Connecticut River Offers Another View of Foliage

Fall turns the entire Northeast the color of candy-coated apples, but nowhere more brilliantly than in New England, where seasons change with astonishing clarity.

Some of the best places to enjoy the fall scenery are along the Connecticut River.

New England’s largest waterway emerges just south of Canada. Then, nourished by wells and streams, it grows, forming the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire and moving south on across Massachusetts and Connecticut, where, midway between New York and Boston, it spills into the sea at Old Saybrook.

It’s there, at the mouth, that the 410-mile river, on its forward rush to the sea, moves furthest back in time. And it’s there where lines of wash flap in the wind; white, wedding-cake churches reach toward the sky, and weathered wooden bridges span root beer-colored streams, that the fall scenery seems to reach its full crescendo.

An impenetrable sandbar across the mouth of the Connecticut River makes it inaccessible to large ships. The Connecticut is thus the only large U.S. river spilling into the sea that doesn’t support a major port city. Instead, it forms a time warp in which the small river communities remain unchanged over the years.

Peak of the Season

Though somewhat unpredictable, the fall foliage season traditionally begins in Connecticut mid-to-late September and ends about a month later. The season’s peak, when colors are at their most brilliant, lasts roughly a week. The best foliage results after a rainy spring and summer and a fall blessed with warm, bright days and cool nights.

Though surely worth a visit at any time of year, the towns along the river are never prettier or more inviting than when bronzed and tinted in their fall setting. Here are some of the highlights:

Old Saybrook. At the mouth of the river, this pleasant town of 10,000 has long been popular with summer boaters and antique hunters.

Picturesque marinas are dotted along Long Island Sound, many featuring small restaurants, shops and yacht brokerages. Historic Ferry Point is where, in an earlier century, ferryboats crossed the river between Old Saybrook on the west and Old Lyme on the east. Now Interstate 95 just zips right by. Also on the sound is Harvey’s Beach, with parking, picnic and bathhouse facilities.

The town’s vintage one-room Amtrak station was painted and spruced up recently, even with potted geraniums in the windows. O’Brannigan’s, an adjoining bar and restaurant, is as much a popular local gathering spot as a place to wait out late-arriving trains.

First Art Colony

Old Lyme. In years past, so it’s said, every home in Old Lyme (named after Lyme Regis, England) was owned by a sea captain. The town, across the river mouth from Old Saybrook, was also the nation’s first recognized art colony. The normal population of 6,500 swells to about 16,000 during summer and includes far more artists than sea captains, as well as a fair share of duck and goose hunters, bird watchers, decoy carvers, nature lovers, canoeists, authors, photographers and environmentalists.

The prestigious Lyme Art Assn. offers frequent showings of contemporary art and sculpture. The Lyme Academy of Fine Art is nearby and also welcomes visitors to its galleries. Paintings, along with rare antique dolls, toys and furnishings, are on display at the Florence Griswold House, a handsome 1817 Greek revival mansion that housed the nation’s first organized group of painters.

Old Lyme has another famous one-of-a-kind, the nation’s only Nut Museum. In a large house on Ferry Road, all but hidden by high hedges and trees, the museum contains nuts and nut wood products.

Essex. Five miles from the mouth of the Connecticut River, Essex is a painstakingly preserved, mint condition 18th-Century village and one of the busiest yachting communities on the East Coast. The center of town is built on a peninsula into the river and contains a profusion of inns, taverns and handsome clapboard houses.

Legions of Regulars

The most famous of the inns is the Griswold, or the “Gris,” as it’s known to its legion of regulars. Built in 1776, it was the first three-story frame structure in Connecticut.

The inn is meticulously maintained. Antique fixtures and furnishings, a potbellied stove, an old-time popcorn machine that still coughs up puffy kernels, Currier & Ives prints, a rare gun collection, brass ship bells and tattered temperance banners all blend the flavor of the past with the sparkle and conviviality of the present.

Yone may see other antique furniture from the Griswold era at the Pratt House and Museum at 20 West Ave. On display is an outstanding collection of 17th, 18th and 19th Century furnishings, including Connecticut redware and a collection of Chinese courting mirrors.

The Connecticut River Museum (Main Street), Hill’s Academy Museum (22 Prospect St.) and the Museum of Fife & Drum (North Main and Highland Terrace) also contain glimpses of America’s past.

Hadlyme. Overlooking the Connecticut River from a hilltop is the fieldstone mansion built in 1919 by actor William Gillette in the style of a medieval castle. The castle was a lifelong dream of the actor who won international fame for his stage portrayals of Sherlock Holmes.

After his death in 1937 the property was acquired by Connecticut as a museum and a picnic area (Gilette Castle State Park). The castle contains colorful memorabilia from the actor’s private and professional life, including an entire Sherlock Holmes stage set. The museum is open daily until mid-October and on weekends only after that.

Bonus for Theater Buffs

East Haddam. A bonus for theater buffs is the famous Goodspeed Opera House, the tallest wooden structure along the Connecticut River. The grandam of American musical theaters, now in its 26th season, is featuring (through Sept. 22) “Madam Sherry,” a revival of the musical classic; “Oh Kay!,” another musical comedy revival, will run from Sept. 27 to Dec. 17.

The only American showplace devoted exclusively to the preservation and development of the American musical, the theater was built in 1876 by William H. Goodspeed, an East Haddam entrepreneur and steam boat operator who had a deep attachment for opera and the theater. An old Connecticut River steamboat still chugs across the theater’s original drop curtain.

It now presents three musicals a year during its summer-to-winter season. So many of them have gone on to Broadway productions that singers, actors and dancers fondly refer to the Goodspeed as “the farm club.”

“Man of La Mancha,” “Shenandoah” and “Annie,” three shows born on the Goodspeed stage, are ranked among the longest-running musicals in Broadway history.

The Goodspeed’s success spawned a satellite theater, the Norma Terris, named after the musical star. It opened in 1984 and is dedicated to the development of new musicals. It’s in the neighboring town of Chester where the renowned National Theater of the Deaf also is.

Getting there: Interstate 95 runs along Connecticut’s Long Island Sound shore, providing a direct link to all points in the state (exit at Old Saybrook or Connecticut 69).

Enjoying the Scenery: The lush fall display can be enjoyed in many ways, such as a bicycle ride along back roads, a walk down country lanes, a spin in the family automobile.

The Valley Railroad, an old-time steam train using tracks of a former New Haven branch line, runs between Essex and Chester where, at Deep River, it connects with the Silver Star excursion river boat. Never more popular than in the fall, the round-trip scenic train ride takes about one hour (adults, $6.95; children, $2.95). Get tickets at the century-old train depot in Essex. It has a gift shop and an authentic 1915 Grill Car restaurant.

Accommodations: A double with continental breakfast at the Griswold in Essex is $75, plus tax. For reservations and information (all area codes are 203) call 767-1812. Other popular facilities include the Bee and Thistle Inn in Old Lyme (434-1667), a gracious 1756 country inn known for its excellent kitchen ($78-$105 double).

The Old Lyme Inn in Old Lyme is in the heart of the town’s historic district and was once a working farm ($95-$122, including breakfast). The Inn at Chester (526-4961) is a blend of old and new, formed around a 1776 farmhouse ($85-$90 per room, with continental breakfast).

Dining: The dining room at the Griswold Inn in Essex is one of the area’s most popular. Go early for Sunday’s English hunt breakfast (served from noon until 2:30 p.m.).

Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook (388-4665) offers seafood entrees and mooring for guests who arrive in their own boats. The Castle Inn in Old Saybrook (388-4681) overlooks the sound. Its colorful dining room features a variety of entrees, from fish to pasta. Tumbledown’s in Essex (767-0233) is casual, rustic and almost always crowded. Fish, poultry and meat.

More information: Connecticut’s toll-free number for foliage events and viewing is 243-1685.