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

One response to “IXX. State Parks, Forests and Natural Preserves”

  1. Chris says:

    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!

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