kettletown state park

This park has very good hiking trails. You can do a short loop on the upper trail or longer loops on the lower trails. The lower trail loop goes right down to the lake

Great camp sites. Beautiful facilities. They even have cabins. It's a good idea to book ahead for the cabins.

We stayed for 2 nights on site #8. The campground seemed clean, the bathroom in our loop was okay, lots of spiters. The bathroom in the other loop was a lot better, it had more showers and less spiters. The site it's self was beautiful but it was on a hill and made sleeping kind of hard. There wasn't much privacy between the sites, they are all pretty open and right on top of each other. All in all it was a nice stay.

I had to give this place 3 stars....I wanted to give more, for the pretty views,but camping here has issues. First the Pros- It is REALLY pretty around here- the lake, the boating, the fishing, the hiking trails,little kids swim beach- all very very pretty. They showed a Disney movie a couple of nights outside, very nice touch for families to relax together.... -But- this whole campground is built on a big HILL over the river. A short walk to the bathroom is actually a short hike up a steep hill. Somewhat precarious with small kids, or in the dark(yikes) I noticed quite a few people drove to use the bathroom- -Cons-*1st-campsite 15..REALLY? reserved without seeing it prior, it is the "bum" campsite- on the side of a rocky hill,tiny,jammed between a LOT of poison Ivy and the campsite above it on the hill,no sun at all,just a bad site. Avoid it! I stayed with friends nearby,and the other sites around were much larger,and most had at least one flat area to pitch a tent. (15 doesn't) This shouldn't even be a marked site IMHO.If you stay here, avoid this site!*2nd-Bathrooms- NOT cleaned well or enough. TP ran out nightly and took a while the next day to replenish- the SPIDERS and COBWEBS have obviously never been disturbed here-they are on,over and around everything in the bathrooms,sinks,and dish/sinkwash area. Messy to say the least.Disturbing for those with creepy crawly anxieties...*3rd- Noisy camp neighbors....and no office answering to help out at 1 a.m.- Most decent campgrounds keep a staff for these problems at night,and take care of noise quickly. Not here, We stayed 5 nights- 3 of those nights there were rude people who were *LOUD* until the wee hours of the morning. That's just wrong for the rest of us. *4th- brings me to this...I didn't see staff/rangers who actually cared much about the comfort of the campers- I did see staff, but since so much remained undone or unnoticed in the actual campground, I don't know what they did with their days (and nights)-There is just a lot less caretaking of the actual campground here than in other CT state facilities.... All in all- beautiful- but be aware of the not so good in this campground.....

My hubby and I went for a two day/night camping. We stayed at site 50, near the bathroom. Its a corner spot, and I like the fact that there is a privacy. We arrived on a Friday night, and the staff are very helpful, if not friendly, in the front. The campground-- beautiful, there is a lake, and trails, and the bathrooms are not a problem at all. Our campsite is just perfect, its in the corner, big, and close to the bathroom. I am impressed at first.The next morning, I went to the bathroom , there are women inside the bathroom chit-chatting. At 7:30 am. A bad indication of the clienteles (neighbors). Then the next thing that I know, the campers across the street must have at leafs 10 kids with them, running around, talking in walkie talkie in our campsite while their parents are just watching them from across the street. Great! Just when I thought we have a little bit of privacy. And this thing happened the whole day. Then at night, past 10, the people with an RV across the street (besides the generator), must have been drinking that they talk too loud and laughing with music in high volume. There must be 10 of them with 3 cars plus the RV. Then finally, the rangers came and mustve told them something..... then as the rangers left, back to how they were. =(I just had a very bad experience in this campsite, with people walking through our campsite, kids in the open fields, don't expect a tranquil moment here. Maybe for a day visit, I would recommend it, but Camping??? Forget it!!!!

Have recently stopped in and visited Kettletown State park for the first time this year. I enjoyed the visit very very much. The park is in a beautiful area with many areas to hike, walk and picnic in as well as swim and fish, picnic and relax. The water is dark because of the iron and other minerals in the water and native to this area.There are a lot of natural creatures to see and observe which only adds to the to the visiting pleasure and attraction of this park. This is another wonderful place to get into the outdoors, make great memories and learn about the many wonders that nature has to offer. Bring family, friends and the young ones for quality nature time...but please follow the established no alcohol rules- they have been set up for the safety and well being of all..

Be it for the day for a nice hike, picnic,being waterside or swimming in the lake...it is just a lovely place. There is camping as well but i cannot speak to that as never camped there just day trips. The trails in park are great and picturesque, plenty of picnic sites and a little but nice beach. Great way for a family to spend a summer day together!

Saw all the reviews on this campsite and decided to come. Park is nice lots of open grass areas for kids to run around. The beach area was ok, the water didnt look to nice to swim in. It was very dark and swampy like probably because all the surrounding trees. We came late in August So not alot of campers was very quiet at night. We stayed in one of the cabins was very nice had 2 rooms that sleep 6. Back room had 2 sets of bunk beds. The front bed was a full. Cabins had electricity so might be go to bring a fan to keep cool. Bed cushions/mattress are very hard but after placing a few blankets on top it wasn't so bad. Bathrooms were clean but alot of spiders but something you would expect. It has only 1 shower in the woman's and men's bathroom not very private. We had a few skunk and raccoon visits so best to make sure food is inside. We did the hiking trail which was awesome. Trail is on the moderate level with steep hills and Rocky terrains. Its about 7 miles and we completed it with a group of 4 people took about 4 hours. A bit confusing with all the different color markers. A few signs says the trail was relocated so we ended up hitting a few dead ends. Overall stay was really good we will be returning next summer.

Beach on lake Zoar. Can put up a tent.. Great from family out door fun. Bath rooms outdoor but clean.

I stayed here in June with my family and my brother's family. There were 6 kids total. We felt totally safe with them playing and riding their bikes around the loop. There were lots of things to do for the kids, the park rangers come around and let you know the schedule. The beach was just right for the kids too. We did minimal hiking. Overall we enjoyed our stay and will return. The only negative thing that happened was at dusk we were invaded by racoons and skunks! We stayed in campsite #17 and the critters just come right out of the woods to invade the site. One tried to take my cooler bag!

I was VERY impressed with Kettletown State Park Campground!! Large, clean bathrooms. Showers were the press button, 30 sec shower spray, kind but wáter was NICE temp from get-go, great pressure and FREE. Grounds were clean, sites were large and nicely shaded, roads were paved well, (there are some hills but roads generally flat around camp sites - kids loved riding bikes and I felt safe letting them.) No electric and wáter is shared by several sites (make sure you have a large container to carry and store so you don't have to go back and forth). Ranger drove by all the time to check up on people. You do have to drive to the beach, it is kind of a hike, but the beach área is clean, breazy and worth it. saw rowboats and kayaks and fishing there. If tent camping and posible rain, site #37 was a LAKE. But most other sites I saw during our 2 days of downpouring rain looked good. Did see some racoons so make sure trash is up high (higher than ours....woke up to a mess!!) I didn't stay in the cabins but they looked nice(nice porch for rainy weather) and I spoke to someone who had one and they liked it - but something about no food allowed in there??? Not sure so doublé check that.All in all the ENTIRE family had an AWSOME time and can't wait to go back! Would HIGHLY recommend!!!

This is a state park and the entry fee for vehicles with license plates of CT was $9/day. There are many picnic tables spread throughout the park allowing privacy between the groups. Our group was around 20 people and we had plenty of space to barbecue and play ball games. Even though it was a very hot day, the space we had was under some trees and it did not feel too bad Most certainly the ice cream truck that comes around from time to time made many kids happy. We also enjoyed kayaking and swimming on the lake.

This location has great hiking and a couple of great overlooks, although they are becoming obstructed by growth over the years. I highly recomend this location for hiking only. Camping is a completely different story. I would not go back again, ever. Two nights of parties til three am accompanied by fights, yelling, cursing and swearing. It was so badI thought that someone would be seriously injured in a fight. I tried to get a park ranger, none available. I contacted the State Police and found that there was no trooper covering the area! I have been camping for over 50 years and never had an experience like this. There are far too many nice quiet campsites in CT where, at least in my experience, such things do not happen! I will never go back.Please note that this happened several years ago. I have not and will not go back again. Too many other great campsites!

This park is really awesome for hiking or just a nice walk...lots of trails, gorgous...I take my dogs there and we hike, but they have to be on a leash there....They also have camping and lots of places to cook....the river is right there as well.. I wish I would of taken pictures of all the trails and views....highly recommend giving this place a shot if you enjoy hiking or just a nice afternoon walk...the trails go all the way to Jacksons Cove which is another park located in Oxford, Ct....I wrote down below there is a fee to use park...I think there is when the season is open....I did not pay a entrance fee, but I believe in high season you do..

This is really a great place to come and camp and get away from everything. Though small, its other visitors are always pleasant. you also do not feel so cramped by the camping sites.