Travel and tourism information

STATE PARKS & FORESTS

The Lower Connecticut River Valley has a half dozen state parks and forests good for outdoor activities. For information on any park, contact the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Elm St, Hartford. Cockaponset State Forest, in Haddam, has fishing, hiking and swimming. Oevil's Hopyard State Park, just off cr 82 in East Haddam, has 860 acres of parkland for camping and hiking, including the 60-foot Chapman Falls. Haddam Meadows State Park, in Haddam, is good for boating and fishing. Hurd State Park, in East Hampton, has camping, fishing, hiking and picnicking. Selden Neck State Park, in Lyme, has camping places for those making canoe trips on the river, as well as hiking trails. PLACES TO STAY Camping There are simple, inexpensive campsites in Devil's Hopyard State Park, East Haddam; Hurd State Park, East Hampton; and Selden Neck State Park, Lyme. More elaborate facilities are available at Wolfs Den Campground, in East Haddam, with 235 sites; Little City Campground in Higganum, with 50 sites;

Markham Meadows, in East Hampton, with 75 sites; and Nelson's Family Campground, also in East Hampton, with 300 sites. Motels Moderately priced motels are found along the Boston Post Rd (US 1) in Old Say brook, reached via 1-95 exit 66. Try the Days Inn Boston Post Rd}, which has 52 rooms for $78 on weekdays, $118 on weekends; the Say brook Motor Inn with 24 rooms for $65 on weekdays, $85 on weekends; the Super 8 Motel with 44 rooms going for $70 on weekdays, $95 on weekends. There's another cluster of motels near 1-95 exits 67 North and 68 South. Inns & B&Bs The Griswold Inn  in Essex, is the town's landmark lodging and dining place. Despite The Gris' antiquity (it has been serving travelers since the Revolutionary War), its 25 guest rooms have modern conveniences, and cost $90 to $115 (more for suites), light breakfast included. Hint: Room No 24 costs only $70.

The inn's famous all-you-can-eat Hunt Breakfasts (11 am to 2:30 pm Sunday) cost $13. Otherwise, lunch in the dining room costs $10 to $20, full dinners $30 to $50. A farmhouse built in 1776 was the original Inn at Chester in Chester. Several buildings have been added during the 20th century to produce a colonial-style inn with modern conveniences in its 42 airconditioned rooms priced from $105 to $145 (more for suites). In the spacious dining room, dinner main courses tend to the traditional and gamey (venison, duck) with nouvelle-cuisine touches, and cost $17 to $26, with full dinners for about twice as much. To reach the inn from the center of Chester, follow cr 148 west for 4.4 miles and go past cr 9 exit 6 and pretty Killingworth Reservoir to the inn, which is right on the Chester-Killingworth town line.

The Bee & Thistle Inn, is a 1756 Dutch Colonial farmhouse with 11 rooms, some of which share baths. The dining room (closed Tuesday) is renowned for its innovative cuisine and romantic ambience, so it's a very good idea to reserve your table in advance. Expect to spend $35 to $60 for a full meal. The Copper Beech Inn in Ivoryton, follows the model of the Connecticut River Valley: fine old inns with sophisticated restaurants. Built in the 1890s as the residence of ivory importer AW Comstock, the inn has four guest rooms in the main house and nine more luxurious rooms in the Carriage House, priced from $105 to $175. The updated French classic dishes served in the dining room are hath superb and in high demand. Reserve well in advance and expect to pay $50 to $65 per person for dinner. To find the inn, take cr 9 exit 3 and follow the signs on to Ivoryton, going west 1.6 miles through Center Brook to the inn on the left-hand side of the road.

PLACES TO EAT

Most experienced travelers know that hotel dining rooms often suffer in comparison to independent restaurants. But in the Connecticut River Valley, some of the best restaurants are in gracious old inns, such as the Copper Beech in Ivoryton, the Griswold in Essex, the Bee & Thistle in Old Lyme and the Inn at Chester. For details, see Places to Stay, above. For inexpensive but good sandwiches and picnic fare in pricey Essex, you need go no farther than Olive Oyl's Carry-out Cuisine, behind the Strong Real Estate office. Good breads, cheese, pates, pastries, sandwiches ($5) and snacks fill the display cases and will fill you as well. The aptly named Crow's Nest Gourmet Deli, on Pratt St in Essex, overlooks the boatyard and marina from its perch at Brewer's Shipyard. Breakfast and lunch are served every day to the yachting crowd here. Follow Ferry St from The Gris to reach it.

The delightful village of Chester has several good places to dine. At Fiddler's Water Sty, the specialty is seafood, such as bouillabaisse and inventive lobster dishes. Lunch ($9 to $17) and dinner ($20 to $35) are served daily except Monday. The Wheat Market Deli, next door, provides picnic supplies. Restaurant du Village also in Chester, is like a little piece of Provence in the Connecticut countryside. With its flower-filled window boxes set beneath multilane windows, the blue painted restaurant features country French cuisine, with main courses priced between $21 and $27 at dinner.