Best Equestrian Camping near West Hartford, CT

It's hard to find much information about this equestrian, first come, first serve campground in Connecticut's Pachaug State Forest. The best source I could find was https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Recreation-Information/Horseback-Riding---CT-State-Parks-and-Forests

Campsites are located around a loop with a couple of composting toilets near the entrance. Water is available. There's space your your camping gear as well as a trailer and horseline. About half the sites were occupied in late October.

Three horseback riding loops leave from the campground. There's also fishing and hiking available in the forest.

One of my all time favorite hikes.

This small state park campground offers basic campsites with running water and showers, open Memorial Day to Columbus Day.  This is NOT Wolf's Den Family Campground in E. Haddam, CT. Also, be aware there are 2 campgrounds at this State Park; the other one, Mashamoquet Brook, does not offer running water/showers, so if you want these amenities, be sure to select a campsite 1-35.

There's a small playground in the middle of the loop, a number of hiking trails throughout the park along with a few geocaches (download details for offline use a phone connection is spotty), a swimming pond, and a small brook with an old mill and blacksmith shop that is sometimes open on weekends for tours. It's a nice place to explore and have a picnic. In 2020 with Covid, there were restrictions on visitors to the campground, reservations required, and swimming was not allowed. 

The parking pads are paved and a few have overhanging branches, but the trees provide  separation and some shade on largely open sites that tend to open up toward the back with open areas for pitching tents. Sites have fire rings with grills and picnic tables. Site 20 is the only one with electric. The ones toward the back of the loop back up toward the woods and give you some more privacy. 

They don't allow hammocks in the trees or pets. For some reason, silly string also makes the list of prohibitions.

Stayed here on a Tuesday night right after hurricane Henri. The park was completely cleaned up from any damage or debris, all in great shape. No other campers here when we arrived, so totally silent. No road noise. Most sites are relatively short level pads, with little or no shade, but very pleasant. We picked site 33 for the best shade and longer pad. Wished we had time to check out the hiking trails accessible from the campground.

Son and I stayed from Friday to Sunday. Easy to find the camp and the plot, well marked. Very nice sized lots. Large open areas for kids and adults to play during day and star gaze at night. Close to a small walking path and a larger intermediate hiking trail. Bathrooms were clean and staff were friendly. Would definitely stay again.