1. The Inn At Newtown
City: Newtown, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 270-1876
Address: 19 Main St.
Description: Just south of the famous Flagpole, the Inn at Newtown is housed in one of the historic homes that grace Main Street. Featuring a fine selection of food and wine, this spot is great for lunch or dinner in either of the 2 dining rooms or just a cocktail downstairs at Proud Mary’s bar, on the site of an old roadhouse. The front taproom is casual, and the larger dining area is elegant. With a diverse selection of New American–style soups, salads, appetizers, and entrees, you’ll have a hard time choosing. Main dishes include grilled hanger steak, expertly seasoned and served with a Syrah demi-glace; braised lamb shank; and a selection of fine pasta dishes. For lighter fare, the salmon BLT or one of the flatbread pizzettes are good choices. Spend some time perusing the wine list; it’s one of the best in the state. There are 3 beautifully appointed rooms upstairs at the inn. You’ll be transported back in time in the charm-filled accommodations that feature gaslit fireplaces, hand-painted dressers, and oil paintings from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
2. Toro
City: Newtown, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 364-0999
Address: 28 Church Hill Rd.
Description: Toro may have a Japanese name, but wanders all over Asia with its flavorful dishes. The Indian pancake with curry dipping sauce is done just right, and the Shanghai duck is excellent. There’s even a nod to Connecticut with the fried oyster roll. The presentation of many of the dishes is astounding—how do they get the food into those colorful contortions? But the taste is why people come back time and time again. The hot and sour soup is to die for, probably the best of its kind in the state, with a perfect combination of flavors. You’ll want a second bowl instead of your entree.
3. Ferris Acres Creamery
City: Newtown, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (203) 426-8803
Address: 144 Sugar St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Unlike many ice-cream shops, this is a real farm, where you can relax and “watch the cows come home.” In fact, this is the last dairy farm in Fairfield County, started in 1864 by William Ferris and still owned by the family today. The small red ice-cream shop in front of the silo and barn in Newtown is a local favorite, and has better hours than most summer ice-cream shops. Along with dozens of flavors of ice cream, they have milk shakes, floats, sundaes, and frozen yogurt. They’ll also custom-make ice-cream cakes and pies for you. Try the “campfire” ice cream (vanilla with fudge swirls, graham cracker pieces, and mini marshmallows) in a waffle bowl. That’s right, not a waffle cone, a waffle bowl. Yum.
4. Newtown Trailways
City: Newtown, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 270-3650
Description: Many of the towns in Connecticut have their own elaborate trail system, often attached to but not part of nearby state parks, greenways, and blue trails. Newtown’s land trust association is the oldest in Connecticut, and one of their “town forests” is thought to be the first of its kind in America. Multiuse biking, walking, and cross-country skiing trails stretch throughout the town. A trail called “Al’s Trail” forms an 11-mile backbone, and the bald eagles that nest by the Shepaug Dam in the winter make it a destination. From December 15 to March 15 this section is closed to protect them, but there is a designated observatory. There is also a beaver lodge near the old rail bed in this section. The trail passes through Rocky Glen State Park, where Charles Goodyear discovered the process for vulcanizing rubber. You’ll also see a large man-made waterfall here. North of McLaughlin Vineyards, Upper Paugussett State Forest has a network of trails, including the blue-blazed Lillinoah Trail, which heads along the huge man-made lake and is the only trail in the park designated for foot travel only.
5. Lake Lillinonah
City: Newtown, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 364-4002
Description: “The Lilly” is one of the prime boating lakes in Connecticut, formed by the damming of the Housatonic River in Sandy Hook. It’s deep, long, and thin, to the point where a few bridges cross it high above you on cliffs. However, there’s enough space for you to crank up the speed in your powerboat and head down the pleasantly curved lake without having to worry. Most of it is great for waterskiing and jet skiing. Fishing tournaments are held on the lake, and despite the boat noise, there are plenty of quiet spots to reel in a large bass. Pull up and dock the boat at the steak and seafood restaurant Down the Hatch in Brookfield. There are several state and town parks along the shores, including Lovers Leap State Park at the north end. The crimson 1895 Berlin Iron Bridge crosses the river, one of only five such bridges left in Connecticut. Nearby is the rock formation where Chief Waramaug’s daughter Lillinonah and her lover jumped to their deaths.