Talcott Mountain State Park In Connecticut
Located in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Talcott Mountain state park is home to hiking trails and a unique observatory tower. The park is located on 557 acres of public land. Part of the Metacomet Trail, a 51 mile hiking trail, runs through the grounds. One of the most unique features of this park is the observation tower. The Heublein Tower is a 165 foot tower with a lookout that offers spectacular views of the surrounding area. It was built by Gilbert Heublein, who is best known for the food products his company manufactured: A1 Steak sauce and Smirnoff vodka. It originally served as the Heublein family’s summer home. The tower was built in 1914, but it has been reconstructed several times. The tower passed into public ownership during the 1960s. After you climb the 110 steps to the top, you can even the skyline of Hartford from the tower, as well as the Farmington River Valley. Talcott Mountain state park is open all year, but the observation tower is only open seasonally. Heulien Tower is a popular destination during the fall, as it provides a beautiful view of Connecticut’s seasonal foliage. If plan to visit Talcott Mountain state park during the popular fall months, try to arrive early in the season while the attendance is still sparse and parking is still ample.
Southford Falls State Park
Residents of Connecticut and travelers alike are sure to find the Southford Falls State Park a great place to visit. The beautiful scenery and lake make it a perfect way to spend the day alone or with family and friends. There are a number of trails as well, making this a prime location for walkers and runners alike. Entrance is free, allowing even those on a tight budget to enjoy the beautiful park that the state of Connecticut has established. With no cost of entry, people are able to enjoy visiting this park time and time again.
Seldon Neck State Park, one of the Last Great Places on Earth
You can’t get to Seldon Neck State Park without a boat, unless you are a heck of a swimmer. When John Seldon bought his property in 1695, between Deep River and Lyme, Connecticut, the land was indeed a neck of the mainland. A freshet following severe weather in the 1850’s cut a sizeable channel through it and, since then, Seldon Neck has been the largest island rising from the Connecticut River. The island is one and a half miles long and a half mile wide. Its 600+ uninhabited acres are thickly wooded but, thanks to the island’s history as a quarry, studded by rock cliffs 600 million years old, from which the views up and down river are spectacular.
Penwood State Park
Located between Bloomfield and Simsbury, Connecticut, Penwood State Park provides easy access to the natural beauty of the area. With only a short distance from the capitol city of Hartford, Connecticut, visitors can come to Penwood Stated Park and escape the industrial world. Ponds, trails, picnic areas, and even a small waterfall near Shadow Pond will keep park visitors coming back for more.
Osbornedale State Park in Connecticut
Osbornedale State Park makes for the perfect vacation destination for geology enthusiasts. Several different types of rock are exposed in Osbornedale State Park. There are also quarries, geologic folds, and even mines that have been abandoned. Upon entering the park, guests will find a huge outcropping of schist. Schist is a form of metamorphic rock which has been exposed to pressure, hot fluids, and intense heat. Schist contains a large percentage of elongate and platy minerals, which can include things like amphibole and mica. Because schist has this large platy minerals percentage, it can easily be split into slabs and thin flakes. This particular outcropping of schist makes up a section of the park’s Carrington Pond Member. It is rusty, inter-laid, gray, and weathering. It also contains a bunch of quartz crystals, folds, and parallel fractures. The folds are formed from tensional stress permanently deforming and bending the rock.