Kettletown State Park Campground

Camping Review:

This campsite is beautifully located in the woods, offering a peaceful and serene environment. There are no busy roads nearby, which ensures a quiet setting during the day.

However, there are several downsides to consider. The camping spots are uneven, making it challenging to set up tents or campers. Additionally, swimming at the nearby beach is restricted to residents of the village, so visitors are not allowed to swim there.

During our stay, there were multiple large groups, including a Christian group that preached (screamingly) and played loud music until midnight, despite the designated quiet hours. Unfortunately, the management did nothing to enforce the rules, which was disruptive.

Another significant issue was the state of the sanitary facilities. They were extremely dirty, with feces present in various places. It took a long time before anything was cleaned, which obviously kept us from using the facilities.

Overall, while the location is beautiful, the poor management, noise issues, and dirty sanitary facilities seriously detract from the experience.

I tented here while doing a river stream reconstruction project in southern Connecticut.

To start, access to the river was great, though no swimming was allowed because of an algae bloom. The shorter hiking trails in the area were really beautiful.

Site 32 and the upper loop was not great though. The sites were super close together and the boundary lines were unclear, so my neighbors ended up using my fire ring to secure their tent. The picnic table seemed to be shared between sites and had boards missing, so it was challenging to use when available.

Overall, folks seemed to be there in larger groups for celebrations so things were loud well past midnight, which was challenging given how close each site was. I realize this is very time specific but there was no management presence around quiet time, and this happened both evenings I was there, so I got the sense that quiet times didn’t really apply.

The location was great especially for folks closer to the major metro areas, but I’ll be looking elsewhere if I’m ever in the area again.

Campground Review

Me and my 10yo hit up this park for a stay while road tripping through the northeast for my speaking tour. We spent quite a bit of time in CT State Parks on this trip, and this was one of the best. Like most states, CT has quite a few really nice ones and others that seem to have been forgotten by the park system.

Kettletown has everything you could want in a state park visit...

Swimming area

Fishing area

Hiking

Woods

Camping, both primitive and hook up

We enjoyed playing there, especially chasing the Canadian Geese by the lake. We were there in early June, and were almost eaten alive by mosquitoes when we ventured into the woods. Take lots of bug spray and wear long sleeves/pants, even in the summer. I promise your stay will be more fun that way.

Product Review

CRKT Chance in Hell 18" Machete- https://www.crkt.com/shop/survival-knives/chanceinhell-machete-18.html

Be sure to watch the video for us using the machete- https://youtu.be/5kEg93Aqi5w

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. Today, while we were at the park, we tested and reviewed the Chance in Hell 18" Machete from CRKT. My son and I both played with, I mean, USED the machete in a serious adult fashion while there.

We both approve and absolutely love this machete. As a former Marine and longtime outdoorsman, I've used a wide variety of really crappy machetes over the years ranging from off-the-shelf ones to military issue. I found that most would not hold an edge, were flimsy, and often broke with a modicum of use. Not so with this one.

I anticipate this beast of a machete, a Ken Onion design by the way, to last me a good long while. As a matter of fact, I think more of these will make excellent gifts for my boys in the future.

It's solidly built and chops wood as well as a hatchet. Even with one swipe, my son was able to make quick cuts to kindling wood and branches. We also tried it on soft ferns to see if it would cut or just bend them over. Quick swipes and the soft ferns were gone.

Aside from being a great camping and adventuring tool, if the zombie apocalypse ever occurs (fingers crossed!), this machete will make an excellent zombie-killin' tool.

The size is perfect for carrying but long enough to do some damage.