Out and About: Exploring Beyond Campus

It isn’t every state that can boast mountains, beaches, big cities and small villages, urban centers, and rural enclaves—all within short driving distances. But Connecticut can, and that’s one of many reasons why students returning to our West Hartford campus or arriving from out of state for the first time never fear running out of things to do when it’s time for a short break from school activities. 

Students enjoy a vibrant campus environment, but they’re also a part of an entire local community with lots to do and places to explore. So what can they look forward to in the Hartford area now that they’re back on campus?

When asked what nearby destinations they prefer, many students cite West Hartford itself—though what they’re typically referring to is the town center just a few miles south of campus, called Blue Back Square. It has dozens of restaurants, cafes, and bistros, plenty of shops, spas and boutiques, outdoor concerts, a bookstore, and the Noah Webster Library. The school even provides a shuttle bus. 

In fact, West Hartford is almost like a little capital city by itself—although, Connecticut’s real capital city, Hartford, is right next door. As such, it is steeped in current events, but it is also a citadel of history, with the Mark Twain Museum, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and many other historical and cultural icons. For theater, there’s Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks, and the Bushnell Performing Arts Center. For music, there are big places like Infinity Hall and smaller ones like Black Eyed Sally’s, a restaurant that regularly features live blues. But if eating, dancing, and socializing outdoors is more to your taste, try Pratt Street, one of the most revitalized urban streetscapes in the city. From Salsa Socials and ethnic days, to open-air yoga and visiting food trucks, Pratt Street (200 years in the making, as one unofficial tagline puts it) is a festival in itself. Incidentally, it is said that there are almost 100 food trucks of all different kinds throughout the city.  

If you want to see the skyline, climb to the top of Heublein Tower on Talcott Mountain, which straddles Avon and Bloomfield. Just seven miles to the northwest of campus, it is one of dozens of places in Connecticut where students can get in a good hike for destressing, exercise, or a meet up with friends. The Tower, near the summit of the mountain, affords a panoramic view that encompasses the Litchfield Hills and western Massachusetts. 

Connecticut’s walking and biking trails provide a great escape. There are more than 200 miles of them in at least 30 separate locations across the state. Near campus, in Farmington, Avon, and Simsbury, a long portion of Rails to Trails traverses the beautiful Farmington River. 

Speaking of the river, there are plenty of places to go rafting and kayaking (Collinsville, Windsor, and many other towns), to engage in out-of-the-ordinary sports such as go-carting and disc golf (both in Simsbury), and to enjoy copious amounts of gorgeous flowers (Elizabeth Park, straddling both Hartford and West Hartford). You can also escape quite literally to illusory rooms at several nearby establishments with names such as Codeword Escape in Rocky Hill, Mission Escape in West Hartford, and Lara’s Labyrinth in Wethersfield. 

To find them, all it takes is a little research. But after all, isn’t that where college students excel!