Candlewood Lake
Lake · New Fairfield, Connecticut
The largest lake in Connecticut, about eleven miles long with sixty miles of shoreline, and entirely artificial - it was flooded in 1928 as a pumped storage reservoir for a hydroelectric scheme, which at the time made it the largest man-made lake in the United States. Whole farms went under, along with roads, a school and several cemeteries that were moved first, and in a severe drawdown you can still see stone walls and foundations running out into the water. Today it is the state boating lake: five towns share the shoreline, the water is deep and clean, and the summer traffic is serious. Public access is the catch - most of the shore is private, and the reliable ways in are Squantz Pond State Park at the northern end and the town beaches, which mostly charge non-residents or exclude them outright. Squantz shuts its gate when the car park fills, often before mid-morning on a hot weekend, so arriving late on a July Saturday means driving round a lake you cannot get into.
Candlewood Lake Road, New Fairfield, New Fairfield, Connecticut, 06812, United States
The lake itself has no hours. PUBLIC ACCESS does: Squantz Pond State Park and the town beaches open roughly eight to sunset with a summer season for lifeguards and facilities, and SQUANTZ POND CLOSES ITS GATE WHEN THE CAR PARK FILLS, often before mid-morning on a hot weekend. Town beaches mostly charge non-residents or exclude them entirely. Boat launches are seasonal. WATER LEVELS ARE DRAWN DOWN each autumn and winter.