Shenipsit State Forest Ellington, Somers, and Stafford Shenipsit State Forest began in 1927 with the purchase of land at the summit of Soapstone Mountain in Somers to erect a fire tower to keep a lookout over the forests of the eastern woodlands. Over time, additional acreage was purchased to form the sprawling … [Read more...]
Elllington: Complete!
Ellington: Complete! Chuck Wagon Restaurant Here is my list of everything I've done in Ellington! I’m very excited to write this page. This is the 14th of what may ultimately be 169 town completion celebration pages! Yes, of course I am fully aware of how absurd that is. But I love it. In late 2016, … [Read more...]
Nordic Moon Meadery
Pretty Lo Ki Nordic Moon Meadery, Ellington April 2019 What you're reading right now is a placeholder of sorts. As I write this in August 2019, Nordic Moon's tasting room is not yet open. I don't know when it will be open. It might be open when you're reading this... or maybe it never opened. If and when it does … [Read more...]
The Scandinavian Gift Shop
Scandi Candi Ain't So Dandi The Scandinavian Gift Shop, Ellington April 2019 The shop moved to a new location in East Windsor in 2020 In April 2019 I totally planned to visit this place and write a page about it. In May 2019 I totally scrapped that idea because really, it’s just a store that sells stuff and … [Read more...]
Connecticut Valley Distillery (Closed)
Smuggler's Done Connecticut Valley Distillery (Closed), Ellington Closed 2018 You have found yourself on (yet another) page on CTMQ that exists for no other reason than to satisfy my list-completion OCD. I not only never visited the Connecticut Valley Distillery, I never drank any of its signature Smuggler’s Rum. … [Read more...]
Kimball Trail & Batz Property
Batz&*^% Crazy! Kimball Trail & Batz Property, Ellington April 2019 Please don't be alarmed. Yes, I'm combining two trails, miles apart from each other, onto one page. I don't even know why I'm doing this, as it's not often that I do. Both properties are owned by the town of Ellington, both (more or less) have one … [Read more...]
NCLT: Ernie Boothroyd Nature Preserve
Finding Balance Balanced Rock Trail, Ernie Boothroyd Preserve, Northern CT Land Trust Ellington After finding the trailhead here, out in the far eastern reaches of the Ellington panhandle, I was immediately struck by how nice the sign was. It's clearly quite new, but the creator used some great fonts and the … [Read more...]
NCLT: Swann Farm
My Swann Song (For a Week or Two) Northern Connecticut Land Trust (NCLT): Swann Farm, Ellington 0.5 miles, March 2019 Normally, I would write up a half-mile hike, hit publish, link it at the appropriate places, not really tell anyone, and call it a day. But this half-mile hike, which is certainly not a hike I'd … [Read more...]
Hockanum River Trail 23: Windemere Avenue
That's Some Kinda Bridge Hockanum River Trails: Windemere Avenue, Vernon & Ellington ~1.3 miles one way, March 2019 If you are reading these Hockanum River Trails south to north you have already read... there's no single way to hike the Ellington trails, so I have no idea where you've come from. But you can go … [Read more...]
Cold Creek Brewery & Tavern (Closed)
Cold Creek Brewery & Tavern Ellington Multiple 2015-2019 visits Cold Creek called it quits in June 2021, noting it had nothing to do with the pandemic. Many are still scratching their heads why they shut down the brewery and were in fact contracting out of Powder Hollow in Enfield for the year before … [Read more...]