IXX. State Parks, Forests and Natural Preserves
Connecticut’s State Parks and Forests
This is currently a work in progress. We’ll see how it goes. It shouldn’t be difficult to put together a decisive list of our state parks, but it is. You can jump down to the state’s even more confusing partial list of Natural Area Preserves here.
Park/Forest | Town(s) | Visit/Trail(s) | Museum? | Other? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Above All SP | Warren | None | None | |
Airline SP Trail | Multiple | No | ||
Algonquin St Forest | Colebrook | No | None | |
Beaver Brook SP | Windham | No | None | |
Becket Hill SP Reserve | Lyme | No | None | |
Beckley Iron Furnace | N. Canaan | Yes | Iron Heritage Tr | |
Bennett’s Pond SP | Ridgefield | No | None | |
Bigelow Hollow SP | Union | |||
Black Rock SP | Watertown | |||
Bluff Point SP | Groton | |||
Bolton Notch SP | Bolton | Here | No | Cave |
Brainard Homestead SP | E. Haddam | |||
Burr Pond SP | Torrington | Here | No | None |
Camp Columbia SP | Morris | Here | No | Tower |
Camp Harkness SP | Waterford | Here | No | Beach |
Campbell Falls SP | Norfolk | Here | No | Waterfall |
Chatfield Hollow SP | Killingworth | Yes | ||
CT Valley RR SP Tr. | Essex | Yes | Train Ride | |
Dart Island SP | Middletown | |||
Day Pond SP | Colchester | Here & Here | No | Swimming |
Dennis Hill SP | Norfolk | Here | No | No |
Devil’s Hopyard SP | Haddam | |||
Dinosaur SP | Rocky Hill | Yes | NNL, Arboretum | |
Eagle Landing SP | Haddam | |||
Enders St Forest | Multiple | Waterfall | ||
Fort Griswold Battlefield SP | Groton | |||
Fort Trumbull SP | New London | |||
Gardner Lake SP | Salem | |||
Gay City SP | Hebron | Here | Swimming | |
George Waldo SP | Southbury | Here | No | None |
Gillette Castle SP | East Haddam | Yes, Here | Viewpoint | |
Great Pond St Forest | Simsbury | Here | None | None |
Haddam Island SP | Haddam | |||
Haddam Meadows SP | Haddam | |||
Haley Farm SP | Groton | |||
Hammonassett Beach SP | Madison | Yes, Here | Beach | |
Harkness Memorial SP | Waterford | Here | Yes | Historic Garden |
Haystack Mountain SP | Norfolk | Here | No | Tower |
Higganum Reservoir SP | Higganum | |||
Hop River SP Trail | Multiple | |||
Hopemead SP | Multiple | |||
Hopeville Pond SP | Griswold | |||
Horse Guard SP | Avon | |||
Housatonic Meadows SP | Sharon | |||
Housatonic St Forest | Sharon | |||
Humaston Brook SP | Litchfield | |||
Huntington SP | Redding | |||
Hurd SP | East Hampton | |||
Indian Well SP | Shelton | Here | ||
Ivy Mountain SP | Goshen | |||
James L Goodwin St Forest | Hampton/Chaplin | Yes | ||
John A. Minetto SP | Torrington | |||
Kent Falls SP | Kent | Falls, Viewpoint | ||
Kettletown SP | Southbury | |||
Killingly Pond SP | Killingly | |||
Lake Waramaug SP | Kent | Here | No | No |
Lamentation Mountain SP | Berlin | Here | ||
Larkin SP Trail | Multiple | |||
Lovers Leap SP | New Milford | |||
Macedonia Brook SP | Kent | |||
Machimoodus SP | E Haddam | |||
Mansfield Hollow SP | Mansfield | |||
Mashamoquet Brook SP | Pomfret | |||
Massacoe St Forest | Simsbury/Canton | |||
Mattatuck St Forest | Thomaston | |||
Meshomasic St Forest | Multiple | Links here | ||
Mianus River SP | Stamford | Fun! | ||
Millers Pond SP | Durham | Here | ||
Minnie Island SP | Bozrah/Montville | |||
Mohawk Mountain SP | Cornwall | |||
Mohegan St Forest | Scotland | |||
Mono Pond SP Reserve | Columbia | |||
Moosup Valley SP Trail | Plainfield/Sterling | |||
Mooween SP | Lebanon | |||
Mount Bushnell SP | Washington | |||
Mount Riga SP | Salisbury | |||
Mount Tom State Park | Multiple | |||
Nassahegon St Forest | Burlington | Links Here | The DEVIL! | |
Natchaug St. Forest | Eastford | |||
Nathan Hale St Forest | Coventry/Andover | |||
Naugatuck St Forest | Multiple | |||
Nehantic St. Forest | Lyme | Here | ||
Nepaug St Forest | New Hartford | Here | The DEVIL! | |
Nipmuck St. Forest | Union | |||
Nye-Holman St Forest | Tolland | |||
Old Furnace SP | Killingly | |||
Osbornedale SP | Derby | Yes | ||
Pachaug St. Forest | Voluntown | |||
Pattaconk Lake SP | Chester | |||
Paugnut St Forest | Torrington | |||
Paugussett St Forest | Newtown | |||
Penwood SP | Bloomfield | |||
Peoples St Forest | Barkhamstead | |||
Platt Hill SP | Winchester | |||
Pomeroy SP | Lebanon | |||
Pootatuck St Forest | New Fairfield | |||
Putnam Memorial SP | Redding | |||
Quaddick SP | Thompson | |||
Quaddick St Forest | Thompson | |||
Quinebaug Lake SP | Killingly | |||
Quinnipiac River SP | N. Haven | |||
River Highlands SP | Cromwell | |||
Rocky Glen SP | Newtown | |||
Rocky Neck SP | E Lyme | |||
Ross Pond SP | Killingly | |||
Salmon River St Forest | Colchester | |||
Satan’s Kingdom St. Rec. Area | New Hartford | |||
Scantic River SP | Multiple | |||
Selden Neck SP | Lyme | |||
Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve | Ridgefield | |||
Shenipsit St Forest | Multiple | Links here | ||
Sherwood Island SP | Westport | Here | Yes | Viewpoint |
Silver Sand SP | Milford | |||
Sleeping Giant SP | Hamden | |||
Southford Falls SP | Oxford | Here | No | Falls & Tower |
Squantz Pond SP | New Fairfield | |||
Stillwater Pond SP | Torrington | |||
Stoddard Hill SP | Ledyard | |||
Stratton Brook SP | Simsbury | Here | Yes, Here | None |
Sunnybrook SP | Torrington | |||
Sunset Rock SP | Plainville | |||
Talcott Mtn SP | Simsbury | |||
Topsmead St Forest | Litchfield | |||
Tri-Mountain SP | Durham/Wallingford | |||
Trout Brook Valley SP Reserve | Easton | |||
Tunxis St Forest | Multiple | |||
Wadsworth Falls SP | Middlefield | Here | No | The Big Falls |
West Rock Ridge SP | Hamden/New Haven | |||
Wharton Brook SP | Wallingford | |||
Whittemore Glen SP | Naugatuck | |||
Windsor Locks Canal SP Tr | Windsor Locks | |||
Windsor Meadows SP | Windsor | |||
Wooster Mountain SP | Danbury | |||
Wyantenock St Forest | Multiple |
State Natural Preserve Areas
I can’t find a proper list of these things no matter how hard I try. I read there were 25 of them as of 2000. I know a bunch of them are within state parks already, so there is a lot of overlap. I am basically adding this stuff simply because I know a couple of these are really cool.
Visited
Matianuck Sand Dunes NAP, Windsor
To be Visited
Please, let me know of any you know of that I’m missing (there are a LOT).
Bluff Point NAP, Groton
Canaan Mountain NAP, E. Canaan/Canaan
Dr. William A. Niering NAP, Waterford
Duck Island NAP, Westbrook
Gold’s Pines NAP, Canaan
Hammonassett NAP
Roger Tory Peterson Wildlife Area, Old Lyme
Lord Cove, Lyme/Old Lyme
Merrick Brook, Scotland
Sandy Brook, Colebrook
Hey Steve, Been I while since I harassed you.
I was actually trying to look up info Macedonia Brook. Why is there nothing yet? you need to pick it up.
(first harassing comment)
In looking up MBSP, I noticed some inaccurate info on your State Parks list.
(second harassing comment)
Minnie Island straddles Montville and Salem, not Bozrah.
After all the Bozrah “hate” posts from a few years ago, why do you give them credit for land that they do not own, but do not mention them for land they do own?
(third harassing comment)
Specifically Hopemead. You listed it as “multiple” when it is Montville/Bozrah.
Your Bozrah dislike runs deep!
(Fourth Harassing comment)
Ok, Harassing is complete.
Hopemead has the trail to the lake, Montville has just a small portion of the land within the park. This is only 3/4 mile from my place. If you ever stop back down this way, We could walk the trail (it is only about 1.5 miles round trip, then head over to the island)
I said I was done harassing you, so I wont say it… But Bozrah did complete an installation of a new trail this year. (I have not hiked it yet, but I may today) It is on Rt 163 within the Maple Lane Park.
And the last bit of news (only because I am already wasting my time writing) The Dinosaur Place (which you wrote about before) has opened the new expansion earlier this year. Another whole new Museum to explore!
Comment #1 on 07.25.14 at 7:36 am