Budget-Friendly Things To Do in Connecticut

With Connecticut's Passport to Parks Program, visitors with Connecticut registered vehicles are not required to pay a parking fee at CT State Parks and Forest recreation areas. That means 142 state parks and forests covering more than 255,000 acres of coastline, hills, and forests are always within reach. 

Enjoy fresh air, exercise, and fun while taking in Connecticut’s natural beauty, historical treasures, and adventure - for free!

See dramatic cascading waterfalls at Kent Falls State Park in Kent or Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middlefield/Middletown. Take in stunning vistas from up high after you hike Sleeping Giant in Hamden or Talcott Mountain in Simsbury. Picnic and fly a kite by the coastline from Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford or explore the tidal wetlands at Bluff Point State Park in Groton. 

Experience a look back in time at historical sites, like Fort Trumbull State Park in New London and Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in Groton, or go way, WAY back to the Mesozoic era at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill. This park features over 750 early Jurassic dinosaur footprints, one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. Find your perfect park experience at CTParks.com.

Elizabeth Park Conservancy on the Hartford/West Hartford border offers more than 100 acres of formal gardens, green space, recreational facilities, and walking loops. The Helen S Kaman Rose Garden here is home to 212 rose beds and 75 rose arches, and houses over 150 unique varieties of roses.

It's free and open to the public 365 days a year. The Conservancy also presents special events, outdoor concerts, tours, lectures and garden workshops in the Park — many of them free to the public.

Hubbard Park in Meriden also offers free admission. Enjoy the view from the top at Castle Craig Tower, a stone observation tower overlooking the park's 1,800 acres filled with hiking trails and picnic areas.

Then there's Weir Farm National Historical Park in Wilton, which is the only National Park Service site dedicated to American impressionist painting. The site was home to three generations of American artists including Julian Alden Weir, a leading figure in American art and the development of American Impressionism. Admission is free, and wildlife habitats on the property include open meadows, hardwood forests, vernal wetland areas, streams, a pond, rocky ridges, and gardens.

Connecticut’s jagged coastline stretches over 332 miles alongside the blue waters of Long Island Sound. While some of its public beaches require parking fees, all of the state park beaches are free to access for residents with in-state registered vehicles. 

Visit beautiful spots like Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme and Sherwood Island State Park in Westport for sun, fun, sand, and surf. 

Looking for fun educational experiences? Several Connecticut museums offer year-round free admission to all guests. Others offer free admission to kids under a certain age, or feature special access days and programs with free or discounted admission. 

At Yale University in New Haven, the Yale Peabody Museum, one of America's most historic museums, is free to visit. Explore more than 4.5 billion years of natural history, with weekend events and activities geared toward curious kids. 

The Yale University Art Gallery  is the oldest college art museum in North America, housing nearly 300,000 objects from all regions of the globe, and the Yale Museum of British Art  contains the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. Both are also free and open to the public, as are historic spaces and curated exhibits at six Yale Library locations. The Beinecke Library is renowned for rare books, manuscripts, archives, and more that illuminate human history, creativity, and culture.

Other free museums include the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association in Groton, which maintains the world’s finest collection of submarine artifacts. The Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop in Hamden is an experimental learning workshop for students, teachers, and families to celebrate creativity and innovation. And at UConn's flagship campus in Storrs, free museum experiences include the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art and the J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum, which celebrates UConn's athletic excellence.

The PEZ Visitor Center in Orange is free for kids under 3, and $4 for older kids, up to age 12. Adults are $5 and seniors are $4. With each paid admission, you receive $2 credit, which may be used like cash and applied to any same day purchase. Kids 5 and under also get free admission at the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol.

The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford offers several free admission opportunities, including Second Saturdays with families and special community open house days. Admission is free for Hartford residents, veterans, and active military members and their immediate families. 

The New Britain Museum of Modern Art also offers several free admission opportunities, including once-a-month free access for community days. New Britain residents also receive free admission on the first Saturday of every month.

• Concert tickets don't have to be cost-prohibitive. Check out the free Monday Night Jazz series in Hartford's Bushnell Park, which runs through mid-August. Elizabeth Park also offers regular free outdoor concerts and performances each summer, as does Westport's Levitt Pavilion and the Meriden Twilight Concert Series on the Meriden Green.

• The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun offers a full slate of free performances, with past performers like Ludacris, The Marshall Tucker Band, Warrant, Sister Hazel, Chubby Checker, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Queensrÿche and Run DMC.

• How about a free evening of stargazing? The Westport Astronomical Society offers free public viewing nights on Wednesdays. Volunteers set up telescopes for an evening of exploration and learning, open to all ages and experience levels.

• Fall in love with alpacas! Lavender Hill Farm in Voluntown welcomes guests to the farm to meet, feed, and learn about its herd. Visits (by appointment) are free, and the farm offers a gift shop with apparel, pottery and goat's milk soaps. 

• If you're into flowers, visit these essential Connecticut gardens for bright color and natural beauty. Several offer free admission, like the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford and the Connecticut College Arboretum in New London. There's also the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge in Simsbury, a 19th century metal-truss bridge covered with flower boxes and hanging plants.

• Bibliophiles can spend hours browsing at The Book Barn in Niantic, with three locations. Its main store is home to its largest selection of genres spread throughout several themed buildings, as well as gardens, goats, and cats. All three locations are within a mile of each other.

You also don't have to empty your wallet for a great meal in Connecticut. Here are some suggestions:

• Where better to enjoy pizza than the Pizza Capital of the United States? Feed the family with Connecticut's most-loved slices and pies.
• These Connecticut burgers come with a free side of history! Visit Louis' Lunch in New Haven, where the hamburger was invented (but just don't ask for ketchup.) You can also try the hyper-regional steamed cheeseburger at Ted's and K. Lamay's in Meriden, or the unique Shady Glen cheeseburger in Manchester with its crispy, griddle-fried cheese topping.
• Connecticut is also home to many noteworthy hot dogs, from classic dogs that date back to the 1920s, TV-famous two-footers, and deep-fried versions that Martha Stewart calls her favorites. But you definitely don't need to be a celebrity to enjoy a Connecticut hot dog tour!
• Enjoy quick but tasty bites at these classic drive-ins, with burgers, fries, seafood, and ice cream.
• Check out Connecticut food trucks, serving up almost any cuisine you can imagine! If you're near New Haven, visit the "Food Truck Paradise" gathering of trucks along Long Wharf, many serving excellent Mexican and Latin American fare.  
• At Hartford's Parkville Market food hall, you'll find 22 restaurants and three bars under one roof - and $10 lunch specials from every vendor on weekdays.
• Check out restaurants' happy hour menus for deeply discounted food and drinks! 
• Look for "kids eat free" promos at restaurants. Rewards members at Moe's get a free kids' meal with the purchase of an entree, and children also eat free the day after a Red Sox win at participating 99 Restaurant locations. Check out deals and specials at other family-friendly restaurants.