I use the All Trails app as my primary source to find places to go. It features a large user created database of trails. I've submitted many trails myself. I use the app as my main GPS on our adventures. It tracks our path and alerts me if we go off path. I pay for a pro subscription that allows me to download off-line maps, so that the GPS works even when there is no cell service. It's not perfect. The app can be buggy at times, and the service has been overloaded at times during COVID, since many more people are using it now. But it's the best I got.

Another great resource is Steve Wood's fantastic CTMQ page that features guides for each town. Sometimes I can find great places to visit there that aren't in the All Trails app. When I can't find good places to visit for some towns, or I've already done everything listed in the App, I start doing simple web searches. I will just bring up OpenStreetMap.org or Google Maps and look for the green areas.

Keeping in mind, we generally keep the hikes easy - usually less than a 300 foot climb (these are small dogs with little legs, remember!), but if you have any suggestions for a place we may enjoy in Connecticut or Western Massachusetts, feel free to drop me a line using the email link on the bottom of the home page.

Great Question! Mandy & Lexi have a new Beach Guide with all you need to know about beaches!

Well, basically Winsted isn't a real town, it's a section of another town, in this case - Winchester. Connecticut has 169 municipalities (towns, cities, or in Naugatuck's case, boroughs). Each municipality can have sections within them, some of them even have their own post office or zip code, but they are not separate towns. Here is a list of some of the most well known places that aren't real towns:

Winsted - Winchester
Willimantic - Windham
Broad Brook - East Windsor
Mystic - Stonington and Groton (this one overlaps two towns)
Collinsville - Canton
Danielson - Killingly
Rockville - Vernon

Those are just some examples. There are literally hundreds. Some are classified as villages, or boroughs. We stuck to the 169 actual municipalities for this project, but I'm sure we've hit most of the more well known sections of each town.

For every perfectly posed photo on this site, there are probably 20 more outtakes! (see below) Patience is the key. But actually, both dogs went through dog training and learned the "Wait" command. There is usually a treat in front of the dogs (I remove the treats digitally), and the dogs are waiting while I take their picture, until I give them the okay to eat the treat when I'm done. They're basically really good at this now. But sometimes one of them will steal both treats, and other times Lexi will just not cooperate if the treats aren't good enough! They are so spoiled!

Currently using a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000M2, since May of 2021. Prior to that I was using the version one of the same camera. They are classified as "bridge" cameras. The cameras have a one inch sensor, same as many DSLR's, but have retractable lenses. Basically, I don't want to carry around additional heavy lenses on these hikes. I'm already carrying around my phone, a thermos of water with a dog bowl, and the dogs in addition to the camera. There are a handful of photos on the site taken with an iPhone XR or iPhone 12 Pro, but most are from one of the two Panasonic models listed above.

I recently went through the pages and tried to give each town page a unique background photo taken from the town we were visiting. I am really happy with how some of them came out (like the one from Seaside Park in Bridgeport below). I've indexed my favorite background photos here.