There's a few different sections of the Naugatuck State Forest. We went to the Quillinan Reservoir…read moreBlock, which is in Ansonia. There are a few ways to access this park, we decided to go from the Ansonia Nature Center. The transition over to State Forest is pretty subtle, mainly with some markings on the trees. This park is also adjacent to some watershed land, that is also marked really well. This park has some nice hiking trails, with a lot of different loop options. We ended up doing a 10k (6 miles) hike, on the white and purple loop trails. The trails are nicely blazed, and there's a really good variety of trees. We went through some hardwoods and some pine forest, and there were lots of plants and some water views of the reservoir at various points along the hike. It's not too strenuous elevation wise, which was nice for a moderate hike. Mountain biking is allowed in the park, and we saw several people out for a ride, so it seems a pretty popular location for biking, and the trails seem not overly eroded. My only complaint is this park is adjacent to a gun club, so for a good chunk of the hike (mostly the white trail) was done to the sound of near constant gunfire. It's not the most tranquil thing, especially if you're sensitive to that sound.

This is a beautiful walk around the reservoir. The day was overcast with a threat of rain, but the…read moretemperature today made up for the darkened skies. Colorful leaves are starting to pop out everywhere, and I suppose this place will be in it's prime in a week or so. If you're in the neighborhood, you have to stop by and enjoy the scenery.

Cool area. lots of places to lay low and relax. Biking is not a problem. The water is nice feeling…read moredue to a cold spring as well.

If you need breathtaking views especially this time of the year where the trees change color, this…read moreis the spot for you. There is more than one trail and if you have a map you can decide which trail to follow. If you are interested in just a walk around the lake the red trail would be perfect but if you are more interested in the view of the lake from higher up, then the blue to the orange trail, blue and blue to the red trail will get you there. The entire hike got us was about 3 miles. A simple hike that is good enough for a beginner. It had a steep hill and I was so out of breath going up but when you get to the top at the lookout point it was all worth it. The lake wasn't the cleanest as the water was green but there were still people fishing. A lot of picnic tables to sit, eat or hang out and a big parking lot with adequate space.

It's a beautiful place to spend with your family. It's a small quiet beach with clear water.read more

Great park. Went here for the first time for my company picnic. We took up the entire pavilion…read morearea. Weather was good, mid 70's. Set-up some volley ball, frisbee can, corn hole, and few people fished along the shore. Looks like they also have a beach and place to launch kayaks. Our picnic was in mid-September, since those activities looked like they were done for the season, we'll have to wait until next year, if we go a bit earlier.

Beautiful Park but it really needs garbage cans there's fishing lines and hooks everywhere around…read morethe pond and at first I blamed people. Now, after gathering all this line and hooks to throw away, I've come to realize there's no garbage cans if there are no garbage cans people will just throw them on the ground this is unsafe for kids, animals, and other people. PLEASE PUT GARBAGE CANS IN

Excellent spot for a hike! The waterfall and covered bridge are beautiful, as are the hiking trail…read more Red trail was a bit harder than we expected, especially with a 3 year old. AllTrails marked it as easy, but I'd say it's more of a medium. A boarded section washed out from a recent flood, so it took some maneuvering to get through. Also a few big trees down. But overall it was a really fun and relaxing hike.

Great spot to walk. An escape from the noise of Bristol's commotion. Close to home. A nice place…read moreto stretch your legs.

Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut. It spans 5,420 acres, 11 miles long, 2 miles…read morewide, 65 miles of shoreline, depth up to 90 feet, and has 12 islands. It also borders five towns: Danbury, New Milford, Brookfield, Sherman,and New Fairfield. This is a very popular place for all kinds of water sports, and bass and trout fishing. There are two state boat launches and many marinas for docking. The shoreline has so many magnificent homes, and don't be surprised if you see a seaplane landing or taking off on the lake. This lake usually gets very busy on the weekends in the summer.

Have not been on the lake for quite a while and decided to give it a shot. Ok, so it was a really…read morenice Sunday and I know it will be busy, and my expectations were that it would be busy. Launch at Lattin's Cove was solid jammed and the number of rude idiots just simply ASTOUNDING. No courtesy for other boaters/pwc's whatsoever. Couple of morons were camped out on the dock and screwed up everyone else's put in/take out routine. No surprise to see the NJ and NY registrations on their PWCs. While coming back in, 3 idiots on PWC's came screaming past us in the no wake zone to "beat" us to the ramp, then they sat there blocking one side of the launch. One fellow asked nicely if they could move over just a bit so he could launch his pwc and he got snapped at by one of the tattoo queens... "we're leaving in a couple of minutes". Definitely will not go back here on a weekend anytime soon. Very sad because it never used to be like this.

I stopped by Silver Sands State Park with my husband and some friends when we were driving down the…read moreConnecticut coast over the Fourth of July weekend. The park is almost 300 acres of beach, dunes, salt marsh, and woods. You can beach, swim, fish, walk along the beach or boardwalks, birdwatch... (FYI: alcohol is prohibited, so this is a beach for families, relaxing, and no-alcohol fun.) It's free for in-state registered vehicles. If your car or rental car is not registered in Connecticut, it costs $22 on weekends or holidays and $15 on weekdays (or $112 for a season pass). We couldn't stay long (the downside of a roadtrip with a planned out itinerary), which was too bad, because the beach was very nice! Crowded, perhaps, but what beach isn't on a hot July day?! I could've stayed a while with an umbrella for shade, a book, and a picnic! A lovely public beach.

We had a perfect seaside lunch at Frenchie's Coffee Bar - our serious lobster roll consumer said…read morethat this was the best she's ever had. The black bean burger was perfectly prepared to order They were super nice about making me a grilled cheese even though it wasn't on the menu. Staff were super cheerful and helpful and friendly, and we couldn't have asked for a better lunch stop on our coastline walk!