Category: Connecticut State

Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area
Located off Route 69 between Burlington and Bristol, Sessions Woods has 700 acres of varied habitat set aside for wildlife. These facilities include an education center with an exhibit area and meeting room,  interpretive trails, and habitat management demonstration sites.  Here is their website.
Brochure & Trail Map  Friends of Sessions Woods   The trails sound easy, but call first to see if they are suitable for you.  Phone 860-675-8130
Beaver Pond Trail  2.6 miles gravel trail goes to a 38 acre wetland with beaver dam.
Forest Meadow Trail 0.6 mile gravel trail with demonstrations of wildlife management practices.
Tree ID Trail 0.4 mile featuring 20 native trees and shrubs

These trails are gravel and according to DEEP’s ADA coordinator,  probably challenging for wheelchairs.  However, the Hunting Map shows a “handicap hunting blind” by the wetlands just off the Beaver Pond Trail.

Centennial Watershed State Forest
Centennial Watershed State Forest encompasses 15,300 acres providing opportunities for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and birding. About 90% of the land is in Fairfield County, with the rest in Litchfield, New Haven, and Hartford Counties.  Centennial has an accessible fishing dock.  Permits for physically challenged and seniors are free.  Here is their website.    Phone 203-452-3511.
  The Saugatuck Universal Access Trail  is a 500 feet long trail that ends at a platform overlooking the Saugatuck Reservoir.  It is open from sunrise to sunset.  Its construction was funded by the Wheels In The Woods Foundation.   Map

Wharton Brook State Park – “Located on wooded, sandy knolls, Wharton Brook offers solitude for a quiet, peaceful picnic.”  The park is on Route 5 near Wallingford.  Here is their website.  Map  Phone 203-287-5658  The park is currently (September, 2018) closed due to storm damage.  
? This park has some short loop trails that look like they may be easy walking.  Call first to learn difficulty and current conditions.

West Rock Ridge State Park
West Rock Ridge State Park near Hamden and New Haven rises to 627 feet above mean sea level, and is a prominent feature of the New Haven area.  From the summit there are views of New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound.   There is accessible parking at the summit.  Here is the DEEP’s official website for the park and another, very useful one.  The latter website contains a User Guide  and an Overview of Trails.   Map     Phones 860-424-3200      203-287-5658
? There is an “easy beginner’s hike”  1.6 miles around Lake Wintergreen.

?? “The Red Trail is suitable for wheelchair access, if the wheelchair has oversized tires designed for a gravel surface.”  I put the question marks in because another place in the website describes the Red Trail as steep and rocky with stone steps.  Call the park to see if there really is a trail suitable for wheelchairs.

 

Stratton Brook State Park –
Stratton Brook State Park in Simsbury (near Hartford) is a completely wheelchair accessible park offering swimming, fishing, picnicking, hiking, and interpretive programs.  Stratton Brook is a designated Trout Park.  Pets on a leash are permitted in picnic areas and on hiking trails.  Pets are not allowed on the beach.  Phone 860-242-1158  Here is their website.  There are many trails, all of them accessible.  Trail Map  

Sleeping Giant State Park –
Sleeping Giant State Park is currently (September 2018) closed due to storm damage.  
“Two miles of mountaintop resembling a large man lying in repose, the “sleeping giant”, is a popular feature of the south central Connecticut skyline.”  From the observation tower on the peak of Mt. Carmel there are excellent views of Long Island Sound and the New Haven area.  Here is their website.  Trail map       Phone 203-287-5658
? The 3 mile loop Tower Trail at Hampton is referred to as very easy by some and steep by others. One reviewer describes it as “Broad, gravel trail, appropriate for a stroller.”  The first half mile (17 stops on the guide)  of the 1 1/2 mile loop self-guiding Nature Trail is “easy, level walking, and can be done by anyone, even small children or elderly persons.” but then becomes steep and difficult in places.

Sherwood Island State Park
Sherwood Island State Park encompasses 235 acres in the Greens Farms section of Westport.   This was Connecticut’s first state park and offers opportunities to picnic, …”swim in Long Island Sound, or view marsh life from the observation platform at Sherwood Island.”  The park has accessible bathrooms, picnic tables and shelter, and surf chairs.  The trails look as though they are easy, but call first.   Here is their website.   Phone 203-226-6983  Map

Machimoodus State Park
The 300 acres of Machimoodus State Park, East Haddum, overlook the Salmon River and Salmon River Cove and incorporate uplands, woodlands, meadows, river and cove waterfronts.  Three ponds near the park entrance abut fields which are mowed for the benefit of the summer wildflowers.  The ponds and meadows make for excellent birding as well as lots of butterflies.
Here is their website.   Phone 860-526-2336  Map 
The ponds are wheelchair accessible and there are 4 1/2 miles of old farm roads for easy walking.

Kent Falls State Park
At Kent Falls State Park in the Litchfield Hills Region of CT,  Falls Brook drops in a series of waterfalls 250′ to the Housatonic River.  There is a covered bridge and a short paved walk to the base of the falls.  The walk to the top has hand rails, but is described by some as steep.  There are only 10 available parking spaces, including some accessible.  The bathrooms are accessible.  Here is a description of the park and its geology from stateparks.com.     Out-of-state fee is $15.
Here is their website. Phone 860-927-3238  Map
The 1/4 mile paved trail to the falls is described as wheelchair accessible on the website.  The trail along the steam to the top is steep in places.

Hammonasset Beach State Park
Hammonasset Beach State Park, near Madison, lies adjacent to the Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve and offers over two miles of shoreline,  a boardwalk, picnic tables and shelters, showers, a nature center, surf chairs, and a campground.   Here is their website.   Phone 203-245-2785  Map
?   There are a number of trails including a paved one from the Meigs Point Nature Center.  I think these may be accessible, but it would be wise to call the Park or the Nature Center (phone number 203-245-8743) before going.