Looking Back at Connecticut Highway Picnic Areas Part 2: Some Still Remain Open

This is part two of a two part series on historic Connecticut wayside highway picnic areas. Part 1 explored the picnic areas advertised in 1954 by the Connecticut Highway Department along with their amenities. Part 2 discusses the picnic areas that closed and those that still survive in Eastern and interior Western Connecticut.

On the Internet

Of the 128 picnic areas that existed in 1954 on Connecticut’s secondary roads, information about only a small number can be found on the Internet.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) website only lists rest areas along Connecticut’s interstates and expressways.

Closings Over the Years

When asked about the picnic areas, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said, "some have been shut down or barricaded to prevent access as substantial vandalism, littering, bulky garbage dumping as well as complaints of criminal activity and drug use have occurred.”

In a phone interview, Nursick explained that if “people continue to abuse these areas they will continue to close” since the DOT has limited resources to clean up sites and has other priorities. 

In 2012, the state sold Frog Rock Picnic Area on Route 44 in Eastford after closing it in 2010 due to dumping and vandalism. 

The new owner, Joe Lernould, saw the value of rehabilitating Frog Rock and installed new picnic tables along with a food service, antique shop, and a venue for bands and other events.

However, Nusick said that most of the time the state does not unload these properties even after they are barricaded. 

Illicit activities lead to the closure of Indiantown Picnic Area on Route 2 in North Stonington in the late 1990’s and MacDonald Picnic Area on Route 44 on Avon Mountain in Avon in the early 2000’s.

According to The Day, Follyworks Brook Picnic Area on Route 165 in Preston closed in 2012 after reports of dumping, drug use, and other illicit activity. 

Other Reasons for Closings

In the Courant article “No Roadside Picnic”, David K. Leff, then deputy commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, explained that picnic areas have also been closed due to road widening, encroaching development, public’s lack of interest, lack of necessary maintenance, along with a lack of amenities which they used to have such as restrooms, water, garbage cans and even picnic tables.

He said “they have disappeared not because of budget cuts or bureaucratic conspiracy, but rather as a consequence of broader changes in our road system and our attitudes toward travel. In fact, their use has become so obscure that few people are even aware of them.”

Bucking the Trend

“Although the number of Highway Picnic Areas will undoubtedly continue to dwindle, wherever people find them to be a community asset, they will remain desirable destinations,” Leff said, adding that he hopes that community members will help the DOT care for these sites citing Hodge Park in Route 67 in Roxbury, as an example.

Nursick said if visitors properly respect these picnic areas, they could be open for decades to come. 

He said that there are “unknown shepherds” who work behind the scenes at some of the picnic areas to keep them clean.

In other towns, officials stepped in. 

According to the Courant, lewd behavior drove families away from Seven Falls Picnic Area in Haddam in the 1970’s but efforts to eliminate it were stepped up by state police and local officials so the park could once again be a pleasant picnic area. A map is on Mountain Project. 

Leff admits that while the sites were “once identified by handsome blue signs, many sites are no longer marked. But a diligent search will be rewarded sometimes with a refreshing moment in pastoral countryside and at other times with a poignant awakening to the changes that these places have undergone over the years.” 

The General Sedgewick site on Route 43 in Cornwall and Wadhams Grove on Route 63 in Goshen are places Leff suggests visiting. 

Blue “Connecticut Highway Picnic Area” signs still lead motorists to the Shore Road Picnic Area on Route 156 in Old Lyme which was highlighted in a Courant article.

There are 21 other wayside picnic areas still open in the DOT’s Maintenance Districts 2 and 4, according to a list released by the DOT. Those districts consist of towns in Eastern and interior Western Connecticut. 

The list states that the highway wayside picnic areas that are most commonly used have fishing nearby and are located at:

• Five Mile River - Route 44 - Putnam (4 tables)
• French River - Route 12 - Thompson (3 tables)

Less commonly used highway wayside picnic areas are in:

• Haddam - unnamed - Route 149 at Simple Hill Rd. (1 table)
• Hebron - Raymond Hill - junction of Routes 85 and 207 (2 tables)
• Salem - Music vale - Route 82 (2 tables)
• Sterling - Pitch Pine Grove - junction of Routes 14 and 14A (1 table)
• Thompson - Knolwood - Route 131 (2 tables)

Other Eastern Connecticut picnic areas include: 

• Groton - Grayrock - Route 184 (fenced in compound)
• Salem - Shady Brook - Route 85 (fenced in compound)

Highway wayside picnic areas labeled as historic sites with old stone animal rings but no picnic tables include: 

• Lebanon - Lebanon Town Pound - Route 207 
• Sterling - Old Voluntown Pound - Route 14 

Highway wayside picnic areas open in interior Western Connecticut include:

• Barkhamstead - Hitchcock Chair - Route 20
• Burlington - “name unknown” - Route 179
• Canton - “name unknown” - Route 44 near Cherry Brook
• Cornwall - Cobble Stone - Route 128
• Cornwall - Furnace Brook - Route 4
• Hamden - “name unknown” - Route 10 north of Route 22
• Litchfield - Schermerhorn - Route 63
• Middlebury - Shepherds Haven - Route 64
• Redding - Riverside - Route 7 at Redding/Ridgefield town line
• Sharon - Gristmill - Route 4
• Suffield - “name unknown” - Route 168 near Congamond Lake
• Washington - Bee Brook - Route 47
• Washington - “name unknown” - Route 202

Nursick said these picnic areas are open 24/7 but local ordinances may restrict those hours. The public is encouraged to visit during daylight hours, carry out what they carry in, and to park their vehicles so that they are not blocking traffic.