This is part one of a two part series on historic Connecticut highway picnic areas. Part 1 will explore the historical beginnings of the picnic areas advertised in 1954 by the Connecticut Highway Department. Part 2 will discuss the latest information available regarding open and closed picnic areas.
With names like Liberty Grove, Kiss' N Brook, Hilltop View, and Roaring Brook, these highway picnic areas, the most basic of rest stops, were places that provided peace to the weary travelers along Connecticut's most traveled roads 60 years ago.
According to a 1954 list supplied by the Connecticut Historical Society, there were as many as 128.
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On the Connecticut Historical Society website, Nancy Finlay, Curator of Graphics, reminisces, “Just about every Sunday in the 1950’s, our family would pile in the car, and my father would drive to Dick’s, the local filling station, and get one dollar’s worth of gas. Then we would head off to the back roads of Connecticut, frequently stopping for lunch at one of the many roadside rests scattered throughout the state. Facilities at these picnic areas varied greatly, from a couple of wooden picnic tables tucked beneath the trees, to elaborate picnic grounds with fireplaces, running water, and pit toilets. They had names like “Seven Falls” and “Frog Rock” that sounded exotic and glamorous to a small girl who had never traveled far from home. Some had big rocks and trees that could be climbed, others had lakes or streams or stonewalls to explore while Dad got the picnic basket from the trunk and Mom laid out the picnic lunch.”
Most sites were open 24 hours, except for one in Granby, which closed at sunset.
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“Things were very different 60 years ago. It was a much more innocent age,” Finlay wrote in an e-mail, regarding the decision of the state, at that time, to have picnic areas open around the clock.
The long list of picnic areas along with a map, showing their locations by diamonds, was produced by the Connecticut Highway Department, the precursor to today's Connecticut Department of Transportation, DOT.
In an Aug. 29, 2004 Hartford Courant article entitled “No Roadside Picnic”, David K. Leff, then deputy commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said that no land was set aside for these rest stops but that “excess property acquired along a state road became a picnic area if it had a nice natural setting such as a stream, scenic view or intriguing rock outcrop. This purposefully haphazard development gave the sites much of their charm.”
Of the 128 picnic areas, 95 featured fireplaces, 42 had toilets, 17 had water, and 33 were more basic with none of those amenities.
An Aug. 8, 1934 article in The Day entitled “State Picnic Locations Are Listed For Motorists by Highway Department” it was stated that the areas were “a pleasant location for a day’s relaxation or for a basket luncheon as the climax of an auto trip. All of the picnic areas constructed by the bureau of roadside development are equipped with tables, ample parking spaces, and refuse depositories. They all have excellent shade and many of them command beautiful water views. They have been built for the enjoyment of the Connecticut motorists. No charge is made for their use.”
Roads that featured the most picnic areas statewide included U.S. Routes 1, 6, 7, and 44 as well as Connecticut Routes 2 and 12.
Eastern and Western Connecticut
Of all of Connecticut DOT’s present-day four construction districts, district 2, in Eastern Connecticut, had the most picnic areas with 58 or over 45%.
In Eastern Connecticut, Route 12 had the most picnic areas with six sites while Marlborough was the town with the most picnic areas with four locations.
Coming in second was district 4, in Western Connecticut, with 53 picnic areas or over 41%.
In Western Connecticut, U.S. Route 7 had the most picnic areas with eight while Newtown had the most picnic areas with four.
New Haven and Hartford
Ranking in third was district 1, in the Metro-Hartford area, with 9 picnic areas or over 7%.
In Metro-Hartford, the most picnic areas were found on U.S. Route 6 with three while Bolton was the town with the most picnic areas with two.
Coming in last was district 3, in the Metro-New Haven area, with eight, or over 6%.
The most picnic areas could be found on U.S. Routes 1 and 7 and Connecticut Route 15, each with only two picnic areas.
The most could be found in Orange and Wallingford, each having only two locations.
Looking Back
Do you remember visiting Connecticut’s highway picnic areas in their heyday? Which ones were your favorites and why?
