A fun, yet simple, little trip to do on a summer day. Forgot my OFF, so I couldn't go as far into…read morethe trails as I would've liked, but the castle was the primary reason for going and probably the reason most go. Although it may look medieval, the castle was built in 1914. It's rather simple and straightforward, but for $6 as an out-of-state visitor, you can't go wrong. Takes about 1/2 hour to do, and again is just something different and outside the norm to do a summer (or anytime really) day.

We finally returned, but had to curtail our visit because our senior pup could not handle the 87…read moredegree heat. It was quite apparent on our short walk around the park that it is being well maintained with many people enjoying picnics.

My sons wedding was here in October. It was amazing Eileen was the ring leader at the farm…read morephenomenal was putting it mildly. She was all over the place helped out with absolutely everything. Even the parking lot with her awesome golly cart. All in all a fabulous day thank you Eileen you were fabulous!!

On the Parmalee Farm grounds, there is a Farmhouse run by the Killingworth Historical Society…read more About five Sundays year, they open the Farmhouse museum for an open house (although donations are appreciated). The museum has two decorated rooms with explanations for what the items are and where they came from, a small gift shop area with books, note cards, and some vintage items for reasonable prices. They seem to have a rotating exhibit in their largest room off the kitchen. When I attended, they had postcards of the local area which was neat to see how things have changed. They also hold a Christmas Fair on the grounds, which I hope to be able to attend because it sounds beautiful. It's not a large museum, but interesting to pop in and see, particularly if you're interested in local history.

Cedars swamps and…read morecrappers Great Cedar Conservation Area is a 320 acre swamp with several miles of hiking trails. It is home to the largest collection of Atlantic White Cedar trees in the state as well as the largest individual White Cedar trees. It's a flat and very easy hike as long as you go in the cold weather. This is a real swamp so the flies and mosquitoes are extremely numerous and will tear you to pieces if you are brave or foolish enough to go in the spring or early summer. Not a lot of interesting rocks or terrain, the trees and plants are the attraction. Some beautiful cedars and some cool ferns closer to the ground, this swamp is a tree lover and botanist's dream I notice some old fences and what looked like an old foundation but what really caught my old was a cool old outhouse with an interesting sign. Not sure who put the sign up or exactly where the venerable old crapper originally came from but I certainly didn't have the courage to open the door to see what what inside. The Great Cedar area is a pleasant little hike that is for people that like to go slow and look, listen and smell. Swamps are beautiful places to hike in the winter but just make sure you don't go when the hordes of insects are masters of the terrain.

Very easy hikes and a beautiful and strangely interesting stroll in the woods. The trails surround…read morearound a few small lakes that make wonderful stopping off points. The Conservation Area wraps around the Hay House property, The Hay House is constructed entirely of hay bales. It is private property but you are invited to see the Stuba Buddhist shrine that sites in the front of the property by the parking lot. The "crapper" is the private loo for the Hay House. Kinda misleading since it is sitting right there on the trail.

Another trip to CT landed me at Savin Rock Beach. Very pretty location. There is a nice divided…read more walkway with a bike lane as well. Many gorgeous pictures to be taken here. As you come to the end (or beginning depending on which direction you started) of the trail/walkway there is a nice park for the kiddos. Slides, monkey bars/jungle gym. There is a parking fee if you aren't a resident.

Nice clean park with beautiful hand painted art work and wall murals. Very nice long walking path.read more

A playground near the beach with grass areas and trees, I mean what more could a kid ask for! There…read moreare multiple play areas for varying age groups. The park is in good condition, all new rubber mats along the bottom and trees surround the park so it's a beautiful spot to picnic that overlooks the water. During fall months there was no fee, I'm sure the summer it is packed here due to the beach. But if you have kids this is a fantastic place to spend a a few hours.

Fantastic beach! It's not huge, but it's still a decent size. Brought my 4 yr old here on a Sunday…read moreand had a great time! We arrived about 10:30 and there was plenty of space. The nice guy in parking told us it was $30 to park for nonresidents (assume that's both parking and pass, though not sure), but free parking was available a short distance up the road and entry fee would be just $10. We went with that even though it meant I would be carrying everything to the beach. The parking was really not far... maybe one wide city block. It's literally across the playground (which you can't cut to since it's part of the park and fenced in). Then you go down the hill which is all sidewalk (good when you have kiddos), and down to the paid parking and beach. Once you arrive to the parking, you go to the restroom building on the left and there's a sign that says "passes" on the right side. Go there to pay the $10 pass. There were some rules I wasn't aware of, so some tips: umbrellas need to be behind the cones. I believe the life guard said it was to keep the incoming tide from washing it out? The tide did come up a little during the day we were there. Also, no boogie boards allowed anywhere at the beaches with life guards. What I didn't know, was it was allowed at the private beach strip between the two public beaches. There are houses overlooking the private beach area, but everyone seems to use it or at least walk it to get from one public beach to the other. I'm sure if someone really didn't want you hanging out there, they'd tell you, but we seemed to be allowed. We also were just 2 people and not a party hanging out, so that probably helps. The water was warmish in the shallow waves but cooler once in. Water is pretty clear and some areas had more seaweed than others, but not bad. There are a ton of boat type shells and not much of others. The sand and waters are full of nice pebbles, stones, and larger stones. There is also a floating raft a short distance out (of both public beach areas) that you can swim to, although we did not since my daughter still doesn't swim well. The beach gets busy after noon, but it wasn't too bad. There are a couple outdoor showers by the bathrooms that worked really well. We didn't use the bathrooms so not sure how they were. I don't know if there's a concession stand; I didn't see one. But there was an ice cream truck that came by at the main beach. A nice playground is up the hill a little bit from the beach that we were going to visit, but decided to keep moving and go home. I'd definitely come here again. For $10 and a little hassle of carrying your things a short distance, it's a really pretty and clean beach, with nice views of sailboats on the water. The waves are gentle too, so it's good for little ones. Still watch them though bc as the day went on, the waves got a little bigger and has a good pull for small kiddos.

This was truly amazing. You talked about the revolutionary war. It showed many different things and…read moretalked about how Connecticut played a part in this war and how the war was brought to Connecticut and how they fared. If you look at that monument that's in here, you can actually walk in and their steps it's a spiral staircase and it goes up, which seems like forever, but the view of top are amazing to see overlooking the water and seeing everything around, but I will tell you this it's not something I would want to do every day that is quite the walk. But there's so much to see them outside as well as in if you're ever in the area, definitely take a look. It is worth seeing. Thank you for listening.

Great historic site/battlefield. Climbing the monument/tower is exhausting and your workout for the…read moreday. The tunnel is interesting too, as I'm only 5'6 and had to hunch down to get through. I didn't check out the musuem, as the monument climb took a lot out of me, but otherwise the site was interesting and fun experience. Some nice views as well, while also remembering those that passed here

This is a fun little spot. The weather is so nice out today…read morethat I wanted to go for a walk with my son in a safe, well populated location and have a beachy vibe to it. We stumbled upon Branford Point after seeing tons of private beach roads nearby and a quick Google search for a public Branford beach. There were at least a dozen fishermen here near the parking area. There is a small strip of a sandy beach with an actual lifeguard. Also, there is a playground/park with picnic tables. Next time we come back, we'll be more prepared to go on the sand and pack a lunch to stay longer!

I have now forgotten the circumstances that brought me to Branford Point this past spring: all that…read moreI remember now is that I had to be out of the house an hour or so before I needed to leave for work. The amount of time seemed just right to explore this city of Branford park, on my way in to New Haven, and I am glad I did. Branford Point park is small but packed with memorable features. From the boat launch, which is surrounded by water on 3 sides, to the beach, backed by a grassy, tree-lined hill, there is much beauty to absorb from this point. Parking was possible, but limited: I imagine in the summer high season that it becomes difficult for anybody that lives outside Branford to visit. Though it may be small and packed, the challenge in this case would be worth the breeze from Long Island Sound, the sights of nearby Thimble Islands, and the peaceful vibes I found at Branford Point.

This is a newly rededicated state park in East Haddam. It has a parking area, a memorial and a…read moresmall picnic area. It commemorates Capt. Comer, an explorer from the time of great explorations during the early 1900's, who also resided in East Haddam. Members of his family still live in town. The park is located at the head of a town park which includes a couple of short easy hiking trails. The picnic area is easy to get to and a nice little roadside rest. This is a good place to bring young children for a picnic and a short hike.