Madison, CT

1. Hammonasset Beach State Park

The Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Connecticut is a recreation area open to the public and encompasses two miles of the beachfront along the Long Island Sound. The state park is the largest shoreline park in the state of Connecticut and is also one of the state’s most popular attractions with around one million guests every year. Hammonasset Beach State Park includes a nature center, a large campground, and an array of beach activities across its grounds. Activities possible at the state park include swimming, picnicking, hiking, fishing, boating, and bicycling. The campground contains more than five hundred units.

1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-245-2785

2. Meigs Point Nature Center

The Meigs Point Nature Center is located within the large Hammonasset Beach State Park and is a vital and exciting learning center focused on environmental science. The nature center is open to visitors of all ages and is one of Connecticut’s most beautiful site in its state park system. The center features hands-on activities, an observation deck, and a seasonal touch tank where visitors can get up close and personal with some of the sea’s smaller wonder. Other wildlife include fish, crabs, amphibians, snakes, and turtles that are unable to be released back into the wild.

1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-245-8743

3. The Shoreline Greenway Trail

The Shoreline Greenway Trail, running eastward from the city of New Haven, is part of an effort in collaboration with communities to create pedestrian, wheelchair-friendly, and bike connections, such as bike lanes and greenway trails to take people where they want to go. The Hammonasset section of this greenway trail is located in Madison, Connecticut and has been a showcase of what is possible with greenways in the state since it opened back in 2014. The Shoreline Greenway Trail is almost a mile in length and is one of the state’s most popular biking and walking trails, and a great place for birdwatching.

Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-481-3870

4. Chef Paul Barron

Visitors and locals alike can join one of the cooking classes offered by Chef Paul Barron in downtown Madison, Connecticut. Chef Barron offers a broad array of different cooking classes, basing his instruction on teaching technique and methods instead of only relying on teaching recipes. This allows those participating in the cooking classes to be able to transfer these skills they learn in their cooking at home. Chef Paul Barron’s cooking classes usually take place on Tuesdays and lasts around three hours. The classes are also limited to only six people, so pre-registration is necessary.

837 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203779-5713

5. Creations

Creations is a retail space situated in the heart of Madison’s downtown shopping district. The space showcases the stunning work of over one hundred and eighty different artisans from throughout the country’s Northeast region. Creations aims to share the stories and products of these artisans to all visitors of the space. Creations seeks out the unique, strives to find the creative, and celebrates function and beauty. The retail space is owned and managed by Vista Life Innovations, which is an organization focused on supporting people with disabilities. All proceeds from the sales at Creations go towards supporting the organization’s services and programs.

6. Field House Farm

The Field House Farm in the town of Madison along the state shoreline is a family owned and operated farm. Visitors will find a farmhouse built back in the year 1720, the grounds of which have been utilized to create a sustainable farm operation. The grounds include a large garden for produce, as well as several different animals, including a donkey, a llama, pigs, Alpine goats, heritage turkeys Hampshire and Shetland sheeps, and chickens. Field House Farm practices responsible and humane animal care and farming practices. Many different programs for adults and children are offered at the farm as well.

623 Green Hill Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-779-9187

7. The Audubon Shop

The Audubon Shop in Madison is the state of Connecticut’s original birding store, founded in 1986. The shop is owned and managed by Jerry and Janet Connolly and is housed within a historic house near the Long Island Sound. Just a stone’s throw away to the east is the Hammonasset Beach State Park, which is one of the state’s best sites for birding, as well as one of the Atlantic Coast’s most significant migratory bird stopover and breeding areas. The Audubon Shop offers bird walks on a seasonal basis in addition to its selection of bird feeders and other birding supplies.

907 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-245-9056

8. Rockland Preserve

In North Madison, sitting to the west of Route 79, is the beautiful Rockland Preserve, a much-loved nature destination for locals and visitors alike in Connecticut. This preserve is filled and characterized by impressive, wooded areas, glorious round, and rocky hills, as well as eye-catching ledges and precipitous gray cliffs. Hikers and leisure walkers can access Rockland through roads that have been long abandoned in the past and were once used by the city’s earliest occupants. At the center of the Rockland Preserve sits the Coan Pond that is surrounded by lovely rare flowers and wildlife. Also found at the preserve are the Singletracks of Rockland, which is open to trail runners and mountain bikers, as well as the Rockland Bike Park, which is frequented by avid mountain bikers of all levels. The bike park features spectacular pump tracks, berms, rollers, and a skills area.

Off Route 79, Madison, Connecticut 06443, Phone: 202-245-5623

9. Bar Bouchee

Bar Bouchee is a popular restaurant in Madison for both the authentic, yet affordable bistro fare and the boisterous, yet intimate atmosphere. It has become a place where people gather and “neighbors act neighborly, friends encounter old friends and make new ones.” Imported from France, the zinc bar at Bar Bouchee makes a dramatic statement, but is also often packed with some of the restaurant’s regulars as they enjoy a lively conversation, great wines, and unique cocktails. Bar Bouchee is inspired by the “bouchons,” or neighborhood bistros, of the city of Lyon in France, and features authentic bistro decor.

8 Scotland Ave, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-318-8004

10. Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale

Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale had its beginnings as a simple roadside clam stand back in 1979 with only four picnic tables for customers. During that time, the owners made an important promise to every customer, a promise to serve only the freshest and finest seafood available, keep prices reasonable, provide friendly and prompt service, and offer generous portions.

1301 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 203-245-7289