Ay! Yo! Wine! Pow! Camp Aya-Po, Somers August 2023 There are four trails at Camp Aya-Po, which is no longer a camp. But it was a camp for a long time - and not even a scout camp, but a YWCA camp. Camp Aya-Po was founded in 1922 and opened in 1927, and closed after the summer of 2008. There was a period of … [Read more...]
Worthington Vineyards Nature Trails
Like Hike Hike? Sike. Worthington Vineyard Nature Trails, Somers August 2023 This place is a lovely place to stroll around when the weather is nice and the flowers are in bloom. In fact, it's one of the best places. However, if you want to actually hike, like hike hike, this is not the place to do it. While there … [Read more...]
Worthington Vineyards & Winery
Worth the Trip Worthington Vineyards & Winery, Somers August 2023 I'm old enough to remember when the large majority of Connecticut wineries were tiny hardscrabble operations in modestly attractive environs. There was nothing like Worthington 20 years ago. This place is stunning. It's so nice, in fact, that it … [Read more...]
Sonny’s Place Carousel
Not Garbage at All Sonny's Place Carousel, Somers June 2023 I just spent way too long learning about the Antonacci family that owns Sonny's Place in Somers. I've heard the rumors... rumors that will always chase families with names like "Antonacci" who happen to be very successful in the sanitation and horse … [Read more...]
Worthington Pond Farm Covered Bridge
A Totally Worthington Bridge Worthington Pond Farm Covered Bridge, Somers December 2016 A few years before I first visited this rather large and pretty covered bridge, Worthington Farm was... a turkey farm. But at some point in the 21st century, real estate guy Dan Roulier bought and developed the property into a … [Read more...]
Shenipsit State Forest Intro
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...]
CTMQ’s Guide to Somers
Everything Somers I’ve been exploring and writing about Connecticut since 2006. After a decade, I began compiling CTMQ guides for each town in the state. I plan on “completing” Somers CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. That is the ultimate goal of CTMQ. If I’ve … [Read more...]
Somers’ Town Trails
Somers' Town Trails Shout out to the Somers town government for putting a good amount of hiking info on their town's website. Much of it is Northern Connecticut Land Trust info and maps, but that's still a good thing. The difficulty comes when trying to parse which properties are Somers', which are the NCLT's, and … [Read more...]
Scantic River State Park (Scitico/East)
More Than Scant Remains Scantic River State Park, Enfield/Somers ~2 miles of mish-mashing around, November 2016 & February 2017 I’ve been procrastinating on writing up my treks in Scantic River State Park for a while. Simply put, it’s all a bit confusing. Parts of it are called Scantic River Linear Park. Some … [Read more...]
Scantic River State Park Intro
Scantic River State Park Enfield, Somers, East Windsor Connecticut’s state forests are often parceled out over many acres in many towns. But our state parks are, for the most part, contiguous with themselves. If that makes sense. It probably doesn’t, but you know what I mean. The Scantic River State Park is … [Read more...]