Campbell Falls
Route 272 Norfolk, CT
Cascading waters are the centerpiece of this park, which features fishing, hiking trails and picnic areas.
Science and nature attractions in Hartford CT can enrich your vacation
Connecticut Audubon Center
1361 Main Street Glastonbury, CT Phone: 860-633-8402
Open: Tues-Fri, 1-5 pm; Sat, 10 am-5 pm; Sun, 1-4 pm; Closed the last week in December.
Maintained by the Audubon Society of CT, this science and nature center features exhibits on area wildlife and plants, and a hands-on area for children. A gift shop and programs are available year-round. The center is located next to Earle Park, a 48-acre outdoor setting with numerous walking trails.
Connecticut Science Center
250 Columbus Blvd. Hartford, CT 06103 Phone: 860-724-3623
A visit to the Center is a high-impact learning experience in a green, clean, bright, and stimulating environment. Adults and children alike will find entertainment and educational value in hands-on, engaging, and exciting exhibits and programs that emphasize current science and science you can use every day. Open year-round.
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $17; seniors above age 65, $15.50; youth ages 3 to 17, $14.
Information: www.ctsciencecenter.org
Copernican Space Science Center
Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT Phone: 860-832-3399
Open: Call for show times, also by appointment
This planetarium and observatory is home to one of the biggest telescopes in the country. Programs and events for children and adults are held there throughout the year. Admission: $3.50 adults, $2.50 seniors and children.
Dinosaur State Park
400 West Street Rocky Hill, CT Phone: 860-529-8423
Open: Daily, 9 am - 4:30 pm
One of New England's most amazing places, Dinosaur Park features authentic dinosaur tracks that are 200 million years old. These are protected under a dome, which also houses exhibits and special programs that are held throughout the year. Visitors with their own materials are permitted to take plaster casts of the tracks.
Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens
Corner of Prospect Avenue and Asylum Avenue Hartford, CT Phone: 860-231-9443
The park’s world famous rose garden is the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country. The two-and-a half-acre rose garden has 15,000 plants in about 800 varieties of roses. The park is also home to a rock garden and specialized gardens of annuals, herbs, and perennials.
Hours: Year-round, daily, dawn to dusk.
Hours: Year-round, daily, dawn to dusk.
Enders State Forest
Route 219 West Granby, CT Phone: 860-379-2469
Open: Year round.
This wildlife sanctuary features a walking trail that leads to beautiful, scenic waterfalls.
Flanders Nature Center
Flanders Road Woodbury, CT Phone: 203-263-3711
Open: Monday - Saturday, 9 am - 5 pm
Many special programs are scheduled here. Visitors can enjoy nature walks that feature wildflowers (seasonal), a bog and an arboretum made up of nut trees. The Center's trail house features nature exhibits and a gift shop.
H.O.R.S.E of Connecticut
43 Wilbur Road Washington, CT Phone: 860-868-1960
Open: Year-round, Friday - Sunday, 8am - 4pm
This equine rescue organization houses horses it has saved, holds information events, treats injured animals and even offers animals for adoption. Visitors can take a tour of the facility and feed horses. Trail rides can be arranged with advance reservations.
Hungerford Park
191 Farmington Avenue Kensington, CT Phone: 860-827-9064
Open: Tuesday - Friday, year-round
This park is home to a farm, a collection of exotic animals, a system of trails, science exhibits and programs led by the New Britain Youth Museum.
Lake Waramaug State Park
Route 45 New Preston, CT Phone: 860-868-2592
Park is set entirely on the lake. Visitors can enjoy swimming, scuba diving, fishing, boat rentals, sports fields, hiking trails and more. In season nature programs are scheduled. A 78 site camping area is available for a fee.
McLean Game Refuge
Route 10, Salmon Brook Road Granby, CT Phone: 860-653-7869
Open: Year round.
Enjoy a hiking and cross-country skiing on refuge trails. The area provides ample observation areas for both general nature study and birding in particular.
Metacomet Trail
Route 20 East Granby, CT Phone: 860-346-2372
Open: Year round
This trail is blue-blazed and extremely popular with hikers.
Northwest Park Nature Center
145 Lang Road Windsor, CT Phone: 860-285-1886
Open: Year round.
A local area nature center, with a barn, a museum focusing on the tobacco industry, a trail marked in Braille, hiking and cross-country ski trails, and an animal barn.
Oak Grove Nature Center
Oak Grove Street Manchester, CT Phone: 860-643-0949
Open: Daily, dawn to dusk
Free admission to this nature center, featuring picturesque and naturally revealing trails.
Penwood State Park
Route 185, Simsbury Road Bloomfield, CT Phone: 860-566-2304
Open: Year round
Park has bicycle, hiking and nature trails, as well as sports areas and cross-country ski areas in season.
Peoples State Forest
East River Road Barkhamsted, CT Phone: 860-379-2469
Along the Farmington River, this forest features hunting areas, fishing areas, hiking and cross-country ski trails, snowmobiling, and sports fields. Of particular interest is the Mathies Grove picnic area, set among great pines that are over 2 centuries old. Hiking trails include the Beaver Swamp Loop, which leads visitors past the remains of 18th and 19th century charcoal pits and ancient Indian villages, as well as the ruins of a colonial home. Another trail also forks off to the site of an ancient Indian soapstone quarry. A campground is also available.
Roaring Brook Nature Center
70 Gracey Road Canton, CT Phone: 860-693-0263
Tues - Sat, 10 am - 5 pm; Sun 1 - 5 pm; July-Aug, also Monday, 10 am - 5 pm
This nature center features walking trails, live animals and an Indian longhouse. Classes and special programs are also scheduled periodically throughout the year.
Salmon Brook Park
Route 10 Granby, CT Phone: 860-844-5356
Open: Year round.
This park is set on 114 acres, and features hiking trails, an old fashioned swimming pond, and a state-of-the-art children's play area.
Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area
Route 69 Burlington, CT Phone: 860-675-8130
Open: Year-round, dawn to dusk.
Visitors to this natural preserve are treated to a beaver marsh, an observation tower, and a waterfall. Walking and hiking trails feature information signs and demonstrations of wildlife management practices.
Shenipsit Trail
Route 190 Somers, CT Phone: 860-346-2372
Open: Year round.
Several blazed hiking trails are situated on this site.
Stratton Brook State Park
149 Farms Village Road (Route 309) Simsbury, CT Phone: 860-242-1158
Stratton Brook is a completely wheelchair accessible park offering swimming, picnicking and interpretive programs in a beautifully wooded setting. Stratton Brook State Park is a designated trout park.
Activities bicycling, hiking, field sports, picnicking, fishing, swimming, cross-country skiing, ice skating.
Facilities: bathrooms, changing houses, picnic shelters, picnic tables, seasonal interpretive displays.
Talcott Mountain State Park
Route 185 Simsbury, CT Phone: 860-242-1158
This park is located on the site of a Hartford family's former summer home. The main feature is the Heublein Tower, 165 feet high, with four states visible from the top. The tower is reached by hiking a 1.5 mile trail. A museum detailing the history of the area is also located in the park.
Tower open late May to end of August, Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; labor Day through October 31, daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Pratt Center
163 Papermill Road New Milford, CT Phone: 860-355-3137
Nature preserve with hiking trails and river walks. There are also special programs scheduled throughout the year, and live farm animals on the premises in the spring, summer and fall.
Tomasso Nature Park
Granger Lane Plainville, CT Phone: 860-747-6022
Open: March 15 - November 15, dawn to dusk
This 11 acre nature park includes 4 acres of wetlands. Visitors can observe varieties of animals, birds and fish. Walking trails provide ample views of native flora. Free admission.
Wethersfield Nature Center
30 Greenfield Street Wethersfield, CT Phone: 860-721-2953
Open: Saturdays, 10 am - 1 pm
This nature park features educational and hands-on exhibits, including live animals and scheduled programs. A log cabin on the site has a library and gift shop.
Wickham Park
1329 West Middle Turnpike Manchester, CT 06040 Phone: 860-528-0856
Wickham Park extends into both Manchester and East Hartford, Connecticut. The park contains 250 acres of gardens, open fields, woodlands, ponds, picnic areas, sports facilities, and other attractions. The park contains 250 acres of gardens, open fields, woodlands, ponds, picnic areas, sports facilities, and other attractions.
Hours: First weekend in April through the last weekend in October; 9:30 a.m.-sunset except in inclement weather.
Admission: Parking fee for cars is $4 weekdays and $5 weekends; higher fees for buses.
Hours: First weekend in April through the last weekend in October; 9:30 a.m.-sunset except in inclement weather.
Admission: Parking fee for cars is $4 weekdays and $5 weekends; higher fees for buses.
Wilcox Park
71 Hoskins Road Bloomfield, CT Phone: 860-243-2923
Open: Year round
Maintained by the town of Bloomfield, this 222 acre park is set in area woodlands and features dozens of marked trails. A map of the trails is available at Bloomfield town offices.