Cara Mac Media

04/23/2025

Nestled in the heart of the Connecticut River Valley, this hidden gem needs to be on your 2025 hiking list! The Scovill Loop Trails at Hubbard Brook Preserve has so much to explore: a beautiful vista, a sandy beach, massive boulders, railroad tracks and a babbling brook.

Cross the railroad tracks (carefully) and follow the trail to the banks of the Connecticut River. If you have a dog that loves to swim, this is a great place to let them splash around.

Take the Quarry View High Trail for an incredible view of the Connecticut River. The trailhead is across the street from the parking lot on River Road. A short and easy half mile climb opens up to a panoramic vista.

⚠️ 🚂The Scovill Loop Trails cross an active railroad. Please cross the tracks with caution.

04/17/2025

📍 Harkness Memorial State Park - Waterford, Connecticut

Travel back in time to the Gilded Age at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford. This beautiful 230-acre property was once the summer residence of Edward and Mary Harkness. ‘Eolia’, their lavish 42-room mansion, is the centerpiece of the park. An expansive lawn offers unparalleled views of the Long Island Sound. There are multiple paths to access a sandy beach. The property also boasts formal gardens and greenhouses. This is a great place to explore with kids and dogs!

04/07/2025

Lyman Orchards in Middlefield is a treasured Connecticut destination. Farmed by 10 generations of Lymans since 1741, the orchard grows nearly 100 varieties of fruits, including honeyberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, jostaberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, and pumpkins. Visitors flock to pick their own fruit, shop at the Apple Barrel Farm Market, play golf, and enjoy seasonal events.

04/02/2025

Gillette Castle is an iconic Connecticut landmark. The 122-acre property in East Haddam has miles of hiking trails, picnic areas and a striking stone mansion.

Constructed on a hill overlooking the Connecticut River, the gorgeous place was intended to serve as a retirement home for its namesake William Gillette. A prominent 19th century actor, Gillette was best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes.

The Seventh Sister Estate, as it was known, had a quarter-scale, narrow-gauge railroad around the property. While the tracks are long gone, hikers can still explore an old railroad tunnel and cross several wooden bridges.

Gillette Castle made my list of one-of-a-kind places to explore in CT. See which others I included: bit.ly/one-of-a-kindCT

03/28/2025

Who's ready for spring flowers? 🙋

Here are ​some of the best ​p​laces in Connecticut to see the​ daffodils​ in bloom:

📍​ Laurel Ridge - Litchfield
📍​ Halfinger Farms ​- Higganum ​
📍​ Hubbard ​Park - ​Meriden
📍​ Denison Homestead Museum ​- Mystic ‎
📍​ Redding Daffodil Field‎​ - Redding

03/23/2025

It's ! This is my buddy, Quinn, on one of his first hikes.

📍Giuffrida Park - Meriden, Connecticut

03/17/2025

🍀 Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 🍀

📍Wickham Park - Manchester, Connecticut

03/13/2025

Connecticut has charming coastal communities, impressive historic landmarks, and idyllic rural landscapes. Best of all, there are endless opportunities for outdoor adventures!

Join me as I explore my favorite places in Connecticut:

Cara MacDonald 11/2/24 Cara MacDonald 11/2/24 5 GREAT HIKES IN HARTFORD COUNTY Experience 5 of the best hikes in Hartford County. Read More Cara MacDonald 7/29/24 Cara MacDonald 7/29/24 10 GREAT HIKES IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY Explore 10 of the best hikes in Litchfield County. Read More Cara MacDonald 2/...

03/08/2025

March 8 is International Women's Day. Many influential and exceptional women have called Connecticut home. Among them was Prudence Crandall, an educator and activist who ran the first school for black girls in the United States.

The Canterbury Female Boarding School was open between 1831 and 1834. When the Connecticut state legislature outlawed its existence, Crandall was arrested. Her story brought national attention to school desegregation​ decades before the Civil War.

02/27/2025

Standing at the base of Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, the Ebenezer Avery House is a colorful home with a grim past. At the time of the Revolutionary War, it stood at the corner of Thames and Latham Streets, at the bottom of a steep embankment.

On September 6, 1781, a small militia force led by Lieutenant Colonel Ledyard sought to defend Fort Griswold against British troops commanded by the infamous traitor, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. In an effort to alert the locals, two gunshots were fired, signaling imminent danger. But the redcoats had inside knowledge of the American code and quickly fired another shot to confuse the residents of Groton. As a result, Colonel Ledyard and his group of about 165 militia and local volunteers found themselves severely outnumbered as 800 British soldiers charged up the hill to seize the fort.

The battle lasted only 40 minutes. Unsurprisingly, few Americans survived. The British loaded the wounded soldiers into a cart and began wheeling them down the steep embankment toward their ships. Supposedly by accident, the British lost control of the cart, which picked up speed as it flew down the hill. Already seriously injured, the would-be prisoners of war were now gravely hurt after the cart smashed into a tree. The redcoats knocked on the door of the Ebenezer Avery House, demanding to be let in with the dying men. Many of them did not survive the night.

The Ebenezer Avery House is now a site in the Thames River Heritage Park and is open to the public for tours. The inside is set up as it would have looked during the colonial era. Among a few bizarre items, my personal favorite is a Victorian hair wreath, created with the hair of generations of Averys.

02/21/2025

There's something romantic about New England's winter skies.

02/17/2025

On June 14 1952, President Harry S. Truman dedicated the USS Nautilus in Groton, Connecticut The keel-laying ceremony for the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine ushered in "The Birth of the Atomic Era Navy.”

Visitors to the Submarine Capital of the World can visit the USS Nautilus at the Sub Force Museum. Admission is free.

Happy !

Historic photo credit: Harry S. Truman Library & Museum

02/12/2025

📍Hartford, Connecticut

Bushnell Memorial Park is one of the nation's oldest publicly funded parks, adorned with iconic monuments, a vintage carousel and the striking State Capitol building. A highlight of the park is the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch, which was dedicated in 1886 to honor the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the American Civil War.

02/06/2025

This is all that remains of Bartlett's Tower in Tariffville, Connecticut. Built in 1889 as a resort, hikers can visit the ruins along the Metacomet Trail. The structure once stood 70 feet tall and offered sweeping panoramic views. Its proximity to the Tariffville train station made it a popular attraction for Hartford day-trippers, including Mark Twain.

01/29/2025

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ― John Steinbeck

📸 Mountain Laurel Sanctuary - Union, Connecticut

01/26/2025

Completed in 1940, the Saville Dam was named after the project’s chief engineer, Caleb Mills Saville. The dam created the 30.3 billion gallon Barkhamsted Reservoir, which serves as the primary water source for Hartford. The stone tower is the centerpiece of the dam and an iconic Connecticut landmark.