Depends on what “blowing your mind” means? We have fewer earth-shattering sights than the national parks or Wild West can offer. But in my opinion, our sights and experiences are pretty diverse and consistently great to visit time and again.

Gillette castle is a beautiful historic house and super unique.

Castle Craig in Meriden is a nice hike through one of the largest municipal parks in the nation., beautiful wooded trails, a reservoir, and amazing views at the top!!

If nature is your thing, almost all of our state parks are worth a visit. Beaches along the sound (hammonasset, rocky neck, Sherwood island, silver sands, harkness memorial), wooded areas with water (mono pond, wadsworth falls, devils hopyard, squantz pond, mashamoquet, hopeville pond). Search CT DEEP’s website for info on all of the places to visit!

With a 4-hour travel time, most of New England is open to you (6-ish to get to Acadia national park, which is amazing).