“I know about the frogs but this looks like Stonehenge,” Connecticut Governor Lamont remarked after examining the cover of my book Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.
“Yes, Connecticut has a Stonehenge in Woodbury,” I replied. “This Airstream trailer is in the same sculpture park,” I added, pointing to another photo on the cover.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont with my book, Secret Connecticut
I stumped the governor and many other people I’ve spoken with since the book hit the shelves in March.
Reservations Are Now Open
The sculpture park, called Hogpen Hill Farms, is secret because it’s private and not usually open to the public. But there’s a new window of opportunity coming up: Reservations are now open for visits June 12-July 19, 2021.
The swan is much bigger than it looks here
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
My daughter adding to the vertical lines (Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy) 
Bamboo maze
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
Metal monolith scuplture
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
There is more than one sculpture made of large stone monoliths
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
Side view of a “Stonehenge”
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
Lots of room for cartwheels and running around
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
The cost is $80 per car carrying up to four people. I went with my family last fall and it was definitely worth it. We made a day out of it, traveling from our home in Greenwich to Bridgewater for brunch at The Village Bistro (also in my book) before heading to Hogpen Hill Farms. Then we walked around pretty Washington (I suggest a visit to the Institute for American Indian Studies and perhaps the Grace Mayflower Hotel), and onto Action Wildlife Center in Goshen for a safari (also in my book).
The park is 234 acres and includes 100 sculptures ranging from metal fish hanging from trees to a tank on its behind, a serene bamboo maze, five miles of walking trails, and a pond with a seriously giant inflatable black swan.
Why wouldn’t there be metal fish hanging from the trees?
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
The Airstream trailer sculpture from afar
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
There are no concessions but you are welcome to bring your own lunch and picnic on the grounds. There are portable toilets.
A hazard of being a travel writer is the predicament of whether or not to disclose special places. I have no qualms about encouraging people to seek out this extremely thoughtfully designed, engaging spot, fully knowing that it’s now no longer a secret.
A rusted tank sculpture
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
Airstream trailer, closer
(Photo by Anastasia Mills Healy)
Stasha's Travels 
Love this Connecticut travel tip! Thank you for putting in a bistro and a hotel. I have been to Washington, CT, but too long ago. Lovely landscape and culture.
I was born in Stamford, CT, and went to school there; we moved across city limits into much more snooty New Canaan, which has amazing schools with private schools’ curriculum ( so does Stamford);
then I went on to the University of
CT Honors Program, only in its second year. During those years, private college was much more admired, and I had high grades, but I was the oldest of a big family; UCONN turned out to have an outstanding English Department, which was my priority (special thanks to Jim Scully, a poet and a former UCONN prof) and also started its first two-semester junior year abroad in France just when I became a junior. I was able to join! After I graduated from UCONN, I taught for two years in CT. Then I moved to teach in the Cambridge/Brookline/ Boston (MA) area, a perfect choice for me. Therefore, a lot of good years later, my husband and I can easily drive down to Washington, CT, from Boston’s beautiful North Shore. Our seven kids are in their twenties. That means we can visit alone, just the two of us! We might even stay at the hotel.
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Always love to know about little-known places👍🏼
Just so you know, it’s not a tank—it’s a bulldozer.
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