Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

Press Releases

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05/23/2018

Wednesday Update on State Parks Impacted by Last Week’s Major Storm

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) State Parks Division has continued to work to clear the damage at the state parks impacted by last Tuesday’s major storm.
DEEP announced today that Kettletown State Park in Southbury will reopen to the public at Noon on Friday, May 25. Parts of Kettletown State Park will continue be closed to the public, however the campgrounds will be open for Memorial Day camping.
DEEP previously announced that Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden and Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford will remain closed through the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, however a timeline still has not yet been set on when those two parks will reopen.
“We are pleased to announce that Kettletown State Park will reopen in time for the Memorial Day weekend,” said DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee. “This is truly a credit to the hard working women and men of DEEP who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to get this park ready for holiday weekend.”
In consultation with New Fairfield First Selectwoman Pat Del Monaco, the DEEP has decided that Squantz Pond State Park and Candlewood Lake State Boat Launches, both of which are in New Fairfield, will remain closed through Memorial Day.
“While power has been restored to the park, much of New Fairfield is still recovering from last week’s storm,” said First Selectwoman Del Monaco. “Due to catastrophic storm damage, our town cannot safely accommodate additional traffic on town roads at this time, including vehicles pulling boats.   I sincerely appreciate the DEEP and the public’s understanding while we continue to clean up from the storm and we look forward to welcoming visitors to Squantz Pond State Park in the near future.”
Additional patrols by the DEEP Environmental Conservation Police (EnCon) will continue to enforce the closures of Sleeping Giant, Wharton Brook and Squantz Pond.
As an alternative to the parks that remain closed, DEEP reminds visitors that other neighboring state parks are available:
Nearby parks to Sleeping Giant and Wharton Brook State Parks include: West Rock Ridge in Hamden and New Haven and Wadsworth Falls in Middlefield.
Nearby parks to Squantz Pond State Park include: Putnam Memorial in Redding and Bennet’s Pond Ridgefield.
Nearby boat launches to Squantz Pond State Park include the Lattins Cove (Candlewood Lake) State boat launch in Danbury, the Lake Lillinonah State boat launch in Bridgewater, and the Pond Brook (Lake Lillinonah) State boat launch in Newtown.
For a complete list of Connecticut State Parks visit: ct.gov/deep/stateparks

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