Connecticut outdoors

Enders State Forest, mostly in Granby, holds diverse forests, wetlands, and a series of waterfalls reached by a stone-dust trail, as part of thousands of acres of open space.

• Hiking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in Groton marks the 1781 Revolutionary War battle where British forces under Benedict Arnold captured the fort, featuring ramparts, a monument, and a museum.

• Boating
• ·Hiking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Picnicking

Fort Trumbull State Park in New London preserves a granite coastal fort with a legacy from the Revolution through the Cold War, plus a riverfront boardwalk and fishing pier.

• Boating
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Historic Site

Gardner Lake State Park in Salem is a day-use park on the 528-acre Gardner Lake, popular for fishing, boating, and swimming, with boat access to tiny Minnie Island.

• Boating
• ·Fishing
• ·Picnicking
• ·Swimming

Gay City State Park spans more than 1,500 acres between Hebron and Bolton, with hiking trails, a lakeside beach, picnic areas, and old mill-town ruins.

• Camping
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Picnicking

Haddam Meadows State Park overlooks the Connecticut River with open fields offering boating, fishing, and picnicking.

• Boating
• ·Fishing
• ·Picnicking
• ·Winter Sports

Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford surrounds the Eolia mansion with 230 seaside acres of lawns and gardens, popular for picnicking, birding, fishing, and photography.

• Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Wildlife Viewing

Haystack Mountain State Park in Norfolk features a mountain road and trail leading to a 34-foot stone tower at the summit with scenic views across several states.

• Hiking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Picnicking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

The Hop River State Park Trail follows a former railroad line over twenty miles through six towns, winding along a quiet, scenic path through the eastern Connecticut countryside.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Wildlife Viewing
• ·Winter Sports

Hopeville Pond State Park in Griswold offers fishing, swimming, and camping under an old-growth forest canopy on the shores of Hopeville Pond, an impoundment of the Pachaug River.

• Biking
• ·Boating
• ·Camping
• ·Cabins

Housatonic Meadows State Park in Sharon sits in the rocky valley of the Housatonic River, offering riverbank camping and renowned fly fishing for trout and bass.

• Boating
• ·Camping
• ·Cabins
• ·Fishing

Hurd State Park in East Hampton sits on the east bank of the Connecticut River, popular for paddling, river camping, mountain biking, and trails with scenic river views.

• Boating
• ·Camping
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking

Indian Well State Park in Shelton sits on the Housatonic River with a waterfall and gorge, a sandy beach, a picnic grove, and the river's only public boat launch.

• Boating
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Picnicking

Kent Falls State Park features water cascading roughly 250 feet down to the Housatonic River, reached by a covered bridge and a stone staircase trail beside the falls.

• Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Picnicking

Kettletown State Park in Southbury offers over six miles of trails, scenic overlooks of Lake Zoar on the Housatonic River, a picnic area, and a lakeside campground.

• Boating
• ·Camping
• ·Cabins
• ·Fishing

A scenic 95-acre park on picturesque Lake Waramaug in the Litchfield Hills, offering swimming, camping, cycling, and paddling.

• Swimming
• ·Camping
• ·Biking
• ·Paddling

A 10.3-mile linear trail across four towns, originally designated for horses and now popular with walkers, joggers, bikers, and hikers.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Horseback Riding

A 160-acre park straddling the Housatonic River along Lake Lillinonah, with hiking trails, dramatic gorge vistas, and historic industrial ruins.

• Hiking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A 2,300-acre park with more than 10 miles of trails, challenging ascents, spectacular mountain vistas, camping, and fishing.

• Hiking
• ·Camping
• ·Fishing
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A 300-acre park of woodlands, meadows, and waterfront with hiking trails, bird watching, and scenic vistas overlooking the Salmon River and cove.

• Hiking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A park set along a 500-acre lake, popular for fishing, boating, birdwatching, picnicking, and a multi-use trail network.

• Fishing
• ·Boating
• ·Wildlife Viewing
• ·Picnicking

A 1,000-acre park combining three former parks and steeped in Mohegan history, offering hiking, camping, and fishing for the whole family.

• Hiking
• ·Camping
• ·Fishing
• ·Historic Site

A 370-acre forest in two woodland blocks in Simsbury, including the Great Pond block and a section adjoining Stratton Brook State Park.

A forest of many parcels spread across several towns, with trails leading past varied topography to overlooks and wildlife habitat used by hunters in season.

• Hiking
• ·Hunting
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A park adjacent to Cockaponset State Forest centered on 33-acre Millers Pond, a spring-fed body of water excellent for smallmouth bass and trout.

• Fishing
• ·Hiking

A park with a one-mile tower trail leading to a 34-foot summit tower offering one of the best views in the state, plus a swimming pond.

• Hiking
• ·Swimming
• ·Picnicking

A state forest in Eastford popular for its horse trails, outstanding fishing, and riverfront picnic sites.

• Horseback Riding
• ·Fishing
• ·Picnicking

A 4,400-acre forest with trout-stocked ponds, 12 miles of trails, a pondside picnic area, and excellent bird-watching.

• Fishing
• ·Hiking
• ·Boating
• ·Hunting

Connecticut's second oldest state forest at more than 9,400 acres, a rugged and remote tract within one of the largest unbroken forests in eastern Connecticut.

• Hiking

A park offering hiking and fishing alongside the Osborne Homestead Museum, its historic gardens, and the Kellogg Environmental Center.

• Hiking
• ·Fishing
• ·Historic Site
• ·Picnicking

At 26,477 acres across six towns, the largest state forest in Connecticut, popular with campers, hikers, backpackers, equestrians, and hunters.

• Camping
• ·Hiking
• ·Backpacking
• ·Horseback Riding

A 1,702-acre forest spread over four locations in Torrington abutting Burr Pond and Sunny Brook state parks, home to the 2.1-mile John Muir Trail.

• Hiking

An almost 800-acre park offering four seasons of natural scenery, wildlife, vistas, solitude, and recreation just twenty minutes from Hartford.

• Hiking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A forest in the Pleasant Valley area along the West Branch of the Farmington River, offering hiking, picnicking, and scenic overlooks.

• Hiking
• ·Picnicking
• ·Fishing
• ·Wildlife Viewing

The site of the Continental Army's 1779 winter encampment under General Israel Putnam, preserving remains of the Revolutionary War cantonment.

• Historic Site
• ·Picnicking

A shoreline park with a gently sloping sandy beach, picnic areas, birdwatching, sprawling trails, and salt marsh viewing platforms.

• Beach
• ·Swimming
• ·Picnicking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A 149-acre former farmland campground, unique in offering Connecticut's only state campsites with full RV hookups plus group sites for up to 25 campers.

• Camping
• ·RV Camping

A 7,170-acre forest across Ellington, Somers, and Stafford, with hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and hunting over Soapstone Mountain.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Horseback Riding
• ·Hunting

Connecticut's first state park, a 235-acre shoreline destination for swimming in Long Island Sound, disc golf, and a mile-long beach.

• Swimming
• ·Beach
• ·Disc Golf
• ·Picnicking

A shoreline park with a three-quarter-mile boardwalk, sand dunes, marshland, and a sandbar connecting the park to Charles Island.

• Beach
• ·Swimming
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A park named for two miles of traprock mountaintop resembling a giant lying in repose, a distinguishing feature on Connecticut's skyline.

• Hiking
• ·Picnicking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

A 169-acre park with a tiered waterfall, covered bridge, observation tower, two-mile trail network, and the trout-stocked Paper Mill Pond.

• Hiking
• ·Fishing
• ·Picnicking
• ·Historic Site

A 172-acre park on the shore of Squantz Pond off Candlewood Lake, prized for boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, and leaf peeping.

• Boating
• ·Swimming
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking

This 55-acre Ledyard park has nearly 2,000 feet of frontage on the Thames River, a car-top boat launch on a tidal estuary, and a trail to a 183-foot lookout point.

• Boating
• ·Fishing
• ·Hiking

Stratton Brook offers swimming, picnicking, fishing, and cycling in a wooded setting, with a bike trail shaded by white pines that crosses scenic brooks and a covered bridge.

• Swimming
• ·Picnicking
• ·Fishing
• ·Biking

With more than 4,700 feet of frontage on the Salmon River, this 146-acre former resort site is a spot to picnic, kayak, watch for bald eagles, fly fish, or cross-country ski.

• Picnicking
• ·Paddling
• ·Fishing
• ·Wildlife Viewing

The Heublein Tower awaits hikers at the top of this 1,000-foot promontory, which provides unparalleled vistas of the Connecticut landscape and views estimated at 1,200 square miles.

• Hiking

Nestled in the Litchfield Hills, this state forest offers diverse landscapes including bike and nature trails, formal gardens, unique bird habitats, and an English Tudor style cottage.

• Biking
• ·Nature Trails
• ·Wildlife Viewing
• ·Picnicking

The 300 acres of this walk-in Easton park are part of a 758-acre valley preservation effort, explored by dirt roads or cross country under mixed deciduous and coniferous forest cover.

• Hiking
• ·Hunting

Designated a state park in 1942, Wadsworth Falls offers 4.5 miles of trails for hiking or biking, scenic views of the falls, and designated swimming, picnic, and fishing areas.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Swimming
• ·Picnicking

From vantage points along its six-mile ridge, this park takes in up to 200 square miles of views, from New Haven Harbor to Long Island Sound to Sleeping Giant.

• Hiking
• ·Wildlife Viewing

Set amid wooded, sandy knolls, 96-acre Wharton Brook State Park offers swimming, hiking, fishing, winter ice skating, and picnicking, and is one of the state's designated Trout Parks.

• Swimming
• ·Hiking
• ·Fishing
• ·Winter Sports

The 4.5-mile Windsor Locks Canal Trail follows the historic towpath of a 170-plus-year-old waterway, offering scenic vistas of both the Connecticut River and the old canal.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Historic Site

Located just north of Hartford, Windsor Meadows State Park is a quiet refuge along the Connecticut River, offering scenic views, boating access, and connecting river trails.

• Boating
• ·Hiking

Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument in North Canaan preserves a 19th-century iron blast furnace, Connecticut's only official industrial monument, beside the Blackberry River.

• Historic Site
• ·Fishing

Connecticut Valley Railroad State Park in Essex offers vintage steam train and riverboat excursions from an 1892 station along more than 12 miles of historic rails up the Connecticut River Valley.

• Historic Site

This non-motorized multi-use trail in Cheshire and Hamden follows the historic Farmington Canal route, passing remnants of the old canal bed, locks, and retaining walls.

• Hiking
• ·Biking
• ·Historic Site
• ·Winter Sports

Green Falls is a rustic campground in the Green Falls area of Pachaug State Forest, Connecticut's largest, with waterside access to swimming and fishing at Green Fall Pond.

• Camping
• ·Hiking
• ·Fishing
• ·Swimming

A 4,000-acre forest and park crowned by 1,683-foot Mohawk Mountain, with rugged ridges, dense forests, a wildlife sanctuary, and a black spruce bog.

• Hiking
• ·Wildlife Viewing
• ·Winter Sports

An island park in the Connecticut River accessible only by boat, the largest island in the river, offering riverside camping.

• Camping
• ·Boating
• ·Paddling
• ·Wildlife Viewing