A Day Trip to New Milford

Update August 2014:  A reader let us know that the restaurant mentioned in this post, 59 Bank, is no longer in business.  She suggested New Milford visitors check out The Cookhouse for a family friendly dining option.

Last month, we mentioned on our Facebook page that Alyson Hickey of Alyson Hickey Photography was holding a Mother’s Day mini photo session in New Milford.

Well, I had never met Alyson and New Milford is a bit of a drive from West Hartford, but it seemed like a great opportunity to get some family pictures made.  So we signed up for a session slot.  Not only did we go to the photo shoot that day, but we also had an enjoyable time in New Milford.

Here is a little history about New Milford for your enjoyment (see full info here):

The town of New Milford is located in the southern end of Litchfield County, CT, on the Housatonic River.  It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Litchfield County.  European settlement of New Milford began in 1707, when one John Noble and his 8-year old daughter Sarah arrived from Westfield, MA, to settle.  Subsequently, many settlers made their way up the Housatonic River from Milford (and from other places as well) to settle in this new town.

Sounds interesting, right?

Our time slot was scheduled for 10:00 am and Google maps said that it would take an hour and twenty minutes to get there from West Hartford.  So, we decided to head out early with the hopes that Bruiser and Sparkles would take a nice morning nap in the car.

It was an easy drive to New Milford.  We mostly took 84 all the way there.  We then weaved our way through town and to the top of a mountain to arrive at Candlelight Farms Inn.

The property for this inn is very beautiful and was fun to explore.  Not only was the property expansive and full of rolling green hills, but it was also filled with horses, goats, and lots of other animals.  Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with making sure we were there on time and getting the kids ready, I didn’t take any pictures of the property myself.  Not to worry, though, there are plenty of pictures on their website, here.

I do, however, have two early pictures that Alyson took from our shoot.  I can’t wait to get the rest of them.

After we were done with the photo session, we asked Alyson for recommendations on where to grab some lunch and maybe a fun playground for the kids.  She suggested we head to downtown New Milford, grab lunch at 59 Bank and then head over to the playground nearby at Young’s Field.

Sounded perfect.

Here is a little map of the downtown area.

We parked off of Railroad Street in a free parking lot.

We then went right across the street to 59 Bank.

We arrived around 11:30am on this beautiful Saturday and the restaurant was not busy at all (great news for us).  They had two high chairs available for Bruiser and Sparkles and we found a table near the back of the restaurant.

I was happy to see they had burgers on the menu (that is what this pregnant woman was desperately craving) and that they also had a kids menu section.  We order chix frittes and fries for the kids and my husband and I both ordered hamburgers.  During lunch my husband informed me that Joan Rivers has a house in New Milford (at least at one point).  Interesting tidbit.  He mentioned another famous person, but my pregnancy brain has forgotten who that was.  I’m sure there are several well-know people who have homes in this area as it is very beautiful and relaxing.

The wait staff was friendly and accommodating of the twins.  The food was also good and my burger hit the spot.  It is a restaurant/bar, though, which meant the child accommodations were limited.  For example there wasn’t a baby changing station in the restroom.  But hey, I would much prefer to have a few high chairs in exchange for a baby changing station!

After lunch, the kids and I checked out the downtown area.  It isn’t huge, but there are several restaurants and shops to visit.  There is also a very pretty town green where they have events in the summer.  I definitely felt like I was in an episode of Gilmore Girls.

The kids were getting a bit restless, so our next stop needed to be somewhere they could burn off a little energy.  We knew there was a park that we saw on our way into downtown.  My husband had a hunch that we could get there through a pathway from the parking lot.  He ended up being right (he is going to love that I put in writing that he was right about something).

We walked through the parking lot off of Railroad Road, across the railroad tracks and found a stairway leading us down to Young’s Field.

It was a little bit of a hike across the field to get to the playground, but the kids seemed to enjoy the chance to run and explore.

On the way to the playground, we passed a skate park, basketball courts and tennis courts.

We finally arrived at the playground.

The playground had swings, including the much sought after baby swings.

There was also a toddler play structure which ended up just being a warm-up for Bruiser and Sparkles.

My kids have their own style for sliding.  Bruiser likes to go down head first and Sparkles likes to go down feet first on her tummy.

But the toddler playscape just wouldn’t do for the twins.  They preferred to play in the area made for the 5-12 year olds.  I tried to explain to them that mommy is pregnant and daddy is only one person and we couldn’t possibly manage two fifteen month olds in the bigger play area.  But they were having none of that . . . off to the big playscape.

These pictures really don’t do justice to the size of the play structures.  They were HUGE and my kids wanted nothing else but to go down the really, really tall twisting slides.  Fortunately, the area heading up to the slide was completely enclosed, so there really wasn’t any danger, but I still held my breath until they came down.  But, boy, did they have fun.

The park also contained picnic tables and a restroom (port-a-potty).

After the kids were sufficiently worn out from playing, we made our way back to town for a final treat before heading home.  On this warm, sunny, beautiful day, we definitely needed some ice cream.  We made our way to the The Sweet Spot located right on Railroad Road.

Update August 2014:  A reader let us know that the restaurant mentioned in this post, 59 Bank, is no longer open for business.  She recommended The Cookhouse for a family friendly meal in New Milford.

 

The twins were in their stroller, so we followed the signs on the front door around to the side of the building to use the handicap entrance.  The door doesn’t open from the outside, so you need someone inside to help you, but this was much easier than trying to lug the stroller up the stairs.

Inside we found lots of ice cream options and plenty of other treats available.  I choose the chocolate chip cookie dough and my husband got some fancy chocolate concoction.  The ice cream comes from Buck’s Creamery in Milford and was mmm mmm good.  For the two single scoop ice cream cones we spent about $6 total.

After all this fun, it was time to get back in the car and give the kids a chance for their afternoon nap while we made our way home.  This time we headed back by way of back roads on 202.  We went through Litchfield, Burlington and several other towns.  It was a very pretty drive and I was kind of wishing I wasn’t pregnant for that moment so that we could stop at one of the many wineries along the way and grab a drink.  But we continued on.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip to New Milford.  Both my husband and I love checking out new places in Connecticut and this was an easy and enjoyable destination.  There is actually a lot more to see in this town, but we didn’t have time.  With the rivers and lakes in the area it may be a fun summer destination.  Here is a driving tour that the New Milford Chamber of Commerce put together which may give you some more ideas on fun destinations.

Have you been to New Milford?  What is your favorite thing to do there?

THE MOMSENSE:

New Milford, CT

Here is a link to the New Milford Chamber of Commerce website which has lots of information on the town:  http://www.newmilford-chamber.com/

And here is a link to the Town website:  http://www.newmilford.org/

Restaurant:  59 Bank Restaurant & Bar

Address:  59 Bank Street New Milford, CT 06776

Enter your starting address:

Phone:  (860) 350-5995

Website:  http://59bank.com/

Menu:  http://www.jamrestaurantgroup.com/59-Bank-menu.htm

Hours:  Monday – Friday 11:30am – 1:00am, Saturday 10:30am – 1:00am, Sunday 11:00am – 1:00am

Dessert:  The Sweet Spot

Address:  60 railroad st. new milford, CT 06776

Phone:  (860) 799-7170

Website:  http://thesweetspotct.com/

Menu:  http://thesweetspotct.com/menu.html

Hours:  Monday – Thursday 8:00am – 9:00pm, Friday – Saturday 8:00am – 10:00pm, Sunday 8:00am – 8:00pm

Playground at Young’s Field

Description from the Town’s website:  An active recreation area which offers tennis courts, basketball court, tot lot playground, pavilion, and multi-athletic fields.

Address:  6 Young’s Field Road, New Milford, CT

Playground Features:

• Adjacent parking lot
• Stroller accessible
• Large playscape for ages 5-12
• Separate playscape for toddlers/preschoolers
• Baby swings
• Regular swings
• Benches and picnic tables
• Restrooms (port-a-potty, no changing station)
• Walking distance from downtown New Milford
• Adjacent amenities including athletic fields, basketball courts, tennis courts and a skate park

COMING UP:

Check back in on Thursday as Shawna has a fast food place with a quality indoor playspace (and the iced lattes aren’t bad either).

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