Happy 2024!

Wharton Brook State Park walking path

A lot of people are setting different types of fun outdoor challenges. Some are doing a certain amount of hours outside, some are doing the 52 hike challenge, and I'm sure there are many other variations. I am continuing with my state park challenge and I hope these posts motivate you to explore the shared spaces and public places in your own state.

Today we are wandering over to the central shoreline area to two Connecticut State Parks. I don't usually share two parks in one post but I am today for a few good reasons. First off, these parks are about 10 minutes from each other and because of their smaller size, you can easily visit both in an afternoon. Second, in juxtaposition to each other, they highlight how drastically different two areas with the same "State Park" designation can be. Wharton Brook State Park has large parking areas, facilities, picnic benches, and is overall well maintained. It was a beautiful little park that would be nice for a picnic or a swim in the summer if you don't mind pond swimming. Quinnipiac River State Park is essentially an extra piece of land next to the highway no one wanted because it's in a flood plain that is well, constantly flooded. The former neighborhood moved out and the state was able to hold onto this piece of land for which does serve as an important ecological corridor for the ecosystem by the river. The park is wildly overgrown with no parking area, no facilities, and is only passable in dry parts of the year which ranks it pretty low on the list of state parks I suggest you check out in the Nutmeg state. Nonetheless, we are doing our best to visit all the Connecticut State Parks and I'm sharing them with you so you can decide which parks are worth visiting.

Wharton Brook State Park

Wharton Brook State Park - Allen Brook Pond

Tucked away off of a busy rode in North Haven, Wharton Brook State Park is a pretty little state park that is well maintained. I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into one of several large parking lots to see a well manicured park area with pavilions, bathrooms, a swimming area, clear signage, and picnic tables. The park has an interesting history and in 1918-1920, the park was known as a traveler's wayside where motorists could stop to have their cars serviced and enjoy a quiet picnic lunch. This type of "traveler's wayside" led the way for the rest areas/picnic areas off busy roads developed by the State Department of Transportation that can be seen throughout the state. In 1918 Wharton Brook was established as a park where it is now a popular spot for fisherman and swimmers alike.

There aren't specific hiking trails off the bat but there is plenty of areas to walk around the park. There are trails in the adjoining Wharton Brook Natural Area Preserve at the top of the pond and I'm sure this is a popular spot with the birding community. This was our second park of the day and we had a two year old and 10 month old in tow so we decided to slowly wander around the lake before tracing our steps back to where we parked.

Activities

Fishing (designated trout park)

Swimming

Picnicking

Wharton Brook State Park Map

Wharton Brook State Park - Allen Brook Pond

Wharton Brook State Park access ways

Wharton Brook State Park picnic area by the parking lot

Quinnipiac River State Park

Quinnipiac River State Park in North Haven was created in 1948 from surplus land acquired for the construction of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, If I can tell you one thing about this park, it's that it is very obvious the second you pull into the side road behind the Dunkin Donuts rest area right off the parkway that this park is sort of forgotten. There is no formal parking area and the park itself consists of a mostly abandoned paved access way meandering through the wooded area surrounding the river. The timing wasn't great for our visit with all the flooding and the trail was completely underwater. Even the paved access way ended up being underwater about a half mile in. The park is a tangle of invasive species and it's truly a sad patch of land bordering the Quinnipiac River. Sad park aside, the park protects an important ecosystem around the river.

The Quinnipiac River flows 38 miles from its headwaters in Plainville to its mouth in New Haven and six of those miles are protected in this park. The four mile Banton Quinnipiac Trail passes through the Park and if a little TLC was invested into the park, this would be a great option for stroller or wheelchairs when the floodwater are low. The park has about 1.7 total miles of trails and a lot of potential with it's river access but it desperately needs some trail maintenance, an actual parking lot, and some better signage. The highway noise is deafening at times but all that aside, this is a good spot for bird watching or even river access to canoe or kayak. If you need somewhere to stretch your legs while looking for birds and want some solitude mixed in with the car traffic noises, this isn't a terrible spot.