State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites

Stately List
State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, Natural Area Preserves, Wildlife Management & Field Trial Areas, & Campsites

This page was a huge mess for CTMQ’s first 10 years. Connecticut makes such a simple sounding list incredibly difficult to organize for a bunch of reasons that you don’t care about. I’ll just say that there’s no single absolutely accurate list of these places. I’ve done my best below, but can’t pretend I haven’t mislabeled – or entirely missed – a few.

As you’ll see, there are a bunch of property types that you’ve likely never hear of. Natural Area Preserves? Wildlife Management Areas? Lots of state parks are within state forests and… well, it gets messy. We’ll figure it all out together.

Each place listing is alphabetical by name and will ultimately bring you to any and all CTMQ posts that relate to that place; sometimes just a hike, but more often each property contains so much more.

DEEP Sky’s the Limit Challenges (2015-17)
State Parks, Reserves, & Preserves
State Forests
State Natural Preserve Areas
State Wildlife Management & Field Trial Areas
State Campground

DEEP Sky’s the Limit Challenges

2015 DEEP Sky’s the Limit Challenge
2016 DEEP Sky’s the Limit Challenge
2017 DEEP Sky’s the Limit Challenge

State Parks, Reserves, & Preserves

Above All State Park, Warren
Air Line Trail State Park, Multiple towns
Auerfarm Scenic Preserve (etc.), Bloomfield
Beaver Brook State Park, Windham
Becket Hill State Park Reserve, Lyme
Bennett’s Pond State Park, Ridgefield
Bigelow Hollow State Park, Union
Black Rock State Park, Watertown
Bluff Point State Park, Groton
Bolton Notch State Park, Bolton & Vernon
Brainard Homestead State Park, East Haddam
Burr Pond State Park, Torrington
Camp Columbia State Park, Morris
Camp Harkness State Park, Waterford
Campbell Falls State Park, Norfolk
Chatfield Hollow State Park, Killingworth
CT Valley Rail Road State Park, Essex
Dart Island State Park, Middletown
Day Pond State Park, Colchester
Dennis Hill State Park, Norfolk
Devil’s Hopyard State Park, East Haddam
Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hill
Eagle Landing State Park, Haddam
Forster Pond State park, Killingworth
Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, Groton
Fort Trumbull State Park, New London
Gardner Lake State Park, Salem
Gay City State Park, Hebron
General Nathaniel Lyon Memorial State Park, Eastford
George Waldo State Park, Southbury
Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam & Lyme
George Dudley Seymour State Park, Haddam
Haddam Island State Park, Haddam
Haddam Meadows State Park, Haddam
Haley Farm State Park, Groton
Hammonassett Beach State Park, Madison
Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford
Haystack Mountain State Park, Norfolk
Higganum Reservoir State Park, Haddam
Hop River State Park Trail, Multiple towns
Hopemead State Park, Bozrah/Montville
Hopeville Pond State Park, Griswold
Horse Guard State Park Scenic Reserve, Avon
Housatonic Meadows State Park, Sharon
Humaston Brook State Park, Litchfield
Collis P. Huntington State Park, Bethel, Newtown, Redding
Hurd State Park, East Hampton
Indian Well State Park, Shelton
Ivy Mountain State Park, Goshen
John A. Minetto State Park, Torrington
Kent Falls State Park, Kent
Kettletown State Park, Southbury
Killingly Pond State Park, Killingly
Lake Waramaug State Park, Kent
Lake Williams State Park Scenic Reserve
Lamentation Mountain State Park, Berlin & Meriden
Larkin State Park Trail, Southbury, Oxford, Middlebury, and Naugatuck
Lovers Leap State Park, New Milford
Macedonia Brook State Park, Kent
Machimoodus State Park, East Haddam
Mansfield Hollow State Park & WMA, Mansfield & Windham
Mashamoquet Brook State Park, Pomfret
Mianus River State Park, Stamford
Millers Pond State Park, Durham/Haddam
Minnie Island State Park, Salem/Montville
Mono Pond State Park Reserve, Columbia
Moosup Valley State Park Trail, Plainfield/Sterling
Mooween State Park, Lebanon
Mount Bushnell State Park, Washington
Mount Riga State Park, Salisbury
Mount Tom State Park, Litchfield/Morris/Washington
Old Furnace State Park, Killingly
Osbornedale State Park, Derby & Ansonia
Pattaconk Lake State Park, Chester
Penwood State Park, Bloomfield
Platt Hill State Park, Winchester
Pomeroy State Park, Lebanon
Putnam Memorial State Park, Redding
Quaddick State Park, Thompson
Quarry Head State Reserve, Wilton
Quinebaug Lake State Park, Killingly
Quinnipiac River State Park, N. Haven
River Highlands State Park, Cromwell
Rocky Glen State Park, Newtown
Rocky Neck State Park, East Lyme
Ross Pond State Park, Killingly
Satan’s Kingdom State Rec. Area, New Hartford
Scantic River State Park, Enfield, Somers, East Windsor
Selden Neck State Park, Lyme
Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve, Ridgefield
Sherwood Island State Park, Westport
Silver Sands State Park, Milford
Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden
Southford Falls State Park, Oxford
Squantz Pond State Park, New Fairfield
Stillwater Pond State Park, Torrington
Stoddard Hill State Park, Ledyard
Stratton Brook State Park, Simsbury
Sunnybrook State Park, Torrington
Sunrise State Park, East Haddam
Sunset Rock State Park, Plainville
Talcott Mountain State Park, Avon, Bloomfield, & Simsbury
Tri-Mountain State Park, Durham/Wallingford
Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve, Easton
Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middlefield/Middletown
West Rock Ridge State Park, Hamden/New Haven
Wharton Brook State Park, Wallingford/North Haven
Whittemore Glen State Park, Naugatuck
Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail, Windsor Locks/Suffield
Windsor Meadows State Park, Windsor
Wooster Mountain State Park, Danbury

State Forests

Algonquin State Forest, Colebrook
American Legion State Forest, Barkhamsted
Camp Columbia State Forest, Morris
Centennial Watershed State Forest, Redding
Cockaponset State Forest: Chester, Haddam, Deep River, Killingworth, Clinton, Westbrook
Enders State Forest: Barkhamsted & Granby
Housatonic State Forest, Sharon
James L Goodwin State Forest, Chaplin & Hampton
Massacoe/Great Pond State Forest, Simsbury
Mattatuck State Forest: Harwinton, Litchfield, Plymouth, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown
Meshomasic State Forest: East Hampton, Portland, Marlborough, Glastonbury, Hebron
Mohawk Mountain State Forest: Cornwall & Goshen
Mohegan State Forest, Scotland
Nassahegon State Forest, Burlington
Natchaug State Forest: Ashford, Chaplin, Eastford, Pomfret
Nathan Hale State Forest: Coventry & Andover
Naugatuck State Forest: Beacon Falls, Bethany, Cheshire, Hamden, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect & Seymour
Nehantic State Forest: Lyme & East Lyme
Nepaug State Forest, New Hartford
Nipmuck State Forest, Ashford, Union & Woodstock
Nye-Holman State Forest, Tolland
Pachaug State Forest: Griswold, Plainfield, Voluntown
Paugnut State Forest: Torrington & Winchester
Paugussett State Forest, Newtown
Peoples State Forest, Barkhamstead
Pootatuck State Forest, New Fairfield
Quaddick State Forest, Thompson
Salmon River State Forest Intro, Colchester, East Hampton, Marlborough
Shenipsit State Forest: Stafford, Somers, Ellington
Topsmead State Forest, Litchfield
Tunxis State Forest: Hartland, Barkhamsted, Granby
Wyantenock State Forest: Warren, Kent, Cornwall

State Natural Area Preserves

I can’t find a proper list of these things no matter how hard I try. I read there were 25 of them as of 2000. I know a bunch of them are within state parks already, so there is a lot of overlap. I am basically adding this stuff simply because I know a couple of these are really cool. Please, let me know of any you know of that I’m missing.

Nathan Hale NAP, Andover & Coventry
Sandy Brook NAP, Colebrook
Kitchel Wilderness NAP, Colebrook
Gold’s Pines NAP, Cornwall
Canaan Mountain NAP, North Canaan & Canaan
Bluff Point NAP, Groton
Lord Cove, Lyme/Old Lyme
Hammonassett NAP, Madison
Charles Island NAP, Milford
Wharton Brook Pitch Pines NAP, North Haven
Roger Tory Peterson Wildlife Area, Old Lyme
Merrick Brook, Scotland
Dr. William A. Niering NAP, Waterford
Duck Island NAP, Westbrook
Matianuck Sand Dunes NAP, Windsor

State Wildlife Management & Field Trial Areas

These parcels exist mostly for hunting. Many are trailed (and “trailed”), so here they are. I continue to add them as I find them. Pretty sure no one will know they exist down here.

Bishop Swamp WMA, Andover
Nod Brook WMA/FTA, Avon & Simsbury
Bear Hill WMA, Bozrah
Sessions Woods WMA, Burlington
Cromwell Meadows WMA, Cromwell
Durham Meadows WMA, Durham
Newgate WMA, East Granby
Keeney Cove Marsh WMA, East Hartford & Wethersfield
Flaherty Field Trial Area, East Windsor
Higganum Meadows WMA, Haddam
Roraback WMA, Harwinton
Ross Marsh WMA, Killingly
Wangunk WMA, Portland
Simsbury WMA, Simsbury
Barn Island WMA, Stonington
Pequonnock Valley WMA, Trumbull
Belding WMA, Vernon
Tankerhoosen WMA, Vernon

State Campground

Salt Rock State Campground, Sprague

CTMQ’s Hikes, Bikes, & Paddles