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Hi Everyone!
I would love to hear of some places that would be fun this summer to go explore.
Although I am not new (I have been here for 3 years now!) I would love to know more about places that are nice to go to in the summer.
I love Mystic, and I also love the Ocean.
Thanks!
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Listen girl,
you just opened up a huge response from me hahahaha!
I grew up in Uncasville, which isn’t too far from Mystic. I definitely love that area too – the Olde Mystic Village has cute shops, a little movie theater, restaurants, etc.
Another town you might like is Niantic. It has the same coastal feel as Mystic, but is smaller. They have a super cute bookshop called the Book Barn, filled with used books at great prices. (Let me know if you want to take a trip down there!!!)
If you like nature trails, I live LITERALLY next door to the airline trail in East Hampton – it is super nice walking trail that lets you soak in the sun and nature.
Michael- Can you be my tour guide?!?!? This is awesome! Thank you so much!!
I have some spots for you too, Torry!
If you like the Ocean, then Ocean Beach in New London is a great place to check out! I love going for walks on the boardwalk, swimming in the Ocean and taking a dip in their huge pool. I believe there’s a water park there as well.
I personally love Old Saybrook – I grew up in Old Saybrook (so I am a little biased), which is a small town near Niantic where we have a cultural arts theatre in honor of Katharine Hepburn – katharinehepburntheater.org
While we have a ton of beaches, we are not the ocean (we are the Long Island Sound). You can collect rocks and search for sea glass on one of our beaches near the castle (you’ll probably find glass and pottery since it was a wedding venue and during prohibition era, they shipped bottles to this location). You can also collect garnet sand on some of the beaches too.
Essex is also a great place to explore – lots of cute shops like you find in Mystic Village and you can take a small ferry boat to get to a restaurant and watch the boats come in. There are also free concerts on the green and plenty of events along the shore.
Kayaking in Old Lyme is a lot of fun!
I love the Book Barn – There are a few of them, so depending on what topic you want, you may end up in a different location.
Gillette Castle and Devil’s Hopyard are great spots to go hiking, touring, and swimming in the water falls. I love to picnic by the castle and watch the steam boats along the Connecticut river.
Portland Brownstone Quarry is also a nice spot for swimming, adventuring, etc. although it is also not the ocean. You can go ziplining and go on water slides into the water.
Wow, CT is so exciting… a very beautiful place to live and I’ve yet to visit most of them.
In fact, I haven’t even visited some cities out here, Uncasville being one of them. When I look at the map of CT, some of the cities are so foreign to me. I need to check out more of this place I call home. I think a road trip is in order..
Looks like most of you grew up in that area of the state and like to be outdoors. I’m not much of a nature person (too many bugs and things I can’t control lol), but I feel like I’d be missing out if I didn’t check these places out.
Norwalk!
Come visit the Maritime Aquarium! SONO and Me :). I just love this little town… great hiking parks, kids parks, museums, bicycle trails and the local beach opening soon.
Other than that… I might need a tour of Connecticut. Been to a few places though: Westport Playhouse, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, On Track Karting Brookfield, Downtown Cabaret Theatre, LIVE At 5 Stamford…
You guys are the best!! I would love to get to ALL of this this summer!! I am going to make of list places I want to go and see how far I get. I will keep you all updated!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
I need to check out Essex and Old Saybrook more. I have only really passed through them, so hopefully this summer I can get that chance. I will definitely take up your suggestions Val.
Kevin, is SONO the seaport market? I was looking it up but wasn’t sure!
No, Michael. Its actually a strip in Norwalk with restaurants, galleries, bars, theatres and stores. Also, there are some great festivals held here like the Oyster Festival and art festivals. Its a great place to hang out on the weekends or during the holidays.
I’ve been in CT for the majority of my life and I must admit I’ve only been to a few of these places. One of my favorite places to visit is Mystic Aquarium, though. I love the animals and the occasional sting ray touch tank that they have. Also, I am a big fan of places like Lake Compounce and Quassy, which although they aren’t as big or as popular as Six Flags, I tend to enjoy the less populated family theme parks. Quassy also has a deal on Fridays in which hot dogs and cups of soda are 50 cents each as well as all the rides! 🙂 🙂 🙂
You should try It Adventure Ropes Course in New Haven! It’s a giant indoor ropes course with ziplines, climbing walls, and free fall jumps (you jump off a high platform with a harness on and it catches you when you get close to the ground). There is a large metal frame that you are hooked into the whole time so it is super safe. It’s got a really cool atmosphere- it’s lit by colored lights that change every few minutes and it has awesome music.
Hi, these suggestions are great! I’m personally a fan of a day at Lake Compounce or a day at the beach (Ocean Beach is great!). However, I thought of some ideas for those stormy days if you can’t go outside.
CT has some great museums that I recommend everyone checks out.
If you like art, my personal favorite is the Florence Griswald Mueseum in Old Lyme which is the beautiful old house of the Griswalds who were a focal point of the Old Lyme Art Colony- plus you can check out Old Lyme which is just an adorable town. I also recommend the Lyman Allyn Art Mueseum in New London which shows a lot of local collections of art and is just really cool in general.
Another cool museum to visit is Bridgeport’s Discovery Museum! They have really cool programs on science, including a space simulation that’s really cool for kids (I don’t know when they run the programs but I think you can find them on their website). The Discovery Museum is great for kids. Plus, if the day’s nice, there’s an awesome ropes course through the trees behind the museum that’s definitely worth checking out at some point.
Lastly, I really love the Mashuntucket Pequot Museum in Mashuntucket, CT. It has a lot of history on local Native American groups from CT, which is cool to learn about. It was somewhere I loved to go when I was a kid!
I hope everyone has a great summer!
This summer is going to be amazing! Now, I have so many places to go visit! Thanks everyone!