It sat close (the road loop below Cameron Bay on Map) to Highland Lake a popular summer vacation area and considering it was legal to drink everywhere but State Property might have presented a problem.
Back prior to 1930 era a Trolley Line came to Highland Lake. It branched off the Trolley line from Torrington to Winsted. It's history seems virtually lost and I can't figure out it's actual route to Highland Lake. It is a steep grade via road so Trolley? There was a small Amusement Park...Electric Park..on Highland Lake and I'd have to guess in about the same location as Taylor Brook Campground on the lake. (on Map just NW of Cameron Bay area) At present the area appears to the close eye to have remnants of 'something' from the past.
The Campground I am not sure was actually IN Burr Pond State Park but was advertised as such. On Map you can see present Burr Pond 'layout' and a hiking trail to north to Campground.
It is, in fact, a quintessential lakeside Connecticut state park: some water, a beach, a shady picnic grove.
Bring the kids, the hot dogs and hamburgers, the potato salad, the chips, the bathing suits and the plastic pail and shovel. Get a table in the shade, but near the beach, and let the sunshine and the breezes take control of your day.
It seems that no matter how early you pull up to the curb at the drop-off area by the picnic grove, the smell of charcoal, burgers and hot dogs greets you. A hot dog at 10 a.m.? Somebody's having one. The smells and the scene will immediately take you back to every other day like this at every other park like this. Smile. Assume that the kids will wear a path from the beach to the picnic table, wading, snacking, wading, snacking. At some point, ice cream from the concession stand is inevitable. When the day wanes, sweatshirts come out.
If that were all there were to Burr Pond, it would be a perfectly acceptable state park, a pretty and peaceful place to picnic and swim. But there is more.
The pond, the park's centerpiece, is surrounded by a wooded shoreline. At 88 acres, it is not large, but it is not a farm pond, either. It is big enough to have tiny islands and coves to explore, but small enough that it is almost always safely manageable in a small boat.
There is an 8 mph speed limit on the lake, so powerboats, while not prohibited, are the exception.
Canoes and kayaks can be rented from a concessionaire, Clarke Outdoors. Or, bring your own boat, and launch it at the ramp a short drive from the park entrance.
One recent Saturday, the lake was given to kayaks and canoes, not a motor on the pond, as couples and families paddled this way and that, some fishing, some just soaking up sun and scenery.
The pond is shallow and warm, so don't look for trout, but the fishing is very good. Here's a good indicator -- Burr Pond is popular with ice fishermen in winter. There are some hefty largemouth bass in the pond, and chain pickerel, too. From a boat or from the shore, kids can pull in panfish all day. Rock bass that run to 8 or 9 inches and yellow perch up to 10 inches in length are abundant, perfect for young anglers who like lots of action.
It's a great place to take kids fishing,'' says Bill Hyatt, director of inland fisheries for the state Department of Environmental Protection. ``It's a great place to take people fishing to get them used to it.''
For those who would rather walk, there is a trail around the pond. It is a little more than two miles long, not difficult and well-marked with blue trail blazes. With no other development on the lake -- the state owns all the land around it -- you'll have the sense that you are more remote than you really are.
The trail is a good place to get at look at some of the woodland birds, like the thrushes and red-eyed vireos. In late June, the mountain laurel will be in bloom and enliven the walk. All the while you walk, you'll have the pond on one side, a forest of hardwoods and hemlocks on the other.
It may not seem obvious, but the pond is manmade. In 1851, Milo Burr placed a dam across the confluence of several brooks, impounding the water for power. A tannery and three sawmills operated downstream, and the world's first condensed-milk factory was built there in 1857 by Gail Borden, who discovered the process of milk preservation by evaporation and condensation. All of them are gone. A bronze tablet marks the site, just below the falls, within walking distance from the parking area.
Just north of the swimming beach, a wooded point juts into the pond. It has picnic tables and grills and makes a great place to park for the day, with a good view of the beach and the pond. Walk to the tip of the point, and there is a 10-foot-high wild blueberry bush. Good luck beating the birds to the berries.
Size: 436 acres
Ambiance: Classic family-oriented park with shady picnic grove and beach. Even on a busy weekend the park has a relaxed atmosphere without excessive noise.
Total attendance last year: About 70,000.
Activities: Picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, camping, cross-country skiing, ice skating, ice fishing.
Facilities and services: Picnic shelter, picnic tables, grills at some picnic table sites, bath house, water, telephone, food concession stand, canoe and kayak rentals, boat ramp, flush toilets, camping at Taylor Brook Campground.
Trail maps: Yes; ask at entrance booth.
Handicapped access: Flush toilets are handicapped accessible. Ramp walkway allows access to grassy picnic area and beach. There are two handicapped-only parking spots close to the picnic area and beach.
Pets: Pets are allowed in picnic area but must be on a leash no longer than 7 feet. Pets are not allowed on the beach or in the campground.
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset
Fees: Parking for Connecticut residents is $4 per car on weekdays and $5 on weekends and holidays. Parking for out-of-state vehicles is $5 weekdays and $8 weekends and holidays.
Misc.: Kayak and canoe rentals from the Clarke Outdoors concession, near the beach, are $10 per hour or $40 per day. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, once schools get out, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
