Children's Activities in Litchfield Hills. Litchfield Hills children's activities include skiing in the mountains as well as a water theme park called Splash Harbor near ESPN headquarters. We have two amusement...
We have two amusement parks in Litchfield Hills. One is New England's Family Theme Park, which is one of the oldest continuously operating theme parks in the United States. It has more than 60 thrill rides and attractions including something called Splash Harbor, which is Connecticut's largest water park, and Balderdash which is a the number one wooden roller coaster in the world. They are located on a private lake across the street from the corporate headquarters of ESPN. Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury is another park in the region that's located on a private lake. They have over 30 rides and attractions catering to younger children. Lake Compounce has a big slush water roller coaster and water park located right on the beach with about 30 rides, swimming, picnicking, and catering.
Another fun activity that's available in the fall is a corn maze. The White Hollow Farm Corn Maze is 11 acres and the largest corn maze in the state of Connecticut. It has a strong emphasis on nature and agriculture. You'll learn about horticultural and farm animals and be treated to homemade cookies, drinks, pumpkins, and sweet corn. There is also special Moonlight Maze you can go through when there is a full moon.
The White Memorial Foundation is the state's largest nature sanctuary and conservation center. They have over 4000 acres with 35 miles of trails opened for hiking, cross country skiing, bird watching, fishing, camping, and boating on Bantam Lake which is Connecticut's largest natural lake. They also have a nature museum containing unique exhibits depicting the history and natural resources of Litchfield Hills. Another beautiful nature center is the Sharon Autobahn Center in Sharon, Connecticut. They have 1200 acres with 11 miles of trails open from dawn to dusk. The most exciting thing there is the Children's Discovery Room which exhibits animals, flora, fauna, and raptors. They have a variety of red tail hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and even a bald eagle. The birds have all been injured in some way and are being rehabilitated.
We have a place called the Kellogg Environmental Center which is located in Derby and owned by the state. It's on the Osborn Dale Estate and is a fabulous nature center offering a workshop, exhibits, nature activity weekends, scout programs, and nature walks. We have the Anderson Nature Center in Woodbury which is a farm education program for children. They have maple sugaring demonstrations every March and botany and geology trails that go through wood fields, ponds, wild flowers.
We have three large ski areas on Mohawk Mountain that are perfect for families and ideally suited for young people who are just learning how to skate. Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall is the largest winter sport resort in the state. It's 59 years old, has five chairlifts, and a wonder carpet. It serves 23 trails on 107 acres and it has a 98% snow making coverage. As a matter of fact, snow making was invented here. Ski Sundown in New Hartford has 15 trails, 4 chairlifts, and 100% snow making. When you're at the top of the Ski Sundown, you can see the most gorgeous reservoir and watershed area called Bark Amsted Reservoir. Finally, the Woodbury skiing skate park is the smallest ski area in the region. It offers Alpine skiing on 5 km of groomed cross country ski trail. They have two new magic carpet lifts, snow making, double chairlifts, one rope tow, two handles tows, and an Alpine terrain park with two half pipes and two tubing parks that are 1000 feet long. They also offer snow showing and snow boarding and have a newly resurfaced skate park, an outside extreme ball park, a bike park, and a concrete ball.
