mount tom state park

I have been coming here for years. You can see the decline over the years as the state continues to bleed cash and puts nothing into their park system. The beach is a mess, and the grounds are worn and terrible. Still some good hiking.

For the record we did NOT go into the park but this review is to inform people as to why we didn't and they really may not want to, i.e. this a a buyer beware heads up. A touch of background. I'ma NYer and here in NY state parks are pretty much one price for in or out of states. Usually you pay 7 to 10 dollars (the bigger attraction parks are around 10 dollars). Mt Tom State Park in CT is a small park with very little in the way of attractions. So here we go first there is a in state and out of state rate, though not nice its not unheard of just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Second the cost for out of state visitors is 15 Dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is highway robbery. Third and final when i asked shocked about why so much i got a "well you clearly not for THE CITY, they pay more than that for parking there so it's fair for us to charge that", (at this point you can insert you own expletives). The state of CT is trying to RIP off out of staters who visit Mt Tom. We turned around and left and my advice to others is don't even bother driving up (probably to any CT state park). You can spend your money more effectively somewhere else. If you want to hike go to a FREE trail head like those on the AT or a different state like NY, MA, RI, NJ, ext.......