Kings Island is the largest island in the Connecticut River and is located between Enfield and Suffield, Connecticut in Hartford County. Other names include Colonel John Pynchon's Island, Copper Island, Devotion Island, General Lyman Island, Great Island, Lyman Island, and Terry's Island [1] The island is nearly a mile long and contains 104 Acres. [2]
The island was occupied by Native Americans as a springtime fishing spot for shad and salmon before the colonial period. Since then the island has changed ownership numerous times, including several colonial leaders. [3] From 1787 to 1809 a sawmill was operated until it was washed away in a flood. Following the flood, the island was owned by its namesake family, the Kings before being owned by the Terry family. The Terry family operated a farm which acted as a meeting place for Millerites. [4] [5]
Later the island was owned by a water-power syndicate which later became Eversource. [6]
There is a 1.7 miles (2.7 km) hiking trail on the island [7] along with a campground operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. [8]
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the city of Hartford, the state capital of Connecticut and the county's most populous city, with 121,054 residents at the 2020 census. Hartford County is included in the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown metropolitan statistical area.
Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the Connecticut River to the west.
Cromwell is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, located within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 14,225 at the 2020 census.
Somers is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 10,255 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). In 2007, Money Magazine listed Somers 53rd on its "100 Best Places to Live", based on "economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community."
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for 406 miles (653 km) through four states. It rises 300 yards south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island Sound. Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km2), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, via 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers. It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water, discharging at 18,400 cubic feet (520 m3) per second.
Regicides Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail, about 7 miles (11 km) long, roughly following the edge of a diabase, or traprock, cliff northwest of New Haven, Connecticut. It is named for two regicides, Edward Whalley and his son-in-law William Goffe, who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England. Upon the restoration of Charles II to the throne and the persecution of the regicides, the pair hid in Judges Cave near the south end of the trail in 1660. The Regicides is widely known to be one of the most technical trails within the CT Blue-Blazed trail system.
The Pawcatuck River is a river in the US states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately 34 miles (55 km). There are eight dams along the river's length. USS Pawcatuck was named after the river.
The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a 950-acre (384.5 ha) National Wildlife Refuge in ten units across the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge spans 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut coastline and provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 900 acres (364.2 ha) of barrier beach, intertidal wetland and fragile island habitats.
Hop River State Park Trail is a Connecticut rail trail that winds for 20.8 miles (33.5 km) eastward from Colonial Drive in the town of Manchester to the Air Line State Park Trail S. in the town of Windham. The trail parallels the Hop River for much of its length. It is owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, with upgrades and maintenance done by town forces and community volunteer groups in coordination with the state. The trail is used for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing.
The Park River is a tributary of the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut. It was officially named the Park River in 1892 after Bushnell Park, through which it flowed in downtown Hartford. A local newspaper had advocated for that name rather than the “’Hog River’” name which was then in use. Between 1940 and the 1980s, the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) river was buried by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the spring floods regularly caused by increased surface runoff from urban development.
West Rock Ridge State Park is a public recreation area located in New Haven, Hamden, and Woodbridge, Connecticut. The state park is named for the 400-to-700-foot trap rock West Rock Ridge, which is part of the Metacomet Ridge extending from Long Island Sound to the Vermont border. The park's 7 miles (11 km) of open west-facing cliffs offer vistas encompassing Metropolitan New Haven and suburban towns to the west. The park includes Judges Cave, a colonial era historic site; Lake Wintergreen; and the 7-mile (11 km) Regicides Trail, part of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association's Blue Trail system. The park is part of a larger area of protected open space including state, municipal, and non-profit owned land.
The Quinnipiac Trail is a 24-mile (39 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the product of the evolution and growth of the first 10.6-mile (17.1 km) trail designated in Connecticut's Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system, with its light-blue rectangular vertical painted blazes.
The Nipmuck Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail system which meanders through 34.5 miles (55.5 km) of forests in northeast Connecticut. It is maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and is considered one of the Blue-Blazed hiking trails. There are two southern trail heads in the south of the town of Mansfield, Connecticut. The southwestern terminus is at a road shoulder parking place on Puddin Lane, and the southeastern terminus is a DEEP parking lot on North Windham Road at the southeast corner of Mansfield Hollow State Park. The northern terminus is at the north end of Breakneck Pond along the Massachusetts border in Nipmuck State Forest. Camping permits may be obtained for up to five separate locations for backpacking.
The Pequonnock River is a 16.7-mile-long (26.9 km) waterway in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut. Its watershed is located in five communities, with the majority of it located within Monroe, Trumbull, and Bridgeport. The river has a penchant for flooding, particularly in spring since the removal of a retention dam in Trumbull in the 1950s. There seems to be a sharp difference of opinion among historians as to just what the Indian word Pequonnock signifies. Some insist it meant cleared field or open ground; others are sure it meant broken ground; while a third group is certain it meant place of slaughter or place of destruction.
The Tunxis Trail is a 79-mile (127 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" that traverses the western ridge of the central Connecticut Valley. The mainline trail is not completely contiguous, notably there are two gaps of several miles.
The Lillinonah Trail is a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County and, today, is entirely in Newtown. Most of the trail is in the upper block of Paugussett State Forest.
The Jericho trail is a 3.4-mile (5.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in Watertown, near the border with Thomaston and Plymouth, Litchfield County, Connecticut. The trail is contained almost entirely in a section of the Mattatuck State Forest. The mainline trail is a linear north–south "hike-through" trail.
The Menunkatuck Trail is an 11.0-mile (17.7 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in Guilford, Connecticut and, currently, is almost entirely on protected land owned by the Town of Guilford, the Guilford Conservation Land Trust, the Regional Water Authority (RWA) and on Cockaponset State Forest land.
The Pachaug Trail is a 28-mile (45 km) Connecticut hiking trail and is one of the Blue-Blazed hiking trails maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. It is a horseshoe shaped trail.
The Magic Carpet Bus is a local bus service in Enfield, Connecticut. The system operates two routes in downtown Enfield and provides transfer to CT Transit service to Hartford. ADA paratransit is also operated as part of the Magic Carpet system within .75 miles of its routes.