.  They are majestic not just in their stature but also in their sheer beauty.

DSC_0330 DSC_0347 DSC_0067 DSC_0920

DSC_0918

There is also a variety of plant life and wild flowers.

DSC_0340 DSC_0109 DSC_0092 DSC_1008 DSC_0887   DSC_0744

Mittineague is also teeming with birds

DSC_0004 DSC_0003

frogs

DSC_0985 DSC_0344

DSC_0205

DSC_0353

and, of course, dogs.

Lucy did a great job fetching her frisbee.

DSC_0073DSC_0078

DSC_0084

Lincoln posed proudly with his mommy.

DSC_0964

And Annabelle smiled broadly for her photo.

DSC_0742

Mittineague also has well manicured soccer fields and baseball diamonds and its basketball and tennis courts as well as a play area for kids.

DSC_1014  DSC_0301

Or, the kids can just go for a swim in the various brooks and waterfalls at Mittineague.

DSC_0328

About New England Nomad

Hi I'm Wayne. Welcome to my blog. I am a true New Englander through and through. I love everything about New England. I especially love discovering new places in New England and sharing my experiences with everyone. I tend to focus on the more unique and lesser known places and things in New England on my blog. Oh yeah, and I love dogs. I always try to include at least one dog in each of my blog posts. I discovered my love of photography a couple of years ago. I know, I got a late start. Now, I photograph anything that seems out of the ordinary, interesting, beautiful and/or unique. And I have noticed how every person, place or thing I photograph has a story behind it or him or her. I don't just photograph things or people or animals. I try to get their background, history or as much information as possible to give the subject more context and meaning. It's interesting how one simple photograph can evoke so much. I am currently using a Nikon D3200 "beginner's camera." Even though there are better cameras on the market, and I will upgrade some time, I love how it functions (usually) and it has served me well. The great thing about my blog is you don't have to be from New England, or even like New England to like my blog (although I've never met anyone who doesn't). All you have to like is to see and read about new or interesting places and things. Hopefully, you'll join me on my many adventures in New England! View all posts by New England Nomad

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: