City: Jewett City, CT

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (860) 376-2920

Address: 193 Roode Rd.

Description: Once the site of corn mills and sawmills, this small community went up in flames during the turn of the 20th century. Later, the Pachaug River was dammed to create Hopeville Pond, managed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Today campers, fishermen, and hikers come to Jewett City for recreation, and the ruins of the thriving community lie under the 137-acre lake, and crumbling in the surrounding woodlands. The campground offers 80 sites in a wooded setting right on a ax-head-shaped peninsula on the lake. Sites E-9, E-11, E-13, and E-15 are probably the best, although they are the farthest from the bathrooms and the beach. The lake has a launch and is a great place to catch lake trout, either from a boat or from the shore. The blue-blazed Nehantic Trail also crosses the park. You can camp here from Apr to the end of Sept, when the gate closes until the next spring.