97 pet-friendly state parks in Connecticut

97 of Connecticut’s 100 state parks allow pets. Allowed means somewhere in the park, not everywhere in it: beaches, buildings and swim areas often have their own rules.

Pets are not allowed at Haddam Island State Park, Satan’s Kingdom State Park and Selden Neck State Park.

ParkEntryCampingLodgingBook
Air Line State Park TrailA fifty-mile rail trail running from Thompson to Portland along the old New York–Boston "air line" route…FreeDay use only
American Legion State Forest1,245 acres of steep, rocky woodland above the West Branch of the Farmington River, a federally designated…FreeCampsitesCabinsBook a campsite
Auerfarm State Park Scenic ReserveForty acres of Bloomfield farmland given to the state in 2015 out of the Auerbach family holdings. A woodland…FreeDay use only
Beaver Brook State ParkBibbins Pond, 20 acres and stocked with trout, is the biggest of the pools a dam strings along Beaver Brook…FreeDay use only
Beckley Furnace Industrial MonumentA preserved blast furnace on the Iron Heritage Trail, where visitors can stand in the hearth that once ran…FreeDay use only
Bigelow Hollow State ParkBigelow Pond, Mashapaug Lake and the secluded 97-acre Breakneck Pond sit inside one of eastern Connecticut's…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Black Rock State Park444 acres of pine and hemlock ledges above Black Rock Pond, with a swimming area below a commanding rock…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsites · electric & waterCabinsBook a campsite
Bluff Point State ParkConnecticut's only undeveloped stretch of coastline, given Coastal Reserve status by the legislature in 1975…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Bolton Notch State ParkNinety-five acres of caves, ledges and water where the Mohegan Trail climbs to a bluff over the Connecticut…FreeDay use only
Brainard Homestead State ParkTwenty-five undeveloped acres near the Connecticut River, left to the state in 1929 and now mostly open…FreeDay use only
Burr Pond State ParkThe pond that powered Gail Borden's 1857 condensed-milk factory, the first in the world, now serves swimmers…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
C.P. Huntington State Park1,017 acres of field and woodland with five ponds, a lagoon and 15-acre Lake Hopewell, guarded at the…FreeDay use only
Chatfield Hollow State ParkEighteen miles of trails thread jagged ledges and rock overhangs past a covered bridge and a working water…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Cockaponset State ForestConnecticut's second-largest state forest, over 17,000 acres in scattered parcels across eleven towns. More…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Connecticut Valley Railroad State ParkAn 1892 station in Essex and more than twelve miles of working track up the Connecticut River valley. Steam…FreeDay use only
Day Pond State ParkTrout fishing and swimming in the namesake pond, plus a waterfall series reached by a trail an Eagle Scout…FreeDay use only
Dennis Hill State ParkA 240-acre Norfolk estate given to the state in 1935 by surgeon Frederic Shepard Dennis. From the 1,627-foot…FreeDay use only
Devil's Hopyard State ParkChapman Falls drops more than sixty feet down stepped Scotland schist, ringed by potholes nobody has fully…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Dinosaur State ParkOver 750 early Jurassic footprints lie where they were found, under a geodesic dome in Rocky Hill — one of…Free groundsDay use only
Eagle Landing State ParkSixteen acres of Connecticut River frontage in Haddam with benches, walkways and a dock used by cruise and…FreeDay use only
Farm River State ParkA small park on the western shore of the Farm River estuary, where the river finishes a 16.5-mile run into…FreeDay use only
Farmington Canal Greenway State ParkThe Cheshire and Hamden section of a rail trail that crosses the state from Suffield to New Haven. The path…FreeDay use only
Fort Griswold Battlefield State ParkThe site of Connecticut's largest Revolutionary War battle, where Benedict Arnold's forces killed 88…FreeDay use only
Fort Trumbull State ParkA granite coastal fort in New London with two and a half centuries of service, from the Revolution to the…Free groundsDay use only
Gardner Lake State ParkA quiet day-use shore on 528-acre Gardner Lake with a launch for boats and swimmers. It is also the only way…FreeDay use only
Gay City State ParkMore than 1,500 acres between Hebron and Bolton holding a lakeside beach, miles of trail and the ruins of a…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsites
Gillette Castle State ParkWilliam Hooker Gillette's 14,000-square-foot stone house of 1914 stands 200 feet above the Connecticut River…Free groundsCampsitesBook a campsite
Green Falls State CampgroundEighteen wooded campsites beside Green Fall Pond, inside Pachaug State Forest's network of roads and trails…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Haddam Meadows State ParkBroad open fields on the bank of the Connecticut River, with a launch for boats and plenty of room to picnic…FreeDay use only
Haley Farm State Park272 acres of colonial farmland on a point reaching into Long Island Sound, laced with stone walls and old…FreeDay use only
Hammonasset Beach State ParkTwo miles of sand on Long Island Sound make this the state's largest shoreline park, with a nature preserve…$0–$22 / vehicleCampsites · electric & waterCabinsBook a campsite
Harkness Memorial State ParkA Waterford estate where dunes, salt marsh and coastal grassland meet the Sound, sheltering piping plovers…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Haystack Mountain State ParkA twisting mountain road and a steep trail lead to a 34-foot stone tower on the Norfolk summit. From the top…FreeDay use only
Hop River State Park TrailTwenty-plus miles of former railway winding through Manchester, Vernon, Bolton, Coventry, Andover and…FreeDay use only
Hopemead State ParkSixty undeveloped acres on the shore of Gardner Lake, crossed by a single dirt road and nothing else. It is a…FreeDay use only
Hopeville Pond State ParkThe Pachaug River is dammed here into a pond the Mohegan fished and later mills worked for wool, now ringed…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsites · electric & waterCabinsBook a campsite
Housatonic Meadows State ParkA campground and picnic ground in the Housatonic River valley below the northwestern uplands. Two miles of…FreeCampsitesCabinsBook a campsite
Housatonic State ForestOver 10,000 acres of rocky ridge, river gorge and white pine stands above the Housatonic. Connecticut's only…FreeCampsites
Hurd State ParkAlmost 1,000 acres of East Hampton riverbank, known to boaters by the feldspar-veined "split rock" standing…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Indian Well State ParkA waterfall and gorge on the west bank of the Housatonic, with a wide sandy beach and shaded picnic grove…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
James L. Goodwin State ForestMore than 2,000 acres built around 135-acre Pine Acres Lake, three further ponds and beds of native planting…FreeCampsites
John A. Minetto State ParkA Torrington park at the Hall Meadow dam, renamed in 1975 for the state senator who spent twenty years in the…FreeDay use only
Kent Falls State ParkFalls Brook drops roughly 250 feet in stages toward the Housatonic, with a single plunge of about seventy. A…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Kettletown State Park605 acres on the east shore of Lake Zoar, the fifth-largest fresh water in Connecticut, with six miles of…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsitesCabinsBook a campsite
Lake Waramaug State ParkNinety-five acres on a Litchfield Hills lake whose autumn reflections draw photographers from across the…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsitesCabinsBook a campsite
Lamentation Mountain State ParkForty-seven acres of traprock cliff and overlook on the ridge that runs north into Massachusetts and Vermont…FreeDay use only
Larkin State Park TrailA 10.3-mile linear trail across Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Southbury on an old railway bed. Laid out…FreeDay use only
Lovers Leap State Park160 acres straddling the Housatonic where Lake Lillinonah begins, with four miles of trail past overlooks and…FreeDay use only
Macedonia Brook State Park2,300 acres in Kent with over ten miles of trail and some of Connecticut's hardest climbs. The Blue Trail…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Machimoodus State Park300 acres of upland, meadow and shoreline above the Salmon River and its cove, with farm tracks serving as…FreeDay use only
Mansfield Hollow State ParkA 500-acre lake with a pine-covered picnic bluff above it, popular for fishing, boating and birding. The…FreeDay use only
Mashamoquet Brook State ParkThree former parks — Mashamoquet Brook, Wolf Den and Saptree Run — now make up over 1,000 acres in Pomfret…FreeCampsites · electric & waterBook a campsite
Massacoe State Forest370 acres of Simsbury woodland in two blocks, one holding Great Pond, the town's largest standing water. The…FreeDay use only
Mattatuck State Forest4,510 acres in twenty parcels from Waterbury to Litchfield, grown from a 723-acre gift in 1926. Hikers aim…FreeDay use only
Millers Pond State ParkA 33-acre pond fed by large springs, clean enough for smallmouth bass and trout, beside Cockaponset State…FreeDay use only
Minnie Island State ParkAt 0.88 acres this is the smallest park Connecticut runs, an islet in the quiet water of Gardner Lake. Only…FreeDay use only
Mohawk State Park/Forest4,000 acres around 1,683-foot Mohawk Mountain, whose summit view reaches the Catskills, Taconics and…$0–$22 / vehicleCampsites
Mono Pond State ParkA shallow pond east of Hartford whose park tripled in 2020 when the state, the Trust for Public Land and…FreeDay use only
Moosup Valley State Park Trail5.8 miles of former New Haven Railroad line across 62 acres of wetland and river. From Moosup village the…FreeDay use only
Mooween State ParkThe Lebanon lakeshore that held Camp Mooween, a boys' summer camp from 1921 to 1960 whose alumni included…FreeDay use only
Mount Tom State ParkA one-mile trail climbs to a 34-foot gneiss tower on the 1,325-foot summit, with a pond for swimming and…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Natchaug State ForestNamed for the land where the Bigelow and Still rivers join as the Natchaug, and home to the stone chimney of…FreeCampsites
Naugatuck State ForestClose to 5,000 acres of undeveloped woodland, ravine and swamp in the Naugatuck River valley. The Quinnipiac…FreeCampsites
Nehantic State Forest4,400 acres with trout-stocked ponds, twelve miles of trail and a view from Nickerson Hill. DEEP manages the…FreeDay use only
Nipmuck State ForestConnecticut's second-oldest state forest, begun with 300 acres at $3.57 an acre in 1905 and now past 9,400…Campsites
Nye-Holman State Forest818 acres across Ellington, Tolland and Willington, logged hard in the industrial era and regrown. The…FreeCampsites
Osbornedale State ParkTrails and a stocked pond in Derby, alongside the Osborne Homestead Museum and its gardens. The Kellogg…FreeDay use only
Pachaug State ForestAt 26,477 acres across six towns this is the largest forest in the state, and the only place in Connecticut…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Penwood State ParkNearly 800 acres on the Talcott Mountain range, twenty minutes from Hartford and across the road from Talcott…FreeDay use only
Peoples State ForestRugged ground above the West Branch of the Farmington River, a Wild and Scenic river and the centre of the…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsites
Putnam Memorial State ParkWhere 3,000 Continental soldiers wintered in 1778–79 under General Israel Putnam, earning the name…FreeCampsites
Quaddick State ForestFive separate tracts, 1,100 acres in all, buffer the Quaddick reservoir in Thompson, the same water the state…FreeDay use only
Quaddick State ParkQuaddick Lake draws swimmers and boaters from three states in summer; midweek the shore empties out. The…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
River Highlands State Park177 acres of bluff above the Connecticut River in Cromwell, rising 150 feet at the northern end. The climb…FreeCampsitesBook a campsite
Rocky Neck State Park710 acres of beach, salt marsh and coastal thicket on Long Island Sound at East Lyme. A gently sloping…$0–$22 / vehicleCampsitesCabinsBook a campsite
Ross Pond State Park314 acres next to Old Furnace State Park, with a boat ramp on the larger of two ponds. The blue-blazed Old…FreeDay use only
Salmon River State ForestNearly 7,000 acres across five towns, with the 6.7-mile Salmon River Trail, a covered bridge and a stretch of…FreeDay use only
Salt Rock State Forest149 acres of former farmland in two parcels, added to the system in 2001. Its campground is the only…FreeCampsites · full hookupsBook a campsite
Scantic River State Park784 acres along a river that runs 38 miles from its Massachusetts headwaters, alternating rapids with flat…FreeDay use only
Seaside State ParkThirty acres of Waterford shoreline with rocky coast, sand and rolling lawn above Long Island Sound. Cass…FreeDay use only
Shenipsit State Forest7,170 acres across Ellington, Somers and Stafford, with the blue-blazed Shenipsit Trail as the headline walk…FreeDay use only
Sherwood Island State ParkConnecticut's first state park, 235 acres of beach, wetland and coastal forest at Westport. A mile of sand, a…$0–$22 / vehicleDay use only
Silver Sands State ParkHalf a mile of Milford shoreline with a three-quarter-mile all-weather boardwalk over dune and marsh. A tidal…$0–$22 / vehicleDay use only
Sleeping Giant State ParkTwo miles of traprock ridge shaped like a reclining figure, saved from quarrying by the campaign that created…$0–$15 / vehicleCampsites
Southford Falls State Park169 acres holding a tiered waterfall, a covered bridge, an observation tower and two miles of trail. Paper…FreeDay use only
Squantz Pond State Park172 acres of public shore on Squantz Pond, a rare opening on a seventy-five-mile lakeside that is otherwise…$0–$22 / vehicleDay use only
Stoddard Hill State ParkFifty-five acres with 2,000 feet of frontage on the east bank of the Thames River. A launch, a fishing shore…FreeDay use only
Stratton Brook State ParkSwimming, fishing and cycling in Simsbury woodland with accessible paths throughout. The bike trail runs on…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Sunrise State Park146 acres with more than 4,700 feet of Salmon River frontage, joined to Machimoodus State Park and its…FreeDay use only
Talcott Mountain State ParkHeublein Tower crowns a 1,000-foot promontory with a full circle of view — the Berkshires northwest, Long…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
Topsmead State ForestAn English Tudor cottage, formal gardens and open Litchfield Hills pasture, left to the state by Edith Morton…FreeDay use only
Tri-Mountain State Park157 largely undeveloped acres with no road access, reached on the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. It covers…FreeDay use only
Wadsworth Falls State Park4.5 miles of trail for walking and riding, with the namesake falls as the centrepiece. Swimming and…$0–$15 / vehicleDay use only
West Rock Ridge State ParkA six-mile ridge climbing from 400 feet at the New Haven summit to 715 at High Rock in Bethany. The overlooks…FreeDay use only
Wharton Brook State ParkNinety-six acres of wooded sandy knolls with a swimming pond and a perimeter loop trail. It is one of eleven…FreeDay use only
Windsor Locks Canal Trail State ParkA 4.5-mile paved path on the towpath of a canal more than 170 years old, where mules once hauled barges by…FreeDay use only
Windsor Meadows State ParkA quiet reach of the Connecticut River just north of Hartford, split into three sections with boating access…FreeDay use only

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