This is our 45th Connecticut State park! Two of my teens and I visited on a beautiful summer weekday. It’s an hour and a half drive from our home and we spent about an hour there. This was the only park we made it to this summer (2025). The parks we still have to visit are further drives for us now. Making it more time consuming to visit. We are going to keep plugging along though!
Bigelow Hollow was a park I had at the top of my list for a long time. I like parks that allow for a swim. I went prepared with a swimsuit and towel. I can tell you now, I did not and would not swim in that water! There was a smell and the bugs were terrible. Maybe other times of the year, not a hot summer day, the water is better. Scratch swimming at this park off your list. A better park to swim at would be Squantz Pond. Here is my report on that park.
Don’t get me wrong, the views at Bigelow Hollow are stunning:
My two kids and I hiked around the entire pond. It took us an hour and a half and was so buggy. There were parts of the trail that weren’t cleared of brush. There was also a section of the hike where you had to walk along the road (a busy road). Looking back now, two months later, I can safely safe this isn’t a park I would return to. Maybe my expectations were too high!
I’m not able to report on the restroom situation. After the hike I wanted to leave so bad I didn’t care. I had a good run with great state parks. We were bound to find one that wasn’t so great. Oh well. You’ve been warned!
Momma Wanderer 