This park is a "walk-in" facility with limited parking available at the entrance. On weekends during the month of October the interior road is open to vehicles.
Picnic Shelter, Pit Toilets
There is no parking fee at Dennis Hill State Park.
History
Dennis Hill, a 240-acre estate, was gifted to the State of Connecticut in 1935 by Dr. Frederick Shepard Dennis, a noted New York surgeon.
A unique summit pavilion (formerly summer residence), located at an elevation of 1627 feet, is a popular attraction.
Haystack Mountain, Mt. Greylock, the Green Mountains, and a portion of the State of New Hampshire can be seen from the summit.
Dennis Hill State Park is a public recreation area located in the town of Norfolk, Connecticut.
The state park was once the estate of Dr. Frederick Shepard Dennis, who deeded it to the state in 1935.
The park offers hiking, picnicking, and views of distant mountains. It is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Features
The park is located in southern Norfolk, with its main access road off Connecticut Route 272.
The road provides access to a picnic area, and a parking area further up the hill, from which there is access to hiking trails and the summit road.
Dennis Hill stands at an elevation of 1,627 feet (496 m). The cleared summit area provides expansive views of the surrounding hills, and includes small pavilions and a large bungalow-style structure.
The bungalow
The bungalow, originally called the Tamarack Lodge Bungalow, is a stone building with a standing seam metal roof.
Originally built as a summer lodge providing residential space, its interior has largely been stripped of original features and its windows have been removed.
The loft areas on the upper level surrounding the main room were probably intended as sleeping space.
The building, a significant example of local summer estate architecture, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
The 240 acres (97 ha) that make up Dennis Hill State Park were once the estate of Frederic S. Dennis. Dennis was a successful New York City doctor who summered in Norfolk for many years.
He called his estate "Tamarac", and in 1908 retained architect Alfredo S.G. Taylor to design the bungalow at the summit of Dennis Hill.
Here he hosted numerous luminaries of the day, including steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, President William Howard Taft, and conductor Walter Damrosch.
Dennis gifted his estate to the state in 1935.
