Snowshoeing in Litchfield Hills CT

Bredeson Outdoor Adventures is offering a day of guided snowshoeing in Washington and Warren, Connecticut in the heart of the Litchfield Hills on February 9, 2014.  Participants will meet at 9:45 a.m. at Hopkins Vineyard located on Hopkins Road in New Preston overlooking beautiful Lake Waramaug.

A short shuttle ride will take participants to Macricostas Preserve, where you will explore the area's boardwalks and admire the dramatic view of Lake Waramaug. This 368-acre parcel of land, known as Meeker Swamp is a mix of meadowland, farmland, wooded ridge and wetlands with a pinnacle that overlooks Lake Waramaug. Bee Brook and the Shepaug River wends its way through this lovely preserve. 

The day will consist of intermediate snowshoeing or walking if no snow (approximately 4-6 miles total) in beautiful countryside under the leadership of a professional and enthusiastic guide.  No prior snowshoeing experience is necessary; this but tour is rated intermediate because snowshoeing 4-6 miles requires a fair amount of energy, unless there is little snow.  Due to the venue and optional winetasting, participants should be 21 years or older.

Participants will enjoy lunch and lake views upstairs in the warmth of the Hopkins Vineyard's Hayloft Wine Bar and an optional wine tasting downstairs by the fire. The Breseson Outdoor Adventures Tour Company will provide lunch and hot tea and cocoa, information on where to rent snowshoes (they have a few pair available for rent), brief instruction and a day of winter fun. Tips and lists for what to wear, bring and do to enjoy a safe cold weather outing are also part of the package.

After lunch, participants will snowshoe through the vineyard and on Lake Waramaug.  The cost of this outing is $63 per person.  For more information visit http://bredeson.com/trip-sign-up.  For information on Hopkins Vineyard www.hopkinsvineyard.com.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

December Creature Cruises in Long Island Sound

Bundle up for a fun journey out onto Long Island Sound in hopes of seeing some of the seals that spend the winter just off our shores during The Maritime Aquarium’s new season of Winter Creature Cruises.

These invigorating cruises seek out the harbor seals and gray seals that have been coming down into the Sound each winter. Educators on board the research vessel Oceanic will point out these federally protected marine mammals and talk about their natural histories. They’ll also help identify such winter waterfowl as buffleheads, mergansers and long-tailed ducks.

The 2013-14 Winter Creature Cruise season kicks off the weekend of Dec. 28-29 and will be offered on many Saturdays & Sundays through April 5.  Dates and departure times will vary by the tide schedule.  Initial cruises are: Sat., Dec. 28 at 1 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 29 at 1:30 p.m.; and Sat., Jan. 11 at 1 p.m.  See the full season schedule at www.maritimeaquarium.org.

Tickets for a Winter Creature Cruise are $22.95, or $17.95 for Aquarium members.  Participants must be at least 42 inches tall.  We recommend that you bring binoculars and plenty of warm clothes!

Space on the Oceanic is limited so advance reservations are strongly recommended. Walk-up tickets will be sold, space permitting. The cruises depart from the dock outside the Aquarium’s IMAX movie theater.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

Cross Country Skiing in Litchfield Hills

A snowy winter means mountains of fun in Connecticut's Litchfield Hills, where opportunities for many kinds of outdoor recreation abound.

Imagine the quiet swoosh of a cross country skier gliding across the winter landscape in one of the many state parks and nature centers that abound in this unspoiled northwest corner of the state.  Here are a few of our favorite spots to cross country ski.

White Memorial Foundation, on 71 Whitehall Rd. (off Rte. 202) in Litchfield offers 35 pristine miles of trails to explore.  The Apple Hill Trail is especially scenic for x-country skiing as it meanders for approximately two miles from Laurel Hill to the summit of Apple Hill, the highest point around Bantam Lake.   An observation platform located on top of Apple Hill provides stunning views of the lake, hills and unspoiled countryside as far as the eye can see.  Gliding through open fields and forests you may catch a glimpse of a white tailed deer or a red fox.

Burr Pond State Park, on Burr Mountain Rd. in Torrington offers a lovely blue blazed three mile trail with very little elevation that circles Burr Pond making it easy to ski on.  The trail takes you through a portion of Paugnut State Forest with its sheltering pines and hemlocks.  In addition to including many fine views of the pond – popular with ice fishermen, you will also glide through a variety of habitats.

Collis P. Huntington State Park on Sunset Hill Rd., in Redding is a quiet hideaway park that offers several unexpected charms.  The hill at this park is excellent for sledding and sliding and the network of trails here, most were former roads offer excellent and easy cross -country skiing.   The Blue Trail circles the park in a 5.7-mile loop that is perfect for an afternoon excursion.  A highlight of the park is the unique bronze animal sculptures made by Anna Vaughn Hyatt, one of America's most prolific sculptors.

Housatonic Meadows State Park located one mile north of Cornwall Bridge on Rte. 7 offers idyllic cross country skiing along the Housatonic River.  Swoosh through pine scented trails along the river keeping  your eye peeled on wildlife that makes this area their home.

Perhaps one of the most scenic parks for cross country skiing is Topsmeade State Park located on Buell Road off East Litchifeld Rd. of Rte. 118 in LItchfield.  Nestled in a setting of great natural beauty you will find a maganificent Tudor style home that was once the summer estate of Miss Edith Morton Chase, heiress to a brass family fortune in Waterbury.  There are numerous trails to explore here as well as a number of unpaved roads.  Look of rhte 7/10 of a mile nature walk with interpretive signs.

n 1917, Miss Chase received from her father approximately 16 acres on Jefferson Hill in Litchfield. Here she built a rustic cabin, which was replaced with a more substantial summer home in 1923. She hired noted architect Richard Henry Dana, Jr. to help her design and build the English Tudor style house which was completed in 1925. The exterior woodwork is of cypress, the downspouts are lead, the walls of brick and stucco, and the roof is slate.  Upon her death in 1972, Edith Chase left her beloved country estate to the people of Connecticut and to be known as Topsmead State Forest. In her will, Miss Chase requested that Topsmead State Forest "be kept in a state of natural beauty". To ensure that Topsmead would remain undisturbed, Miss Chase left an endowment to be used toward maintaining and operating the buildings and grounds as they were upon her death.

For more information about crossing country and down hill skiing in Litchfield Hills, visit www.litchfieldhills.com.