Covered bridges

 Saturday #2: Historic Covered Bridges

If you've got one day in Connecticut and historic bridges are your jam, this trip has got you ... wait for it ... this trip has got you covered.

Covered bridges are a thing in New England, and they're a thing because of ones like the ones on this map. West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Bulls Covered Bridge and Comstock Covered Bridge were built in the 19th century and given roofs to help the wood last longer through the floods and freeze-thaw cycles of New England. They're the only three left from that time period in the state.

Covered bridges are still being built, now perhaps less as a clever solution to a real transportation problem than as a charming photo backdrop. So far, I've come across modern lookalikes at Devil's Hopyard, Kent Falls and Southford Falls, all near waterfalls, all in state parks, and all near a family-friendly picnic area. There's also a nice one in Ellington, near where I live, that was built in 2021 with a similar truss construction style to the historic bridges on this list. 

West Cornwall Covered Bridge, which crosses the Salmon River, was built around 1864.  You can usually drive across this one -- unless it's closed for repairs, like it was this past December and January after someone tried to tow a backhoe through it. 

On your way south to Bulls Covered Bridge, built in 1842, you can pause for gorgeous waterfalls and another covered bridge (of the modern photo backdrop variety) at Kent Falls State Park. 

(Gravel bike detour: At Kent, turn right on Maple, cross the Housatonic and ride south on Schaghticoke Road. It's 4.5 miles of mostly dirt road to Bull's Bridge. You can drive it too but it's kind of slow going.)

Like West Cornwall, you can drive through Bulls Bridge, which makes it a little tricky to walk through. It's a one lane road but there are raised beams on either side that you can walk along. Traffic is light and the hills and bends keep it slow. Anyway, it's worth stopping. The channel of the Housatonic River it crosses bounds down both natural rocks and artificial falls -- a spillway for a hydroelectric dam -- and is a launch point for a fairly rowdy section of whitewater. All I did was look, but it's beautiful from inside the bridge and from the trails that head north on the west side of the channel. 

After leaving Bulls Bridge and before you get to New Milford, look left for the Old Boardman Bridge, built in 1887. There are public parks on either end of it, but the bridge itself is completely closed for now. There's another bridge of this style nearby that you can walk across, in Lover's Leap State Park. It's definitely worth a trip -- great views from the bridge and from a high point overlooking a wide branching river -- if you can make a long day even longer.

New Milford is a classic Connecticut town -- gazebo, green, great steepled church, town hall, colonial homes and a thriving town center. Lots of Saturdays, the green is bustling with kiosks selling local food and wares. Theo's Downtown Diner is a good breakfast or lunch stop, they're open until 2 p.m. most days. Walk down Bank Street between Theo's and the green and see if anything catches your eye - we had fun at Play Toys and Gifts and The Hunt, a vintage shop. 

After New Milford is a great stretch of driving, on Highway 109 to Washington, Morris and Thomaston. Great barns, homes, hills, ponds and cemeteries, especially Morris Cemetery. After that, I recommend just taking the fastest way to Arrigoni Bridge, where you'll cross the Connecticut River, then look around at downtown Portland, on the east side of the river. Portland is another town in the Connecticut sweet spot -- quiet enough that I can look around without driving stress, busy enough that there are places to eat and shop if you want, and, I don't know, rich enough that the big, old houses are still there and still nice.

Comstock Covered Bridge is now closed to vehicles, which makes it the nicest of the three to walk through. There are a few miles of trail that follow the river here. There might not be time today if you're following this plan. I jotted that down for later. 

I added the Mystic Drawbridge partly just to end on a cool bridge -- drawbridges are super cool if you ask me -- near somewhere to eat. And Sift Bake Shop is a great place to eat. Unique sandwiches and arty desserts that you might frame if they weren't going to, you know, mold eventually. (They also, ehm, taste amazing.) The only problem with Sift is there's always a line and it's hard to see options until it's about time to order, so you wait too long and still feel rushed. It's open until 7 p.m. most days, so you can probably make it with this itinerary. As long as you didn't add in all the side trips. 

From Sift, walk up Water Street and then right on Main Street to the bridge. On the way, you'll see tons of shops and lots of tourists. I enjoyed Bank Square Books - inviting layout, lots of books and lots of intriguing recommendations from a pretty big staff.