I just love this park!!! The scenery and atmosphere is just absolutely beautiful. I come into the…read morepark for my walks and to sit by lake for a few minutes to clear my mind. Osbornedale State Park has a hiking trail, fishing, picnic areas, and t nearby Osborne Homestead Museum. The prominent Osborne family owned numerous metal working and fabric product factories in the area. At the young age of 31, Frances Osborne, later Mrs. Waldo Kellogg, took over the family business when her father died in 1907. Miss Osborne decided to take over the family business instead of selling it. Additionally, it was contrary to the advice of the executers of her father's estate, and a brave undertaking for a woman in the early part of the century. Despite the prejudices against woman in business at that time, Mrs. Frances Osborne Kellogg was very successful in her many businesses and investments. By adhering to the belief that one should always buy land but never sell it. Mrs. Kellogg gradually acquired numerous separate farms which now comprise the 350 acre Osbornedale State Park, an unusually large property in the Derby-Ansonia area.

Since I was in the area on a beautiful sunny day, I decided to finally check out the Osborndale…read moreState Park, which many people have enjoyed for years. It is small and has beautiful trails. It is a great place to have a picnic. It was peaceful and very relaxing to spend some time outside in nature.

I walked these trails with my dogs and mom and found them to bebeautif, and we met lovely people…read morealong the way.

Took my boys to one of the lakes located here. If you go early, you will usually have luck. We…read morecaught 12 fish, mostly bluegills, but my sons just want to catch fish. We were also visited by a big snapping turtle, which was cool. We are all about catch and release, so someone else will have an opportunity to catch something with their children. Really beautiful land so help take care of it if you visit.

The Derby Greenway walking trail is a serene 3 mile view of the river. It is especially beautiful…read moreon a sunny day when the leaves are changing color and are reflecting in the blue rapidly flowing water.

I love the Derby Greenway Trail. I have been coming here for about eight years. The Greenway Trail…read morehas a great scenery environment from bird watching, watching the train come through, the beautiful trees, and you also get a look at the Naugatuck River. The Greenway Trail is really relaxing and puts you in the right mind set and mode.

I HAD to go back to this because it's such an amazing experience. I'm sure they do more than "Fall…read moreFoliage" trips but that's when I visited in the past. Despite my best efforts in the past to do Fall train rides, which turned out to be disappointing only because there was never any good colors on trees, this by far is the very best fall foliage experience I've ever had in my life. You get great views of the tree color transitions and just great photo opportunities. It does get cold on the water so bring a jacket. Experience is as excellent as last time with beverages and snacks for purchase. If you enjoy fall colors, great scenery and boats then you have to do this at least once.

A peaceful Hudson River cruise from Peekskill to Bear Mountain. Beautiful views and a truly…read morerelaxing experience! Such a wonderful way to spend the day. Very pleased with this cruise!

My boyfriend and I went for a mini vacation in Norwalk, CT and I booked the Sunset Harbor…read moreLighthouse Tour which we went on this past Sunday evening from 6:30-8:30, on 8/10/25. This tour was definitely a highlight of our trip! Captain John and Charlie were great and all the passengers aboard had a great time! We passed three lighthouses-Peck Ledge LH, Sheffield Island LH and Green's Ledge LH. Charlie, co-captain of Captain John, had just toured the inside of Green's Ledge LH the day before which is listed on Airbnb for $6,000! He went around the ship showing everyone the floor plan. It especially exciting to be on the Long Island Sound and to see the red and white towers from Northport, since I live on Long Island!! We were able to see several different viewpoints of the sunset and osprey nests as well. Definitely recommend to residents of Norwalk AND tourists alike!

Like a lot of other dork type middle age dudes I'm a sucker for a good lighthouse. Actually I've…read morebeen to a few clinkers which says that I'm apparently I'm also a sucker for a bad lighthouse as well but there's no need to worry about that at Sheffield because it's all good here. So if you want to come you've got two legal options. 1. Show up via kayak (or I suppose boat then taking a short swim) during hours when they are running tours and you will be met on the shore by a volunteer who will ask you to pay a few dollars for the privilege of taking the lighthouse tour/hanging out on the island. 2. Or, you come via the regularly scheduled boat that runs from the dock on North Water Street in Norwalk from late May until the end of September. There are various public & private decks for parking all around the area so it shouldn't be too hard to find a close space. I don't remember what the price is for option #1 but for option #2 the below currently apply: Adults: $22.00 - Children 12 & Under: $12.00 Senior / NSA Member $20.00 Active Military with ID $10.00 Children 3 & Under: $5.00 Family 4 Pack (2 Adults, 2 Children) $55.00 A few random facts: Boats depart weekends only every year over Memorial Day weekend and eventually go daily from July until Labor Day and then back to weekends only until the end of September. Check seaport.org for the current schedule and for special events such as their clambakes. Once you get to the island you get to take a brief tour of the lighthouse which was built in 1868 (downstairs only for now as the upstairs tower portion is being worked on and hopefully tours will be allowed there in the not to distant future once they get the stairs in better shape along with figuring out a way to dissipate the heat which we were told was well over 100 degrees the day we were there in August) and you can also walk through the nature trail via the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge. If you are going to walk on the nature trail or along the beach that fronts Sheffield Island Harbor just know that things are "wild" and that you will get eaten alive by flies, mosquitoes and I wouldn't be shocked if the trees had lots of ticks. The lighthouse was relit in 2011 for the first time in 91 years. Why Sheffield Island? The island was named after Revolutionary War veteran Captain Robert Sheffield who bought the island in 1804. He married Temperance Doty, a Mayflower descendant and such started the current lineage of the island's name. The 47 acre island is private property that is primarily owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the Norwalk Seaport Association depending upon the website owning only three or four of those acres. You will be reminded a few times of where you can and cannot walk. Speaking of an area you can't walk by it would be the dilapidated house on the right near the dock. That house is still owned by the Stabell family who sold the island to the Norwalk Seaport Association in 1986 for 700K. I forget the exact story we were told but it's something along the lines of the "home" (more of a dilapidated shack) cannot be renovated because of Fish and Wildlife Service rules and if they raze the structure they lose the land so the shack stands as is. The island itself is around a mile and half from the dock in Norwalk and the boat is kept at a country club pace in both directions which equals about 40 minutes to make the trip in each direction. This is fine as one of the crew did a fairly good job or telling everyone about some of the various islands & lighthouses & birds in the area and about the local shellfish industry. Past that it's just sit back and relax on some of their picnic benches and have a picnic or don't do a damn thing except the enjoy the beautiful view. Either way it's awesome.

I must say fishing with Ernest Fernandez fishing buddies of America was one of the best experiences…read moreI could have ever had. We caught fish after fish after fish. He made certain that we were fed always providing a box of Popeye chicken with biscuits giving us a bottle of water and soda and walking around the boat asking is everyone okay. Fishing buddies of America has seen a lot of members come and a lot of members go. I was very happy to be a part of a fishing trip that took place in North Carolina on a 24-hour fishing vessel where we caught lots of Vermilion snappers the size limit and the limit for two days as well as Grunt and triggerfish. It was my first experience and a great one. It's sad to say though in 2018 Mr Ernest Fernandez passed away. He does have friends of fishing buddies of America who are running their own charters as a matter of fact there is a trip on June 9th the boat is almost full will be a dedication to miss the earnest Fernandez will we will dedicate to the sea memories of mr. Fernandez. I think that is a great way to pay homage to him. We will also fish on this day in memory of mr. Fernandez for one of his favorite fish porgies. I can see the smile on this man face now catching two parties at one time. Nonetheless great man and a great time I had with him fishing with fishing buddies of America tightlines forever mr. Fernandez

This is a beautiful lake with hiking trails. It's a regional water authority area, so you need a…read morepermit to hike and park here. There is a parking lot by the trail beginning. There are around 4 miles of trails. You can hike to the West River and around the lake. It's mostly flat but to the West River, it's a little hilly. No swimming or fishing, and dogs are not allowed.