Hidden Valley Preserve

As the global pandemic began to take front and center stage in the northeast last spring the kiddo and I sheltered in place here at home. That meant a lot of time in the house and time in our own backyard. We’d take a walk around the block about once a day and when I’d get up the courage we’d hit a park in the state.  Honestly, my mental health was really fragile and it took a lot for me to get up the ability to go to a park. There were a lot of unknown factors with the virus and with my small child and some unknown health factors with me I wanted to play it safe. 

Now here we are over a year later and cases are going into a 3rd surge but vaccines are rolling out. As I write this I sit here looking at the bandage on my arm from the 1st vaccine dose I myself got 2 days ago. By the time you read this I’ll be close to getting my 2nd dose. Here in CT they’ve really loosened up restrictions and I personally don’t agree with it at all. I think it would have been far better to have waited until June 1st when everyone would have been eligible for a couple of months at that point to have gotten the vaccine and hopefully have been able to have at least gotten 1 shot in before we allowed so many rollbacks. So many kids will be the ones that could be harmed by these rollbacks. The mutations scare me most as they seem to spread easier and seem to be more deadly. If we aren’t careful with it, we can end up with this sticking around just like the flu and having to get shots yearly, instead of being able to just wipe it out like polio or mumps. Personally, I’d rather hold out for a couple more months and just wipe it out rather than having to get a shot yearly. We’ve held out this long; what’s another couple more months? But that’s just my personal opinion. 

Moving away from health and something that has sadly become a political topic, when did health become political anyway? And moving into the point of this post, remembering one of mine and L’s favorite parks that we went to last year during quarantine. I was too afraid to cross state borders for quite a few months so this one is tucked away just about 45 minutes from where we live and is located in Washington Depot, CT. For you Gilmore Girls fans out there, yes this is one of the many towns that Gilmore Girls is based off of! Somehow this park never made it in to the show. I bet it’s because it really couldn’t be recreated on a studio lot. Hidden Valley Preserve is so gorgeous that it’s found a home as my landing page photo. 

According to the Steep Rock Association Hidden Valley Preserve is “700 acres of mixed forest and meadows crisscrossed by nearly 17 miles of trails that offer a variety of terrain for hiking. Wooded hillsides cascade into the River Valley below, creating breathtaking views from the Lookout and Pinnacle.” L and I couldn’t agree with that more. 

You could spend hours allowing yourself to get lost in the quietness of it all. Some of the paths could be narrow so but you could walk for quite some time without running into people. It’s possible to forget you’re even in Connecticut at times. It can be tricky to get to, but it’s worth it. To get there, use your maps app and look for the Henry David Thoreau Footbridge. This suspension bridge is breathtaking. Give yourself time to connect with your inner child. Find your sense of wonder and be in awe of this man made structure and the natural beauty around you.

After grab a bite at Marty’s right in Washington Depot. L loves the place!