A woman hiking with her dog on a path through the woods (Instagram@mommawanderer)

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Warning

Kettletown State Park sustained flood damages as a result of the unprecedented heavy rainfall event in August 2024. The campground and surrounding areas, including the Pomeraug, Crest and Brook Trails are closed, and will remain closed for the 2025 season. The day-use areas, including the Miller Trail as well as the youth group campsites, have been reopened.

Kettletown State Park

Southbury, CT

Head to Kettletown State Park to hike its over six miles of trails traversing a range of terrain, scenic overlooks of picturesque Lake Zoar on the Housatonic River, a shaded picnic area, and a lakeside campground. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Zoar, the fifth largest freshwater body in the state, the 605-acre park is popular four seasons a year.

The area was originally inhabited by the Pootatucks, an advanced, industrious Algonquin Tribe. Although the Pootatucks were expert fishermen and hunters, their main occupation was farming. They raised fine crops of beans, squash, tobacco, and apples. True innovators, they developed an impressive drum communications system which could carry a message over 200 miles in just two hours.

Local legend has it that early colonists traded one brass kettle to hunt and fish here — hence the park’s name. Eventually, the settlers acquired complete rights to the area and, by 1758, any remaining Pootatucks had migrated northwest. In 1919, their original village was submerged when the Housatonic River was dammed to produce hydroelectric power, creating Lake Zoar. All that remains now in the Kettletown area of this once prosperous tribe is an occasional arrowhead.

Views from the Park

A boy sits in a wooden canoe on the shore of the lake (Instagram@seankeenan)

Three dogs with bandanas on a bridge (Instagram@tobiascashewtigger)

A man at campsite in Kettletown (Instagram@thequinntessentiallife)

Location

1400 Georges Hill Road
Southbury, CT 06488

Get Directions

Details

Open Daily
(8:00 a.m. – Sunset)

Park Maps

Contact

May – Sept. (203) 264-5678

Sept. – May (203) 938-2285

A waterfall flows from the woods (Flickr@Gerrett-Uhde)

Activities

Overview

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

An alcohol ban is in place at Kettletown State Park - alcohol is prohibited
Bus Permits are required for mid-size and full-size buses seating 30 or more passengers
No swimming allowed
Trail Map
Trail Map - Mobile

Boating

Camping

The Kettletown State Park Campground offers 61 partially wooded and open sites.

Kettletown State Park Campground

2025 Season: Closed due to flood damage
Campground Office: 203-264-5678
Campground Map

55 RV/Tent Sites

Daily Rate: $17 resident/$27 non-resident
Sites include picnic table and fire ring
Maximum length for trailers/RVs: 28 feet
Six-person maximum per site
Maximum Stay: 14 days

6 Rustic Cabins

Daily Rate: $50 resident/$60 non-resident, plus $9 processing fee, 15% occupancy tax and refundable $50 security deposit required at check in
Two-room cabins with double bed and two bunk beds
Comfortably sleeps four people with space up to six
Minimum Rental: Two nights (Friday/Saturday only)

Amenities

Bathhouses with showers
Dumping station (free for registered campers)

Reserve a campsite:

Online: Visit Reserve America
By phone: 1-877-668-CAMP (2267)

Know Before You Go

Alcohol is prohibited
No pets allowed
Swimming is not allowed
Camping in Connecticut State Parks & Forests
Youth group camping is available to qualifying youth organizations.

Fishing

Geology

The William Miller (blue-blazed) Trail, to your right from the road heading to the Youth Group Camp Area, provides a good introduction to a variety of rocks. At the T in the trail, turn right. About 500 feet down the trail you will encounter a large, lumpy brown boulder at the edge of the trail. This glacial erratic came from the northwest, from the Pomperaug Valley. Erratics are boulders left behind by the glaciers when they melted.

Hiking

Connecticut Forest and Park Association Trail Descriptions

Nature

Additional Park Info

Fees

FREE – In-State Registered Vehicles
$15 – Out-of-State Vehicles (Weekends/Holidays)
$10 – Out-of-State Vehicles (Weekdays)
$112 – Out-of-State Vehicles (Season Pass)
Campsite fees charged separately.

Accessibility

Parking

Picnic Tables

Restrooms

Pets

Picnic Areas & Hiking Trails
Yes, on leash

Beach & Campground
Not permitted