While the majority of tourists visit the coast of Connecticut during the summer months for the beaches, I visited the Branford area in the middle of winter. It was a seasonable warm winter weekend with some rain showers, so I searched for indoor excursions and short outdoor walks.  

I started my day at the Shore Line Trolley Museum.  Set at the end of a neighborhood in East Haven, the Shore Line Trolley Museum is a hidden gem. The main museum features a small room with a model railroad, informational plaques about the history of trolleys in the area, and a small gift shop.  The lobby is set up as a station waiting room. 

I reserved a spot on their one hour trolley tour.  The tour starts with a short train ride (1.5 miles one way) on a historic trolley – ours was 98 years old adorned with advertisements from that time period – to the end of the line.  The trolley doesn’t turn around at the end of the line; instead, the conductor moves his steering device to the opposite end of the trolley. The conductor talked briefly about the mechanisms and set up on the trolley as he set us up for the ride back. One design feature that had all of us in awe was the seat adjustment. Just as the front of the train can be either end of the car, so can the seats. With a quick pull the seat back moves from one side to the other. This was such a cool feature that I wish we had on modern trains. 

On the way back, the trolley stopped at the train yard where we got off and learned about a handful of other historic trolleys that the museum houses.  They have a collection of wooden and steel constructed streetcars, as well as a mail trolley. Besides other streetcars, the museum also owns one of only two subway cars that survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  The train was pulled out of the wreckage and cleaned up, but they have maintained all of the advertisements from that day, which makes it feel like an eerie time capsule to walk into. 

It was just a light rain for most of the day, so I decided that the short walk to the Branford Labyrinth was still worth it.  The majority of the walk from the parking area to the labyrinth is on a paved Branford Shoreline Greenway trail.  I find labyrinths as a nice way to take a moment and slow down. For those who don’t know, a labyrinth is a meditative experience. While it might look like a maze with turns and decisions to be made, a labyrinth is a continuous path that makes its way from the outside starting point to the center of the design. They usually take 10-15 minutes to complete.  The Branford Labyrinth has some nice shell designs at the corners of the turns and a few inlaid designs on the ground. It is also set next to a small pond with a bench for additional reflection.  According to their website, they also host a candlelight walk about once a month.

To dry off after the labyrinth, I stopped at the Stony Creek Brewery.  Known for their flagship Cranky IPA, Stony Creek has a selection of other IPAs and a few other types of beer. Their indoor space is set up for eating and socializing, with a good food menu.  Their outdoor space is almost double the size of their indoor space with a deck overlooking a harbor, picnic tables and Adirondack chairs below.. It looks like it would be a great place to spend some time during the warmer and drier weather. 

Whenever I’m near the ocean, I always want to check out lighthouses. So today’s lighthouse was at Lighthouse Park. Because it was off season, I was able to enjoy a quick visit to the lighthouse and adjoining park without paying the exorbitant summer fee – Connecticut beaches are expensive for people from out of state.  The Five Mile Point Lighthouse stands 70 feet tall and is named for its distance from the New Haven Green.  Dating back to 1845, the historic lighthouse is joined by the 1916 wooden carousel. Since the carousel, and the building it is housed in, was closed for the season, I only got to peek in through the windows.  Still, I could see the intricate woodwork of the carved animals and chariots that make up the carousel. 

The park offers lots of green space for picnics along with a covered pavilion that showcases an interesting pagoda roof design. The beach had small sections set off with large rocks that I can imagine kids love climbing. They also host a holiday light display as a fundraiser for Goodwill. My visit was during the day, so the lights weren’t on, but I enjoyed the sea inspired designs like a lobster and sailboat. 

I ended my day as I began – with trolleys.  This time was another short walk at the Trolley Trail. The old trolley route has been turned into a 0.6 mile trail that includes an old train bridge, a boardwalk, and great views of the surrounding marshland.  At this point, the rain had stopped, but the day was still foggy. While this meant I couldn’t see much of the surroundings, it did create an atmospheric walk.  I could see the faint outlines of trees, houses, and osprey nests.