WHAT TO DO THIS SUMMER & HOW TO PLAN AHEAD!!

One thing I’ve learned throughout my time in school is that wasting your summer is a lot easier than you would think – especially since we have phones that could entertain us for hours at a time. However, I’ve discovered that if you plan ahead and physically write down what it is you want to do this summer, you will be much more likely to actually do it. So, I recommend that you create a list of things that you actually want to do this summer and check things off as you go. This article includes a variety of day trips for this summer, most of which are decently cheap, and my advice for doing them. 

1. The beach

This is probably the most obvious of the trips included. There are so many beaches that aren’t too far from Bristol. As much as people hate on them, Connecticut beaches are plenty of fun and allow Connecticut residents with Connecticut license plates on their vehicles to enter state beaches for free! The most popular would be Hammonasset Beach or Rocky Neck. There’s also the option of going to Rhode Island beaches, where the waves are larger, and the sand is nicer. Misquamicut is probably the most popular there. 

2. Hiking

Connecticut is packed with nature and the hiking trails don’t disappoint. Going on a hike with friends and/or family can be a wonderful experience where you can feel the fresh air and get some exercise in. However, it’s best not to go when it rains the day before or is going to rain the day of as that can make some trails dangerous and slippery. A nearby trail that isn’t difficult at all is Sessions Woods in Burlington. 

3. Escape Rooms

Gather a group of friends and head to a nearby escape room! It’s a great opportunity to keep your brain active over the summer since you have to do a lot of thinking and working together. The best part of an escape room is the debrief afterwards, where you can laugh about all of the funny things that happened or dumb things that you attempted to do to solve a puzzle. 

4. Cafes

Connecticut is absolutely loaded with cafes, many of which have interesting themes to them. For example, there is a cafe in Mystic that is Alice in Wonderland themed. Even if you aren’t a fan of coffee, cafes can be an excellent place to hang out and even get a snack. A lot of cafes also offer non-coffee options, like matcha, tea, and hot chocolate. Exploring local cafes is also great for the local economy, as you’d be supporting local businesses. 

5. Shopping

While not for everyone, shopping is a big part of many people’s summers. Buying clothes and school supplies for the next school year is important, especially for those of us who are seniors and heading to college soon. There are so many places to go shopping in CT and with our decently low sales tax, CT is such a great place to shop! Both Westfarms and Danbury Fair mall are excellent malls with tons of options for shopping, as well as the Clinton outlets down by the shore. There are even some awesome places outside of CT that aren’t too far from the border. 

6. Local parks

There’s so much to do at local parks! Hiking trails, basketball courts, volleyball courts, pickleball courts, and so much more. If you have little siblings, you can let them run free with other kids their age while you hang out with friends or soak up the sun. It’s great to take advantage of our city’s opportunities and make the most of them. 

7. Library

Speaking of city opportunities, the library is probably the best thing we have. Our library is huge, filled with books and so many activities. There are also clubs and small classes about things like crocheting and sewing and more. It’s a great place to meet new people, get some AC, and an awesome place to bring younger siblings as well. Along with that, the library always does summer reading challenges and raffles and there’s a great possibility of winning a prize simply for reading!

8. Sports

There are so many sports opportunities here. Grab some friends, some chalk, and a ball and you can play 4-square! Or just grab a soccer ball and enjoy kicking it around. Along with all of that, you can get a free membership at planet fitness if you’re between the ages of 14-19, which is a great way to stay physically active for free!

9. Amusement parks

There are actually a bunch of amusement parks in the area. We have Lake Compounce here in Bristol, Quassey in Middlebury, and Six Flags New England in Agawam Massachusetts! They’ll be open almost daily all summer and are full of fun things to do with friends! To add to that, there’s Six Flags in New Jersey and Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, but those are more of a drive. 

10. The city!

We live in an amazing area to visit cities! We are right between Boston and New York City, with both being about a two hour drive. These are perfect places for a day trip. If going to New York City for a day, I recommend actually taking the train from New Haven to Grand Central (it’s about $24 for a round trip) in order to avoid NYC traffic and NYC parking. But wait, there’s more; you can drive 5 hours to Montreal, Canada, 5.5 hours to Washington DC, and 7 hours to Niagara falls. These are more like weekend trips, but they are absolutely amazing places to visit and have so many activities to do around the summer.