Huntington Pond in Connecticut

Trip Overview

Huntington Pond is located in Huntington State Park. This park is land that was left to the state by the Huntington family. The pond is man made and was used by the family to take guests out on their steam powered paddle boat which is rumored to still be under the water somewhere.

The launch area is at one end of a long, thin area of the pond that opens up to a slightly larger area as you cross under a footbridge. Just as I was approaching the bridge, I could feel the kayak rubbing the bottom which at this point was comprised mostly of fallen leaves which were soft and easy enough to paddle through.

Just past the footbridge there is a second bridge to your right that crosses a small waterway. Traveling up the waterway 100' it opens to a much larger pond than the other two areas. In this large area there are two islands, one has the remains of small stone "light house" and on the larger island I found what appeared to be a beaver lodge, though I am no expert. I did find trees that were gnawed which reinforced my belief that there were beavers in the area. I did also see several large snapping turtles, who seemed to surface just to find out what was moving their way only to dive and not surface again while I was there so have the camera ready if you want to catch a shot of them. Returning, just to the right of the stream which led to the smaller area, I found submerged cement structures that I assumed were part of the original dock for the paddle boat.

All in all a great evening, only about 2 hours of leisurely paddling but well worth the trip. Not weed choked at all Plenty of hiking trails and picnic areas if you want to make a day of it. Keep in mind that this is a state park and they do close the lots from dusk til dawn. Kind of a rocky/muddy launch area, a few cubic feet of sand or fine gravel would make a huge difference here.

Accommodations:

there are portoilets in the park though I didn't notice where they were in relation to the pond.

Fees:

None

Directions:

Take the Merrit parkway/route 15 to exit 44, go north on route 58 about 10 miles, turn right onto Sunset hill road. travel about 1.25 miles (you will pass the main entrance to the park) and turn right onto Old Dodgeingtown Road, past the first parking lot to the end of the road.