Our family recently moved to Connecticut and have been spending time traveling locally and exploring the state. We decided to venture about an hour away to Middletown, CT, and found there were plenty of things to do in CT for families. Although our family only spent a day in the area, we really enjoyed our stay and the downtown area of Middletown. I would like to thank the Inn at Middletown for hosting us.
Where to Stay in Middletown, CT
This was the home base of our adventure in Middletown, Connecticut. The Inn at Middletown is the perfect place to stay to explore the surrounding area. We arrived to the Inn late in the afternoon and decided to walk to Wesleyan University and explore a little. The architecture at Wesleyan is beautiful! It is a small private liberal arts college and has buildings that look right out of a New England magazine. The Inn at Middletown is two blocks away, and is the perfect place to stay if you are planning a visit to Wesleyan University.
After a short stroll around some beautiful buildings, we grabbed our bags and checked into the room. The parking for the Inn is in a small lot about a block away (a confirmation email is sent with a handy map). After a friendly
Downtown Middletown was small, yet it had plenty of charm. We walked into a few shops and debated
The food here was very good. The burgers were juicy, the wings were seasoned perfectly and the fries were spectacular. The decor inside was quirky, but the kids enjoyed the various items and the TV’s as well. As predicted, their craft beer list was expansive and the waitress was very helpful in going through what type of beer we would like.
Upon walking back to the Inn at Middletown, we decided to have a little nightcap and had another drink and a dessert at their restaurant on site – Tavern at the Armory. The menu did look great and we would have eaten our main meal here, but we had wanted to explore downtown and got hungry in the process. If you are planning to stay at the Inn at Middletown, I do recommend eating at the Tavern. Not only was what we had delicious, but it is very convenient to have a restaurant on site.
Things to Do Near Middletown, CT
There are no shortage of things to do in Connecticut. Had we been here longer, we would have gone to a couple of the local breweries in Middletown. In addition, had we not been traveling with the kids, we would have also visited a few of the Connecticut wineries that were about 10-15 minutes away. If you are traveling with younger children, I read that the KidCity Museum (just a few steps away) is spectacular. My youngest is 8 years old, and when I showed her the website she thought it would be great to bring her younger cousins (ages 2-4).
In the morning, we woke up and drove 5 minutes to Wadsworth State Park to see the waterfall. There are plenty of free things to do in CT, and parks are a great way to enjoy the outdoors. There is a short hike that you can take to get to the waterfall, but since we were headed to breakfast, we opted for the shorter route of parking in the lot adjacent to it. To find it, type in “waterfall parking” on Google Maps, and you will see it is on the opposite corner of the main parking lot. The walk to the falls from the parking lot was about a minute. You could hear the sound of the water rushing from the lot.
Wadsworth Falls
After Wadsworth State Park, we drove another 5 minutes to Lyman Orchards to have some breakfast. Visiting orchards has been one of our favorite things to do with kids in CT, and we were excited to check out a new one. This place is fantastic! They have a sunflower and corn maze open in the Fall, pick your own fruits, a beautiful outdoor setting, and a terrific market called the Apple Barrel. We arrived at 9:05 AM and it was slammed (it opened 5 minutes prior). Although the line did move, the anticipation and the aroma of apple cider pancakes was killing me.
After breakfast, we walked into the Apple Barrel market and were overwhelmed with the amount of delicious offerings. They are well known for their apple pies and apple cider (so get one of each). They also had a plentiful selection of homemade muffins, cookies, donuts, jam, peanut butter, honey and so much more. They even had a freezer section with pot pies, pirogies, dairy, and creme pies.
After a delicious breakfast and market shop, we ventured around and had a scenic drive around some orchards. There are numerous outdoor things to do near Middletown, yet we settled on visiting a farmer’s market nearby. We decided to stop
Check out: Children’s Books Set in Connecticut
There are so many family fun things to do in CT, I cannot wait to continue our exploration. If you are interested in discovering other areas or trying to figure out what to do in Connecticut or nearby, check out my other posts:
Apple Picking in Fairfield County at Silverman’s
New England Trip Itineraries
Winter in New England Road Trip
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I need to plan a long weekend to CT!
There is so much to do in this state and nearby. Easy driving.
There is so much to do and see in Connecticut. The rooms at The Inn at Middletown look clean and comfy. I will definitely have to check out Wadsworth Falls.
Sounds like you had a lovely time in Middletown. Connecticut is a state we’d love to visit one day.