Windsor Meadows State Park
155 acres in Windsor, CT
Parking: Medium sized lot near E Barber St, Windsor, CT
Trail Map Trails: Less than a mile Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Windsor Meadows is a small state park sandwiched between the railroad and the Connecticut River long know as a popular boat launch. Within the last decade it has developed to include a short handicap accessible walking path and a provides access to a multi-use trail over the Bissell Bridge
Boating:
Windsor Meadows State Park is mainly a boat launch into the Connecticut River. The Bissell Bridge Boat Launch is a wide concrete ramp down to the water and there is parking for at least 22 trailers.
You can also walk along shore a bit in either direction for fishing though there are a number of rules posted about what not to catch and what not to eat.
Hiking:
At the south corner next to the boat launch is an entrance to the Windsor River Trail which is a wide path in the flood plain of the river heading off into the woods for about 2/3rds of a mile. It was after sunset by the time I got to the park so I skipped the path until my next visit so here’s Peter Marteka’s 2012 description,
“Visitors will experience the river as the 10-foot-wide, handicapped-accessible path twists and turns along the high banks. There are several overlooks and picnic spots along the way as the trail crosses Decker’s Brook over a nice iron bridge and ends behind several businesses.
It will be easy to figure out where the trail comes to an end — a huge beech tree with its grey bark and grotesque trunk and branches play off the autumn-barren woods behind it. Old initials carved years ago are on its trunk and the old farm fences nearby speak to the beech’s former life as a “wolf tree,” as it once provided shade for cattle.”
I did however explore past the small picnic area and pavilion next to the ramp and north a bit under the bridge. The asphalt does continue in this direction past the bridge and the state owns several acres to the north, but it quickly turns into a thicket of weeds and trees so I didn’t even attempt to explore what unmarked trails may exist.
At the entrance to the park there is also access to the multi-use trail that leads from the park up onto Bissell Bridge and along I-291 for 1.8 miles connecting to Main St in South Windsor.
History:
Established as a state park in 1968.
Links:
- CTMQ – Windsor Meadows State Park (2017)
- Peter Marteka – Rediscovering The Connecticut River In Windsor (2012)
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Last updated: September 28th, 2020
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