Cheshire: Canal Heritage, Art and Nature

Cheshire combines extensive open spaces with canal heritage, marked trails, historic sites and art. The destinations offer different highlights: a watercourse with waterfalls, a restored lock, a museum with a large collection or hands-on programs. This lets you combine days outdoors with cultural discoveries and plan your trip around the subjects that interest you most. More than 1,500 acres of publicly acquired open space are designated for passive recreation, such as hiking.

Open Spaces and Trails

At the Roaring Brook Nature Area, a watercourse drops 80 feet. A red-blazed trail leads past the waterfalls. At Brooke Preserve, blue-blazed trails circle the entire preserve. The two places offer different ways to navigate on walks: at Roaring Brook, the trail runs alongside the waterfalls, while at Brooke Preserve, the blazes mark the route around the preserve.

The Farmington Canal Linear Trail is a paved walking and biking trail along the Farmington Canal. It is seven miles long and runs through the entirety of Cheshire. Ball & Socket Arts offers pedestrians and cyclists direct access to this trail. The parks also have their own highlights: Cheshire Park includes the Ruth C. Burke trail system. Mixville Recreation Area has a pond for swimming and hiking trails; in winter, sledding is also possible there. Bartlem Park has walking paths.

Canal Heritage and History

Lock 12 Historical Park includes a restored canal lock, about 150 years old, and the lock keeper’s house on the Farmington Canal, forming a historic ensemble. The park also has a picnic pavilion and public restrooms. The Cornwall Avenue-Town Center Historic District is one of two historic districts in Cheshire and was officially designated in 2004. The windmill at Ives Farm is the last of its kind in Cheshire.

The Cheshire Historical Society also offers ways for the public to engage with local history: it hosts lectures, tours and educational programs. Tours of the Hitchcock-Phillips House, a colonial home built in 1785, can offer insights into 18th-century life; availability may change.

Art and Hands-on Programs

The Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum in Cheshire houses nearly 80,000 objects. At Ball & Socket Arts, Artsplace is on the second floor, above Sweet Claude’s, at 493 West Main Street. It offers art classes, vacation programs and workshops for people of all ages and abilities. The Artcade is a public space for extraordinary visual art, on view around the clock outside Building 2 of Ball & Socket Arts.

Choose a Focus for Your Stay

If you want to combine activity and history, you can include the Farmington Canal Linear Trail and Lock 12 Historical Park in your plans as two different ways to experience Cheshire. When looking for a vacation rental in Cheshire, it can help to decide what you want to focus on: should your stay center more on trails, historic sites or art offerings?

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