Gay City State Park
Route 85
Hebron
860-295-9523 c/o DEP’s Eastern District Headquarters
Hours:
8:00 a.m. – sunset
Gay City State Park
With 11.5 miles of well-developed trails serving hikers, bikers and horseback riders, Gay City State Park is a recreational paradise of over 1500 acres in eastern Connecticut. Open fields beckon all types of sports, picnic tables are abundant, areas are dedicated for youth group camping, and a former mill pond called Still Pond serves as a swimming area. The water is well-stocked with trout making it great for fishing as well. One of the most unique aspects of this park is that it is the site of an old 19th century town, and ruins are still visible there today. Sumner Hollow was the name of the settlement that Rev. Henry Sumner and his Methodist followers founded. The village eventually included three sawmills, a textile mill, a blacksmith shop and a distillery. Fire ravished the mill in 1830, and though it was rebuilt later as a paper mill, the town never thrived again and gradually faded away. The land was purchased by Emma Foster, who used the property as a retreat for 20 years before selling it to the state in 1943. Because she was not a fan of Sumner, she stipulated that the park be named for a distant relative named John Gay, an early president of the Methodist colony.
Activities
- Biking
- Camping
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Swimming
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