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CTMQ > Hikes, Bikes & Paddles > State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites

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State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites

Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park Intro

December 2, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park Groton Most state parks in Connecticut offer at least a little bit of hiking. Those that don't, like this one, usually offer a ton of history. Fort Griswold was the site of the Battle of Groton Heights during the Revolutionary War. It was a brutal battle, even if it only … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries Tagged With: fort griswold battlefield state park, Forts, Groton

Bluff Point State Park & Coastal Reserve Intro

December 1, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Bluff Point State Park & Coastal Reserve Groton With no interest in doing the research, I'm going to say that Bluff Point is the only property in Connecticut where a state park, state reserve, and state natural area preserve are all contiguous and completely seamless to visitors. Bold and exciting claim, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: bluff point state park, Groton

Haley Farm State Park Intro

November 30, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Haley Farm State Park Groton It is my contention, perhaps unfounded, that Haley Farm is overlooked because it abuts the more popular Bluff Point State Park. Where Bluff Point gets you with its coastal scenery, Haley Farm is all about its history. Connecticut's first governor, John Winthrop Jr., owned part of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Groton, Haley Farm State park

Cockaponset State Forest Intro

November 20, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Cockaponset State Forest Haddam, Chester, Deep River, Killingworth, Durham, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Middletown & Middlefield I listed all the towns above not because there are worthy CTMQ things do within the Cockaponset in each, but just to make the point that this is a disjointed and sprawling … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Chester, Clinton, cockaponset state forest, Deep River, Durham, Guilford, Haddam, killingworth, Madison, westbrook

Black Rock State Park Intro

October 26, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Black Rock State Park Watertown Black Rock's land bleeds north into Thomaston, but there's nothing in Thomaston insofar as CTMQ goes. The "black rock" in "Black Rock" is a name that dates back hundreds of years. Local native Americans gave rights to settlers to mine graphite lead; its dark color contrasting with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Watertown

Stratton Brook State Park Intro

September 7, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Stratton Brook State Park Simsbury I live in West Hartford, but when we were house-shopping for a few years, I was really pushing for Simsbury. I love Simsbury and heck, if my wife wanted the WeHa Lyfe so badly, she could make the short drive as needed. State Parks! State Forest! Mountains! Miles and miles of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Simsbury, stratton brook state park

Stratton Brook Covered Bridge

August 31, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Strappin' Stratton Brook State Park, Simsbury There are more than a few pages featuring random covered bridges on this site. I know there's just nothing really to say about most of them, but I keep doing it. Everytime I think that keeping up with this particular list for the site is dumb, I quickly jot off a page … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries Tagged With: Covered Bridges, Simsbury, stratton brook state park

Penwood State Park’s Color Trails

August 19, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Penwood: A Rainbow of Fun! Penwood State Park, Bloomfield & Simsbury Multiple Visits I am fortunate to live very near the MDC Reservoirs - Talcott Mountain State Park - Penwood State Park - Wilcox Park corridor of woods and trails. There are countless routes one can take to see different parts of these properties … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Bloomfield, Great Views, penwood state park, Simsbury

Hop River State Park Trail: Section 1

July 6, 2020 by Steve 2 Comments

Let's Get Hoppin' Colonial Road to Bolton Notch State Park, 6.9 Miles Manchester, Vernon, Bolton, June 2020 Alright, let's get going with this thing. 20.2 miles of graded stone dust trail from the center of Manchester east to the Airline Trail in Windham. (I suppose I should mention that means Calvin and I will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bike Trails, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Bolton, bolton notch state park, Calvin, cycling, Hop river state park trail, Manchester, rails-to-trails, Vernon

Hop River State Park Trail: Section 2

June 29, 2020 by Steve Leave a Comment

Spurring Adventure Rockville Spur, 3.7 Miles Vernon, June 2020 I first began chronicling these rails-to-trails trails when my son Calvin could join me. I sort of ignored them for a many previous years until I realized that several are actually Connecticut state parks... and since I'm visiting every Connecticut … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bike Trails, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Calvin, cycling, Hop river state park trail, rails-to-trails, Vernon

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