Connecticut State Parks – Page 9

I was waiting for a nice autumn day to go to Macedonia Brook and Kent Falls State Parks! Both ideal places for great leaf peeping in Connecticut. I set out with my two daughters on a cooler Sunday afternoon; the drive was just over an hour for us and we arrived right after lunchtime. Here is how we spent the afternoon at these two CT state parks.

The first stop was Macedonia Brook, the more quiet park. This park has multiple places to park and I used the small lot on the left as you enter through Macedonia Brook Rd. If you want to see the large waterfall, as soon as you see this sign below, immediately park to the right of the road. You’ll hear the waterfall and can walk over and see it. There was no one else around and I soaked in the peace.

The kids and I didn’t do any of the more difficult hiking Macedonia Brook has to offer. I would have but the girls were not having it. It’s fine, we still spent an hour just walking! There is a large flat path that follows the water (white trail) and we walked a half hour out and turned and walked back. My tween daughter was happy collecting leaves the entire time.

There are a couple of outhouses to use at the park that were fairly clean, better than a porto-potty, but not much in the way of any other amenities. Many people were camping and I imagine it’s a great place to do that.

The two parks are both in Kent, Connecticut, and very close to each other, making it easy to do both in one afternoon. Before seeing Kent Falls, we drove to the downtown Kent area. I loved it! I’d never been there and it was so charming and quaint. We parked by the visitor’s center, which has nice clean bathrooms by the way, and walked around. I loved my tea and snacks from 45 and Main and the kids spent quite a while deciding which sweet treat to buy there. We highly recommend it!

From downtown Kent I drove a few minutes north on Kent Cornwall Rd to get to Kent Falls. When you look up Kent Falls on your Apple Maps it has several locations and can be confusing. I had to look up on the CT State Park website for the correct address, which gave me 462 Kent Cornwall Rd, which still isn’t exactly correct but brings you close enough to the falls. You can’t miss it on the side of the road!

The park rangers were in the lot at Kent Falls; there is a $10 parking fee if you are coming from out of state. I had no problem finding a parking spot this particular Sunday afternoon but I have heard the lot can fill up. If that happens to you and they tell you to come back, park yourself in downtown Kent and enjoy some time there :)

There is a cute red covered bridge to walk through as you walk to the falls. There were lots of people there so I didn’t get any great pictures of it. There are restroom facilities there, many picnic tables and someone was even having a party. We chose not to take the hike up the stairway on the right side of the falls, but I would recommend it if you have time! I had two doggies home waiting for us so I didn’t want to stay long.

We had driven passed the Kent Historical Society on our way to the falls, so after walking around the park I headed there next. I didn’t go inside but loved the old Kent sign in front and I cannot drive past a gorgeous colonial house without being in awe.