Drive number seven out of seven! This is cause for a celebration because I didn’t think I’d be able to squeeze in all of these drives in a three-week time frame. For sanity purposes, don’t make the same mistake I made and cram them all in. I will re-do many of these drives next year because I liked them so much but also to space them further out so I could spend more time doing them. I feel like a broken record saying this but I think out of all of the drives this one was my favorite.
The peak time for this particular area of the state is forecasted to be from October 16th to October 30th.
The drive is estimated to be about 115 miles, just basically plan to spend all day because I did and I felt like I skimped out at some of the places that I stopped. Maybe plan to stay overnight if time allows for it or you can break this drive up into two different drives. I spent close to seven hours on this little drive stopping at a lot of places along the way. I did find this drive quite lovely.
- Begin heading south on the Merritt Parkway towards Norwalk
- Then head north on the following Routes 123, 106, 33, 35 and 7
- Head east on I-84 to exit 5.
- Take a left on Starr Ave then a quick right onto Cowperthwaite St and then a right onto North Main Street.
- Take a quick left onto Golden Hill Road to Route 39 heading north.
- Take Route 39 to 37 and then Route 7 again north heading towards New Milford.
- Go south on Route 67 to Roxbury, then Route 317 to Woodbury.
- Follow 317 to Route 6 south to I-84 to exit 15. (I called it a day here)
- To finish jog west on I-84 to exit 10, then southwest on routes 6, 25 and 302 to Route 58.
- Head south on 58 and 136 to the Merritt Parkway to exit 42 to close the loop.
** WARNING this drive is very treacherous especially the beginning 1/3. I can not stress enough to go slow. You will be going through winding narrow roads with zero visibility ahead of you. When the sign reads speed limit 20 go 10 especially if the roads are wet and covered with leaves. The drive is absolutely stunning but you have to pay strict attention to directions I got lost several times and I’m pretty good with directions. If you want to avoid the difficult part of the drive I suggest starting around Bethel or New Milford instead of Norwalk **
Some places to stop along the way are:
The Country Shoppes at Cannondale Village this place I found on a total whim because I got totally lost. This place was adorable it was a quaint mid 19-century village that had little shops and eateries. There was a one-room schoolhouse that was turned into a restaurant and it looked like an idyllic place to take in the Fairfield county scenery while fine dining. (Bring your wallet this place is not cheap)
Lover’s Leap State Park is located in New Milford and is quite easy to find. Here you will find one of the few old iron bridges left in the state. There are several displays where you can read about the history of the bridge or how this park got its name. The walk to the bridge less than a half mile on a very easily walkable path.
Steep Rock Preserve is located in Washington Depot and this place is why I rated this drive #1. There are no words to explain how beautiful the Preserve is. It has a suspension bridge and old train tunnel (it can be very scary walking through it; BATS). There is a road where you can drive almost all the way up to the bridge and then it’s about a half mile walk to the train tunnel through the trails. It encompasses 974 acres and is huge. There are easy trails that you can walk and they are harder ones as well. Since I was so limited on time I took my Jeep in as much as I could the trail is very narrow but so awesome to drive.
Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel is huge! It reminds me of Lyman Orchards in my area. They have an on-site bakery and they also make their own cider. It has a huge pumpkin patch and they have many different types of apples that you can pick. They have wagon rides on the weekend and their own beehive where you can try to locate the queen bee. When I was there they must have had two or three field trips going on so it’s a nice educational place for the kids as well.
Park Lane Cider Mill is another little stop in New Milford that will be a quick stop. Here you can find them pressing their homemade apple cider right in front of you. It’s awesome because this place is TINY and it’s a very very mom and pop type place. I would call ahead if you want to see them actually pressing. They also use different types of apples at different points in the season. I mean this place is so tiny that they only had an ice chest with a few gallons of cider for sale and that was it. They were going to be making more the next day. However; their cider is absolutely amazing!!! It placed second on my cider taste test. (a blog post coming in the near future)
MapleBank Farms is in Roxbury and has been in operation for 287 years! It is one of the oldest family-run farms in the United States. It has been in the Hurlbut family since 1730. I loved this little farm. They had everything you’d expect to find however their displays were very eye-catching. From different varieties of apples, pumpkins, gourds, bakery items everything looked delicious. My favorite part was that they had sheep out and walking the fields all around you. They were wearing little bells and kept bahing and were so adorable. I will definitely be coming back here. (Tip: This place is closed on Mondays)
Jones Winery and Farm is in Shelton and was actually two stops. The winery is in one location and the is located in another. The winery is huge and is worth checking out their port is fantastic. The second stop screams fall. It is a HUGE field where you can pick your own pumpkins. They also had gourds, Indian corn, hay bales, corn stalks, all things fall for sale. The field is PERFECT for observing a sunset. I almost did not stop here but I did and it was very close to sunset and I’m so glad I came because the view was wonderful. I was here on a weekday and this place was a mob scene I can’t even imagine it on the weekends! (Tip: go during the week and either right when they open or close to closing)
localtouristy.com 