1. Nehemiah Brainerd B&B
City: Haddam, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 345-8605
Address: 988 Saybrook Rd.
Description: As you pull into the huge circular drive and see the large 18th-century home on a bluff over the Connecticut River, you’ll instantly feel like you’ve come home. There are 2 guest rooms, a large suite, and a guest cottage. The cottage’s stone porch with a double Adirondack chair looking out over the river valley is perfect, and you won’t want to retire inside to the brass bed and full kitchen, but rather stay out as the gloaming fades into night. The Nehemiah Brainerd House is not the place to stay if you have children under 13, but the perfect place to stay if you’re going to the Goodspeed Opera House, Essex Steam Train, or Gillette Castle.
2. The Blue Oar
City: Haddam, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 345-2994
Address: 16 Snyder Rd.
Description: This is one of those marina restaurant shacks designed for yachters that is still actually used by them quite often. But you can drive there instead of sailing up the Connecticut River. This is also a seasonal restaurant, open Apr to Oct, due to the fact that dining is outdoors. Try the chowder, and enjoy a casual dinner on the veranda, with bright picnic tables on the large deck. You might see chef Jacques Pépin enjoying a lobster roll; this place is one of his favorites. Bring cash, and your own alcoholic beverages if you like.
3. Thankful Arnold House And Gardens
City: Haddam, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 345-2400
Address: 14 Hayden Hill Rd.
Description: This 1794 house in Haddam was home to a woman named Thankful Arnold and her family, and presents an unusual bell-shaped profile. Inside you’ll find a number of interesting artifacts, including the puzzling pot shards found in the walls. Remaining in the family until the 1960s when it was given to the Haddam Historical Society, the house has been restored and furnished as it was in the 1820s after Thankful had been widowed. The gardens were built and planted in the 1980s, and are now as they would have been in the 1820s as well, with over 50 herbs used for cooking, medicine, dyeing, and fragrance. It is a member of the exclusive Connecticut Historic Gardens (www.cthistoricgardens.org). Unlike some historical houses, this one is open year-round, Wed 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thurs 2 to 8 p.m., and Fri noon to 3 p.m., as well as Sun in the summer from 1 to 4 p.m.
4. Connecticut River Expeditions
City: Haddam, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 662-0577
Address: 1 Marina Park
Insider Pick:
Description: Connecticut River Expeditions (also called Riverquest) runs a number of cruises on the river year-round, including daytime and sunset cruises that take you past Gillette Castle. However, they also run a large number of special cruises throughout the year, with special dates and times. The most popular of these are the eagle watches, which run in Feb and Mar and take you to a few of the annual bald eagle nests along the Connecticut River, as well as viewing some other wildlife like golden eagles, loons, and harbor seals. The cabin is enclosed and heated, but wear warm clothing because you’ll want to be outside looking at the birds. They also feature other special cruises, like a geology cruise, fall foliage cruise, and a circumnavigation of Selden Island during the summer, which takes you through a narrow salt meadow gap on the eastern side of the island, absolutely chock-full of wildlife.
5. Cockaponset State Forest
City: Haddam, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 345-8521
Address: 18 Ranger Rd.
Description: Cockaponset is named after an Indian chief who’s buried in the Ponset section of Haddam, and is the second largest state forest in Connecticut. This is a popular place for swimming in the summer, at the Pattaconk Reservoir. Take Cedar Lake Road north off of Route 148, and a short left will take you into the parking lot at the beach here. This is also a great place to start a hike; there are a dozen great hiking trails throughout this large forest, most of which are great for mountain biking, up and down but without any huge hills. This makes the Cockaponset perfect for cross-country skiing in the winter as well. There is also another section to hike, right in the four-corner area of Killingworth, Clinton, Deep River, and Westbrook. This section, the Weber Woods Parcel, also has some nice loops and remains fairly flat.