Hopeville Pond continues to a tale of two cities. During the week it is occupied for the most part by people enjoying the park for what is , the outdoors, nature, kids playing and having fun, fishing and canoeing/kayaking. For this it excels. On weekends it is whole different world . It is occupied by a larger crowd of Inconsiderate people. The general ignoring of the quiet hour rules , not cleaning up after themselves in facilities , playing music at volumes that be heard several sites away, and a new one: The constant running of generators from8:00 AM until 10:00 PM. Really unless someone in your party is on a medical device that needs constant power , I can't understand why you need to run your generator all day. An ice chest can keep your food cold at fraction of the cost of the gas required to run a generator all day. While there are no rules against this , common sense and consideration for others should be all the rule needed. The worst part is the generator people put the generator on the other side of the RV from where they sit so the RV blocks some of the noise . On the other hand it is right next to my site I get the noise from it further amplified by what bounces of your RV. None of these are by any means only issues at Hopeville but I notice a lot more of it here The staff this year were all pleasant , friendly and helpful. The facilities during the week were spotless and they did a good job of trying to maintaining decently clean facilities on weekends . Next year I retire so I will never have to come on weekend again and will be to enjoy Hopeville. Hopefully the inconsiderate will keep their attendance to weekends . It is is nice park but weekends it is not relaxing . read more

I stayed here 3 nights in a tent. Check-in process was smooth but they did not provide much information as far as any amenities or map/layout of the area. The first night was a struggle considering the ground was almost all gravel and because of this, staking my tent was a tedious task. As long as you have good tent stakes and not the typical ones that come with all tents like I did, you should overcome the terrain. The bathrooms on our loop could have been a little better. We used the cleaning products we had on hand to take care of ourselves but my worry is that the bathrooms were not kept to the highest standard. The flies were overwhelming. The bath houses were private and free but the shower did take a second to warm up. Hopeville Pond State Park offered a welcoming atmosphere and if I ever decide to stay here again, I hope that the experience improves. read more

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We did not camp here, this review is mainly for the day use area. We were here to do some hiking for the DEEP Sky's The Limit Challenge, which involved some hiking on the Nehantic Trail. So we had a nice hike on the northern end of the park, and then came back to the park for a picnic at one of the many picnic tables in the area. Something that was really frustrating, and keeps me from writing a better review is that staff locked the doors to the bathrooms really early, about 2 hours before the park was scheduled to close. They locked them, and saw me standing there, and could easily have gotten out of their truck to unlock them for a moment, but they just kept driving on. I get that it is after the busy season, but this seemed a little on the jerky side to me. So overall this is a nice little park with a lake, a little beach area and some nice picnic tables, but be warned! read more

Hopeville Pond State Park - Hiking on the Nehantic Trail - Parks Near Me - Griswold, Connecticut

A peaceful local park with a great place to swim and relax and even enjoy a picnic lunch

We didn't camp here but used the boat launch which we found easy to find and paved which was great! The water today required us to really scrub the residue off the boats which I have now learned is pond algae. You have to park your vehicle in the visitor area which is a nice walk although not very private for the campers that are located along the way. read more

Hopeville Pond State Park - Parks Near Me - Griswold, Connecticut

Pretty park, with large swimming area. Just wish it had more trails!! The huge tree we saw was awesome and the camp area had its own swim area which is nice! read more

A river walk Hopeville Pond State Park is a beautiful woody area that is located right on the Pachaug River. People have been using this river for a long time and a huge mill was constructed on it years ago and before than the Mohegan Tribe camped on it and took advantage of the bountiful resources. Today it's a campground and park for people that want to appreciate the beauty of the woods and river. Lots to do here, the campground has 80 sites and the river offers swimming, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. There is also plenty of land to bike, horseback ride, hike or just walk among the trees and rocks. The roads and paths are well marked but it is easy to get lost if you get to adventurous and go off into the deep woods. The park has running water, relatively clean bathrooms and is quiet and peaceful. Even during the busiest summers months the people camping here are friendly, polite and you seldom see some the the debauchery apparent at other campgrounds. A cool park for people that want somewhere peaceful to camp, just go for a walk, or take advantage of the many activities that the river offers. People have been coming to this area for centuries and I suspect will continue to do so in the future. read more

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We stayed at the campground for Labor Day weekend. The park itself is nice, and the sites were big, but we were very disappointed with the management of the park. There was no enforcement of campground rules by the staff, who let an unlimited amount of campers and cars onto campsites without registrations and allowed the park to be a free for all. In a time where park capacities are a concern, we found this to be particularly problematic. We spoke with the park staff on three separate occasions about a group with 5 cars and at least 15 people staying on a single site who were blasting music and yelling until 1 o clock in the morning for two consecutive nights. The staff said they would address the issue and never did, so it continued to happen on the second night. The following morning the staff told us they never received any complaints. As a result, we were forced to leave a day early so we could get a decent night's sleep at home. The park's supervisor was kind enough to reach out the next day to find out what had happened and try to address our concerns, but unfortunately we had already lost faith in his staff's ability or willingness to do their jobs for another night. I'm sure this campground is a great place to stay if you're lucky enough to have considerate neighbors, but I would warn others that if you do not, you'll have little help from the staff. read more

Nice area, lots of picnic spaces (tables, bbq pits) Not to crowded Cute beach area for younger children read more

PROS: Decent sites throughout. Some clustered together a bit but. Beautiful Lake beach Not many bugs at our location and time of year. Great overall experience! CONS: Absolutely HATE the pit toilets but there are flush toilets over by the beach. Love the sites: CN01, CN02, CN03, CN04, CN05 More secluded. read more

Kid Friendly Beach and good For boating. Fine Bathrooms, no booze, and not far from turnpike. read more

Camping with family and my new sister in-laws family. We reserved some great spots in the canoe campsite area. All of the sites have fire rings, picnic benches and one outhouse. I would suggest a bringing a tap light or lantern for use in the bathroom, it is dark. Maybe also bring some incense, because it can get ripe in there. We are right off the pond, and spent a lot of time in the water enjoying ourselves. I was super surprised that random people would walk through our campsite to take a look though. It was a little unnerving, especially since we are set-up a little ways from the parking area. In most of the camping I have done, people respect your camp area, and do not enter it. The office, if they know, should not allow folks back to preview the campsites, unless they are not occupied. I know they have showers at the park, but have not had an opportunity to check them out. They are the push button ones that allow water for a short burst each time. You just have to push the button to get more water. The folks that have used them in our large group, say they are pretty clean, but thought the men's shower stalls could do with some attention. Bed sure to bring your floppy floppies for your feet! No alcohol is allowed in the park either. Overall the park is beautiful and the water is lovely. The birds will wake you with their beautiful calls, and the canopy from the trees help with shading for summer. Definitely worth a visit! read more

Hopeville Pond State Park - This was canoe site #4 the morning of our last day before departure - Parks Near Me - Griswold, Connecticut

The toilets are scary as hell! Classic scary movie set up. Nice clean park, but there isn't much to do if you aren't swimming or boating in the water. We left early. read more

The pond and the backdrop looks beautiful. Swimming is allowed in the pond. But, the day we visited, swimming was not allowed stating high contamination level in the water. Boating is also allowed. So, for someone with a boat, this place will be awesome. We just visited for a small picnic. It was a good place for a lunch in the woods viewing the pond. This place is also good for some quick sports. It has the potential for fishing and camping. I cannot comment on these as I did not try either of them. This place is good for a small picnic. But, not worth driving from a long distance (an hour or more). read more

Pretty place to grab a lunch with nature! But address listed on Yelp is wrong and directed me to the woods, arrived... Lol found a sign at next stop sign, so all good! read more

I really enjoyed camping here. The restrooms were HUGE and clean for a campground (although, they are not flush toilets). Our spot - right on the water which was beautiful! - was ample sized and big enough for a tent or a camper. The fire pits are the big round drum style, and they have grates that you can take on and off which worked well as we did all our cooking over the fire. My only problem with the place was that it seemed to be run by teenagers/young 20-somethings, not actual "rangers" and the rangers post wasn't open very often. It seemed like they were just open when the kids felt like working because even when we checked in the kid was like - "I'll be here till like maybe 4 or something". In other words, the campground was basically unattended most of the time (which sucked during "quiet hours" when you had a group of rowdies down the road that didn't shut up till midnight) and if you wanted to buy wood, you had to keep checking to see if the rangers station was open. Otherwise, it is a very nice, clean campground and I would return. read more

Asst manager Ted is RUDE RUDE RUDE. Spoke in a very condescending tone which only made the fact that they could not offer what we needed, even worse. He should not be allowed to speak to or handle customers. I work in customer service and have to give disappointing news every hour of every day. But a little consideration and not using rude language goes A LONG way. He wouldn't even let me speak and kept talking over me. TERRIBLE customer service. The park is beautiful. It's a shame they don't have better people running it. read more