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Outdoor SportsThe Housatonic River has something for everyone. Whether you like boating, hunting, fishing, hiking or whatever the River is a great recreational focal point for the entire region. The following is a list of various sporting good stores, clubs, links, and just plain interesting stuff for those who want to enjoy the outdoors.
Bicycling | Birdwatching | Boating | Fishing | General | Hiking | Hunting | Odd Stuff | Sporting Goods Stores |
The Lower Housatonic River is suprisingly scenic given the intense development in the surrounding area and there are many locations for bicycling. The Housatonic Valley Association is assisting some of the towns on several upcoming greenway projects as part of the Housatonic RiverBelt:
The Old Birmingham Business Association is working to improve downtown Derby with better waterfront access at O'Sullivan's Island and along the Housatonic waterfront.
Derby, Ansonia, and Seymour are in the early planning stages of developing a greenway along the West bank of the Naugatuck River from O'Sullivan's Island to the falls in downtown Seymour.
Shelton is developing a downtown promanade and Farmers Market on the remains of the old B.F. Goodrich plant. Preliminary design is ongoing with constuction beginning in 1998.
Stratford has a bikeway around Lordship starting at Short Beach (a town park). The ride is outlined in Short Bike Rides in Connecticut, Fifth Ed. by Edwin Mullen & Jane Griffith, a handy book costing $10. Stratford is also working on a bikeway around the old Allied Signal plant on Main St.
The best bicycle\pedestrian crossings of the river are at Bridge Street in Shelton\Derby, and Washington Bridge (Rt. 1) in Devon\Lordship. The Stevenson Dam in Monroe\Oxford (Rt. 34) is a harrowing crossing due to narrow space for riders and vechicles and is best avoided. The new Sikorsky Bridge in Milford\Stratford will reportedly have a seperate bike\pedestrian path incorporated into the design.
A nice (dead end) ride along the river starts in downtown Shelton, goes north along Rt. 110 through Riverview Park, proceeds to Indian Well Road and Indian Well State Park. You can continue north from Indian Well but the road eventually dead ends at cottages along the River. In the future possibly a bikeway could be constructed along the railroad tracks up to the Stevenson Dam for a better RiverBelt.
The Connecticut Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association has a web page written by Joe Orto. The site contains places to ride, information on trail maintenance, and other useful data for those who like to mountain bike.
The Connecticut Bicycling Coalition has a web site listing events, touring rides, and information about ongoing legislation concerning greenways.
The Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point has a great facility overlooking Nells Island. Nells Island (aka Wheeler Wildlife Refuge) is one of the most written-about waterfowl areas on the Atlantic Flyway. Call (203) 878-7440 for further information.
The Connecticut Birding Web Site by Jim Bair has a lot of information on it regarding good places to see birds around the state, weather, and other references. The Connecticut Birding Calandar has information about upcomming events.
The Lower Housatonic offers many boating opportunities (see Boat Ramps & Canoe Landings for access points). Lake Zoar and Lake Housatonic are popular with power boaters and water skiers. Lake Housatonic is also home to the New Haven Rowing Club and the Yale Crew teams. The river from the Derby Dam to I-95 is used by power boaters and jet skiers. From I-95 to the Sound the river is home to several marinas catering to sailboats and salt water fishermen. The entire lower river is suitable for flat water canoeing and kayaking although it does get busy at times. The following sites and groups may be helpful:
A listing of area Boatyards & Marinas along the Housatonic is available on the River Resources page.
The Connecticut DEP publishes the Boater's Guide online.
The Penfield Power Squadron has a good web site for boaters (sail & motor) on Long Island Sound and the Housatonic River.
The New Haven Rowing Club, 407 Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, CT 06478 (203) 734-0125 sponsors the Head of the Housatonic Regatta. This year's event on October 12 brought hundreds of people from around New England to Indian Well State Park for a beautiful fall day of racing. Look for an upcoming web site for the club in the near future.
The Yale University Crew Teams are headquartered at 280 Roosevelt Drive, Derby, CT 06418 (203) 734-9706. The site includes construction photos of the new boathouse.
The United States Power Squadrons has a site with information on boating safety, local organizations, and other sites that might be of interest to boaters.
The Lower Housatonic is ideal for kayaking. ConnYak (Connecticut Sea Kayakers Club), P.O. Box 2006, Branford, CT 06405 or call Club President Stan Kegeles at (203) 481-1881, is a Connecticut club for those interested in the sport. Nick's Kayak Page by Nick Schade (who has a really nice-looking boat and a funny looking dog) is a stylish page with a lot of information.
If you're interested in boats, Mystic Seaport has a web site with pictures and diagrams of just about every kind of row boat that you can imagine.
FishingThere are many places along the Housatonic that are popular for fishing. Lake Zoar and Lake Housatonic offer lake fishing, and tidal species frequent the loweer river up to the Derby Dam:
- Many people visit the downstream faces of the Stevenson and Derby Dams.
- Pink House Cove is a still area on the eastern side on Lake Housatonic in Derby is used by ice fishermen (assuming we have a real winter).
- O'Sullivan's Island in Derby is a little known access spot at the mouth of the Naugatuck River.
- Southbank open space Rt. 110 in Shelton is a popluar pull-off from Rt. 110.
- Caswell St. in Milford is a popular spot when the bluefish are running.
- Even small areas like the jetty at the Naugatuck St. boat ramp in Devon are used on occasion.
- Stratford just completed a major renovation of the Birdseye ramp with a fishing pier and is currently upgrading the Bond's Dock.
- Surf casting is possible from the beaches in Milford and Stratford.
Visit the Parks & Attractions page for further information.
As water quality in the river have improved so too have habitat conditions for fish. The Connecticut DEP has even started a program to restock portions of the Naugatuck River with Atlantic Salmon. The Lower Housatonic is also popular for Shad fishing up to the Derby Dam. Portions of the upper Housatonic River are still contaminated with PCB's from General Electric's days of dumping gook in the river, however there are remediation plans being studdied.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has several web pages that may be of interest for fishermen. The Fisheries page has information on several programs the DEP is working on to preserve and improve breeding populations of various species. The Year 2000Angler's Guide is also available on-line.
The Naugatuck Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited is active in river clean-ups, improving public access to the water and samon restoration on the Naugatuck River. They are currently working on a project in Beacon Falls to improve access to the river, as well as other projects. Contact Albin Weber, president, P.O. Box 100 Middlebury, CT 06762 for further information.
The Housatonic Fly Fisherman's Association has an elegant web site with information about fishing conditions in the upper portions of the Housatonic River watershed. They publish a guide to the Housatonic Trout Management Area, sponser river clean ups, and have an bulletin board for fishing conditions.
The Electronic Valley has a good Arts & Recreation page that lists many parks in the area. Also check the Community Calendar for upcoming events.
The Connecticut DEP is improving their site with more information on parks and recreation throughout the state. There's a lot of good information there, particularly the park listings. Hopefully they'll get maps and other information on-line in the near future.
SNET-Internet has a Hobbies Page that contains information on a variety of outdoor and recreation sites around the state.
The Housatonic River Valley, Connecticut's Outdoor Wonderland by Frank McKane Jr. is a good article from NY Outdoors describing outdoor activities that are popular along the entire river. The Connecticut Post newspaper has a Sporting Life section on Thursdays that has articles by Mr. McKane, Richard Bastian, and other writers about outdoor sports. Also check out Dick Alley's Outdoor's Column in the New Haven Register for information on fishing and hunting.
The Great Outdoor Recreation Page (GORP) has links to various sports and recreation sites around the world.
The area around Lake Zoar contains several of the better blue-blazed hiking trails in the state. The Zoar, Pomperaug, and Paugussett are maintained by volunteers from the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association and are an important part of the Housatonic RiverBelt. There are also several lesser known local trails listed below that are quite inviting:
Shelton Trails by Teresa Gallagher contains information on hiking trails in Shelton and the surrounding towns, with links to other sites throughout the the Northeast. There are maps and trail descripions for the Paugussett Blue Dot Trail, and Webb Mountain Park in Monroe.
Derby Recreation Department has a good web site with an extensive description for Osbornedale State Park and the Kellogg Environmental Center. The Connecticut DEP also has a web site for Kellogg and Osborne Homestead Museum..
Waterfowl hunting is popular at the Wheeler Wildlife Area (Nell's Island) and all along the river. The Paugussett Forest and private lands provide upland hunting areas.
The Connecticut DEP publishes the Hunting and Trapping Guide on-line from their website.
Connecticut Waterfowl Association, P.O. Box 599, Higginum, CT 06441, (860) 663-2292 is active in conservation, marsh restoration, and hunting issues and publishes a newsletter.
Duck & Goose Identification published by the USGS & Central Flyway Waterfowl Council has pictures and information on many different waterfowl.
Sunrise & Sunset tables published by the Connecticut DEP are useful for hunters during waterfowl season.
Wiffleballs are made just outside downtown Shelton. The Wiffle Ball Factory, Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton, CT 06484. Okay, maybe you don't feel that wiffleball is a true "sport", but it is enjoyed at many picnics along the Valley. The site lists the history and rules of wiffleball (yes, there are actually rules). The factory doesn't have any tours though.
The following are local stores that carry specialized goods for outdoor sports:
Bicycle, Inc., 912 White Plains Road, Trumbull, Conn., (203) 261-3281. Helpful people who can assist you with mountain and road bikes and accessories.
Crossroads Marine and Power Center, 242 Route 34, Monroe, Conn., (203) 268-8423.
EMS Sports, 1939 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield, CT (203) 334-7006. Clothes, camping, hiking, and canoeing gear.
New England Outfitters & Range Center, 324 Quinnipiac Ave., Wallingford, CT (203) 284-9999. They are a unique store located in 4 floors of an old mill along the Quinnipiac River (off exit 64 of the Parkway). Carries a large variety of shooting and hunting gear with an indoor range. They also have a large selection of flyfishing equipment and are starting a line of canoeing gear.
Outdoor Sports, 80 Danbury Road (Rt. 7), Wilton, CT, (800) 782-2193. Canoes, kayaks, bicycles, car racks, hiking equipment and accessories.
Rad Robs, 90 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton, CT (203) 929-2562. Helpful people if you have questions about mountain bikes and accessories.
The Small Boat Shop, 144 Water Street, South Norwalk, CT 06854, Richard Klinger (203) 854-5223. Located on Norwalk Harbor at Rex Marine. They carry what is probably the largest supply of canoes and kayaks in Connecticut.
Shearwater Boats, 22 Soundview Drive, Stamford, CT 06902, (203) 359-6431. Builders of elegant hand-made wood strip canoes and kayaks.
Shelton Sports Center, 105 Center Street, Shelton, CT 06484, (203) 924-5514. Fishing tackle, bait, limited hunting gear, and licenses.
Sportsman's Depot, Inc., 27 Bank Street, Seymour, CT (203) 888-6785. Fishing and archery equipment.
Sportsmans Rendezvous, 165 Boston Post Road (German's Shopping Center), Milford, CT 06460, (203) 878-9200. Hunting, archery and fishing equipment.
Other pages of the ~ Lower Housatonic River Guide ~ include River Home Page | Boat Ramps & Canoe Landings | Parks & Attractions | River Resources | Water & Weather | Outdoor Sports | Nature Centers & Tourism |
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