Town of Lebanon Connecticut

Outdoor Adventure

Camping around Lebanon is an enjoyable experience. With beaches, fishing, and boating there are plenty warm weather activities. Please see these local sites for camping options.

Water's Edge Campround

Lake Williams Campground

CT Water Trails Program

A water trail is a network of access points, resting places and attractions for users of human powered water craft on lakes and rivers. Water trails afford an opportunity for people to personally explore our natural and cultural heritage from a distinctly unique perspective - "sitting on" the water. Lebanon is home to many such sites including:

Amston Lake
Big Pond
Brewster Pond
Graves Pond
Hayward Pond

Lake Williams
Lockes Pond
Palmer Pond
Pitchers Pond
Red Cedar Lake

Savin Lake
Spencer Pond
Stiles Pond
Tenmile River
Yantic River

To learn more about each site, please see the Rails to Trails website by clicking here.

Letterboxing

Letterboxing is an intriguing "treasure hunt" style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several websites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's log book. There are over 50 letterboxes in Lebanon…how many can you find?

For more information on getting started and to look up clues to finding letterboxes click here.

Public Hunting Areas

With the entrance on Goshen Hill Road, Bartlett Brook Wildlife Area is managed for wildlife, hunting, and stream fishing. There are many trails, some well-tended. Exploration in the area leads to some significant colonial sites. Pease Brook Wildlife Area is also managed for hunting and stream fishing. It is accessible from Horiska Road near the Bozrah line. It is best to wear hunter orange when visiting any natural area between Oct. 1 and Jan.2, whether hunting or not. Check DEP regulations by clicking here.

Rails to Trails

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

Airline Trail is part of Connecticut's Greenways system which runs through woods and farmland along the entire northwest side of Lebanon from Rte. 207 in Hebron to Willimantic. Maintained in Lebanon but the Town's volunteer Trails-to-Trails Committee, trailheads are located on Rte. 207, Leonard Bridge Road, Tobacco Street, Rte. 87, Village Hill Road, Cook Hill Road, and Kingsley Road.

Visit the Rails to Trails website by clicking here

State Parks

Moween State Park is a DEP preserved area that envelops the northern and eastern shore of Red Cedar Lake. And entrance is near the dam via Camp Moween Road.

Pomeroy State Park is a forested area abutting preserved farmland. There is no entrance but access can be made via a utility right of way on Rte. 289 (Beaumont Highway).

For more information click here.

The Lebanon Green

Old farm houses line the highways leading to Lebanon in eastern Connecticut between Norwich and Willimantic, where the town center resembles many picturesque New England villages with a library, churches and town hall clustered around the green.

But it is like no other green in New England. A mile in length and with a major portion still in agricultural use, the Lebanon green is unique because of its size, its preservation as an example of an early town settlement, and its association with great events in the American Revolution. Visitors can take a job or a leisurely stroll around the stone-dust paths that line either side of the green. In winter, a portion of the green is flooded for ice skating and is lighted in the evening. Parking is available at the Library, Alden Tavern Parking Lot, and the Jonathan Trumbull House.

Around the green are some of the most important buildings connected with Connecticut's role in the Revolution when the town was the home of the war governor and the focal point of the state's contributions to the patriot cause. It is these activities that earned Lebanon its place in history as "the heartbeat of the Revolution."

From the raising of a Liberty Pole by local Sons of Liberty during the Stamp Act crisis to the outbreak of the war, the free men of Lebanon were active protestors against British policies. During the Revolution, at least 677 Lebanon men served in the American units, from the Battle of Bunker Hill to the end of the campaigns in 1782. This represents more than 50 percent of the adult population at that time.

Because of the significance of the green and the number of buildings associated with figures prominent in state and local history, the Lebanon green was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Of the 68 structures listed on the Register, 49 are considered historically significant and include a variety of styles from Colonial to modern.

Most of the buildings are private homes. Among these are the William Williams house, the birth-site of William A. Buckingham, the Civil War governor; and Redwood, a masterpiece by Isaac Fitch.

With its ancient green preserved intact and surrounded by dozens of historic buildings, visitors can stroll around Lebanon center two centuries after the great events of the American Revolution took place here and feel a part of the past come alive.

Joshua's Trust

Joshua's Trust is the largest land trust, by acres preserved, in the northeast "Quiet Corner" of Connecticut. A non-profit organization, the Trust is designed to supplement the open space and historic conservation efforts of federal, state, and local governments by receiving gifts of land, conservation easements, and money. The Trust may also purchase tracts of land that it considers especially important to preserve. In Lebanon, Pigeon Swamp Preserve is maintained by the Trust. It offers a rich variety of natural features and wetlands, with several maintained trails. The site accessible from Pigeon Swamp Road #2 in Windham.

For more information about Joshua's Trust click here.

The Last Green Valley

The Last Green Valley is a 35-town National Heritage Corridor, and it's also a member-supported non-profit organization - The Last Green Valley, Inc. - working locally to preserve the irreplaceable land, water, and cultural resources of the region. Lebanon is the site of many recommended walks to enjoy preserved natural resources.

For more information on The Last Green Valley click here.

Outdoor Adventure

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For History Fans