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It's Connecticut's birthday but we'll be getting the present: free admission to its state parks. Governor Rell announced last week that admission charges at state parks, including Westport's Sherwood Island State Park, are waived on May 22 and 23, in honor of Connecticut's 375th birthday. The Governor said families visiting state parks and spending time outdoors acknowledges the state's outdoor riches: its 107 parks and 32 state forests. These parks and forests allow everyone to experience and appreciate the diversity of natural resources, terrain and wildlife as well as the fascinating history with which our state is blessed, the Governor said.
Free admission applies to state's parks where parking fees are now being charged. They include Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison; Sherwood Island State Park, Westport; Rocky Neck State Park, East Lyme; Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford. Admission is also waived at the Dinosaur State Park exhibit center in Rocky Hill.
Connecticut has been a long-time park lover and was an early adopter of open space preservation. Its State Park Commission was formed n 1913, with the state's purchase of Westport's Sherwood Island, Connecticut's first state park. The state forest system pre-dates this; it began in 1903, with the puchase of a portion of Meshomasic State Forest in Portland. Today, Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection oversees 107 state parks which add up to 35,000 acres. The state's smallest park is Minnie Island in Salem; its size is just one acre. Its largest is Kent's 1,822 acre Macedonia Park. Last year, over six million people spent the day at Connecticut's parks and more than 407,000 used its campgrounds.
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