Beautiful scenic nature with hidden gems throughout! Definitely a great place to bring the fur…read morebabies to have a swim! The park is clean and litter free Just be careful as some of the areas near the "island" are dirty and littered partially due to wash up and rising/sinking water levels. This is the only part that is concerning.

was looking for a picnic spot to eat some sandwiches and saw on there sign there was a picnic area…read morebut the gates were closed and we saw people walking with there dogs, seemed like nice spot. until we started to walk in the direction of the pinic spot and it was a very very far walk and it was very cold, we gave up on walking to the picnic spot and we ate on the road instead. would not recommend going if the gates are closed and the weather is cold.

The parking along the route isnt obvious, except for cars along a guardrail. There are 2 separate…read moreentrances from there, mostly obscured by overgrowth of bushes. The stairs lead down to what used to be an open picnic area, tables, grills, now quite a bit overgrown. The "falls" are simply a creek that flows along the picnic area, with a few small cascades, all under 5-6 feet tall. There is a trail that goes along the other side of the creek, and it then moves up & away from the creek into woods. That trail is ok, and eventually leads to a quirky rock formation where it's clear people either party and/or camp out and leave trash around. Like other comments, this place is in dire need of TLC by the state and better care by people who use it.

Lots of falls…read more Seven Falls is a small park with some interesting geology. I'm not sure why it is called seven falls because it really has only three or maybe four. Perhaps in the past more falls were visible and if you look closely at the geomorphology it is obvious that the water level was once much higher and carved out a channel through the rocks. The present falls are small, only five or so feet high and in times of drought the water level slows to a trickle. Because of all the recent rain the water was flowing pretty good when I took the pictures and in the winter the falls freeze and looks pretty impressive. No swimming is allowed but of course people still go in the water. The area around the falls has picnic tables and places for a fire. Most people think of this as a picnic or rest area but there are some hiking trails to the north of the falls. Nothing really exciting, just a few dirt paths up the side of the hill. One particularly interesting feature is a small hole in the side of the falls that was carve out by a rock spinning around during times of extreme water flow. Seven Falls isn't worth going out of you way to see, there certainly are far more impressive waterfalls in Connecticut. But for someone in Haddam that is interested in Geology or just wants a pleasant place to have a picnic it's worth a stop.

This is an interesting park. George Dudley Seymour State Park is adjacent to Hurd State Park, it's…read morejust to the south of it. Access to the park is at the end of Clarkhurst Road, which basically dead-ends at what used to be a bridge for cars, but now is a pedestrian bridge. There's a small gravel lot here, across from a private residence. The first part of the park is interesting - after you cross the bridge, you're still hiking on old roadway, down the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill, there are a number of meandering little trails, none of which are blazed. If you follow the main trail, you eventually end up in a semi-marshy area, where paths have been mowed. This would be a great park if there were a little more signage and trail blazing. Just even an entrance sign would be enough.

My oldest is on a HS Crew team and we've been to this location three times for regattas. There is…read moreparking off Dekoven with a connecting tunnel that leads you to the water. For the suspicious the tunnel does have cameras, lights and there's frequent foot traffic. The park itself is clean and family friendly. There is a bar located on the deck which is nice to watch a regatta, casual rowers or a sunset. The park has cement step seating, benches, and bench swings to relax on. All in all, this is a nice place to spend an afternoon.

Came here for the fireworks celebration! Middletown always knows how to put on a good show with…read moreplenty of things to do We ended up getting some fried dough and some jerk chicken from the Irie pot fusion and it was probably some of the best jerk chicken that I've had in the states.

This labyrinth was literally weaved with trees. It was a great walking path and I enjoyed the…read moredesign. Please treat the area with respect as it is a memorial site. Overall it was a good short stop and I'm thankful for the local community for putting it together.

Located over the bridge from the Good Speed Opera House, this is a great place to bring a picnic…read morelunch and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Connecticut River. Plenty of picnic tables as well as grass to bring a blanket and just relax.

It should more aptly be name Eagle Landing Parking Lot. It's one huge parking lot. There is a…read morefishing dock here. And a port a pot. But really not an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon. No admission fee or parking fee. We came since I wanted to see the swing bridge open up. The bridge opens, on demand, every hour on the hour. Averages opening 4-5 times a day. I thought I would get lucky on a Friday afternoon. I didn't. 3, 4, 5, 6. No bridge swinging. But I did get to watch some airplanes land and take off from the Goodspeed airport. Across the river, in the opera house parking lot - there is a small park with benches and shade which is a more enjoyable place to watch the bridge. Maybe you'll get lucky and the bridge will actually swing.

Having read much about the mysterious Moodus noises, my curiosity lead me here on a surprisingly…read morecool morning, with hiking boots on my feet, and a day pack on my back. There was entrance fee, and plenty of parking; so, it seemed I was off to a good start. I chose to hike the upper vista "trail" in the beginning, making my way back via the lower vista trail. You'll notice that "trail" is in parenthesis, for the reason that this is not a trail at all; it's a dirt road. That in itself would prevent any hiking area from receiving a a five, or even a four, star rating from me. In any event, it was a moderately steep ascent; but, not so much that I felt the need to stop for a rest. There was an adequate forrest canopy, providing plenty of shade. The forrest had the appearance of being dense on each side; but alas, the constant sound of traffic let me know better. Another star gone Upon reaching the summit, I noticed a number of picnic tables and benches. Although this area seemed well maintained, the view of the Connecticut river below was partially obscured by rather tall fauna. Continuing on, I immediately found myself descending on the lower vista trail, which, at this juncture, is as advertised, indeed being a narrow, winding trail. To my dismay, I noted several improvised footpaths, clearly made in attempt to avoid zig zag patterned descent. The descent itself was all to short; and, I again found myself on the lower fork of that same dirt road. All in all, it felt as if it took longer to drive there then it took to hike the main loop, leaving me to ponder whether or not I should have brought my fishing poll, instead. To extend the hike, chose to branch off the main trail, on to the yellw, then blue, to make a wider loop. At one point, I glanced a rooftop through the trees wondering if that was part of once abandoned town of Johnsonville, that I been told was visible from the trail. Maybe it was; maybe, it wasn't. All in all, this was a pleasant, but unremarkable, hike. If your kids are in reasonably good shape, this is a great place to bring them. Your dog is welcomed as well; in fact, I jokingly commented one fellow hiker that felt out place, not having brought a dog of my own. But wait! You say. The mysterious noise! Did you hear it? Well, at one point I did hear what sounded like the roar of a Civil War reenactment cannon. Unfortunately, that sounds a lot like the sound of a dumpster lid slamming against a garbage truck as it's lifted from the ground; and given the constant sound of traffic, I'd say either is plausible.

Maybe this is just me, but I don't feel the entrance is clearly marked from the road. There is an…read moreentrance and an exit sign, but I was looking for a state park sign and plum drove right past it the first go-round. But I made it... Parking lot is a good size, and there was a porta potty on the far side. Now, when you're in the parking lot, there is a trail to the left ambling downward, and a trail going up that leads to a paved parking lot with a few creepy boarded up houses, paved parking lot, and (at the time) a bunch of cherry pickers. It used to be a SOMETHING because there are overgrown basketball courts to be seen. This is not part of the park, although a friendly native let us know how to pick up a trail back into the park. Moral of our story - when you're in the parking lot, pick the trail ambling down, not up. Once you're in the actual park and not a mile out of your way, it's lovely. The trails are well maintained, lots of signage about how far you are from what lookout and the parking lot. There are also cute little fairy doors and elements, surely a magical place! I didn't see any picnic benches, but if you bring a blanket the lower overlook is very picnic worthy!

This gem is quite a bit off the beaten path. If you travel off season, which we do most of the…read moretime, you are rewarded with a serene nature experience, and relatively few fellow humans. It is dog friendly. From April to September the water is comfortable, with a pleasant sandy bottom. There seems to be a path all the way around the lake, but we've never gone that far. You are expected to carry your trash out to the parking lot, where you will find the only toilet facility in the form of a porta potty. Always a great place to lose the stress.

This was our first visit to Millers Pond, and we had a great experience. I printed the map from…read morethe DEEP web site first and checked out the comments and reviews on AllTrails app. We picked a route that would give us about a 3 mile walk and headed out. The parking lot wasn't very full when we arrived, but there are a lot of no parking signs on the road leading up to the park so I can only guess it must get really busy in the nicer months. We did a nice loop around the pond, there was mild terrain to navigate and with spring on its way, but the leaves not fully out yet the views were beautiful. We'll come visit again for sure, looks like there are a lot more trails to explore.

Reviewing it in terms of attempting a gravel bike ride starting at the Portland parking lot. From…read morethis start, the trail is only complete for ~ 2.5 miles before it ends. Also didn't love the gravel on this, as it was a bit loose (though maybe I'm nitpicking). The Maryland rails-to-trails we've been on tend to be much firmer and make an easier trek. But, the environment was lovely, it was fairly quiet, a few walkers and bikers, but no issues on the trails. Two of the road-crossings had pretty steep descents and assents, and it's worth going slowly for those road crossings, but all doable. As frequent CT visitors we'd hoped this was going to be the beginning of a great experience, so we'll have to shift our search to further along Air Line Trail (which will be further from our relative's home in CT).

Wow talk about a diamond in the rough. The trails were basically flat and before you knew it we had…read morealready walked 5 miles. I enjoyed my time here and talked about coming back. Maybe this spring.