Man, I gotta tell you about my trip down to Paradise, Connecticut last month. Seriously cool spot that doesn’t get enough love. Heard a bunch of folks online buzzing about “paradise ct things to do”, figured I’d see for myself what all the fuss was about. Totally winged it, no strict plan, just grabbed my backpack and hit the road early.
The Struggle was Real Finding Good Info
First off, lemme say finding concrete info beforehand kinda sucked. Buncha generic lists floating around, mostly recycled stuff you see everywhere. Didn’t tell me anything real, you know? Wasn’t sure where to even park myself. Finally stumbled across a dusty local blog buried deep in search results that mentioned the Paradise River Walk area. Sounded decent, headed there first.
Getting My Feet Wet (Literally)
Parked up near the old mill – super easy, free parking which is always a win. Just started walking along this shaded path next to the river. Pretty chill vibe right away. Saw a buncha kayakers launching near the bridge. Spotted a small rental shack tucked away – “Paradise Paddlers” or something like that. Walked over, guy was super friendly. Rented a basic kayak for like, $25 bucks for two hours? Seemed fair.
Got the kayak into the water – easier said than done! Almost ate it climbing in, felt pretty dumb wobbling like that. But once I paddled out? Dude. Game changer. Super calm water, saw fish jumping, glided past these massive old trees dipping their branches in the river. Super peaceful. Just floated for a bit soaking it all in. Found a little sandy cove further up, stopped there, ate the sad sandwich I packed. Best sad sandwich ever with that view.
Hiking Trail That Almost Did Me In
After returning the kayak (only slightly sunburnt), I drove a few minutes further to this trailhead the rental guy mentioned – “Eagle’s Lookout Point“. He said it was a moderate hike. Ha! Maybe for mountain goats. I mean, it started okay, nice wide path through the woods. Smelled like pine needles.
Then things got real:
- The incline suddenly got STEEP. I was huffing and puffing way sooner than I’d like to admit.
- Rocky bits started popping up, had to use my hands to scramble a little. Got totally stuck figuring out where the trail went around a massive boulder for a hot minute.
- Saw a bunch of those little yellow trail markers thankfully. Followed those like my life depended on it.
- Ran into a super nice couple coming down who gave me water and confirmed I wasn’t lost, just slow.
FINALLY reached the lookout point after what felt like forever. My legs were jelly. But holy smokes – the view! You could see out over the river winding through the valley and the little town center way off in the distance. Totally worth the near-heart-attack getting up there. Sat on a rock catching my breath for a good twenty minutes just staring. Took a ridiculous number of photos.
Wrapping Up With Frosty Beers
Headed back down way more carefully than I went up – knees were not happy. Was starving and stupidly thirsty by then. Drove back towards the main little village area. Found this place called “The Rusty Hook Tavern” – looked basic but had folks sitting outside laughing. Grabbed a seat outside, ordered a massive burger and a stupidly cold local IPA on tap. Hit the spot perfectly.
Sat there just chilling, watching people come and go, totally wiped out but buzzing from the day. Realized it wasn’t about ticking off some pre-made list of “paradise ct things to do”. It was about stumbling into that kayak rental, almost falling in the water, wrestling with that crazy hike, chatting with strangers, and finding that perfect cold beer at the end. Paradise CT’s vibe is kinda laid-back adventure mixed with local charm if you ask me. You gotta just show up, explore whatever catches your eye, and see what happens. Definitely planning another trip later this year!
