Welcome to Kent, CT
Kent, Connecticut is a quaint New England town located in the scenic northwest corner of Litchfield County. Located 90 miles north of New York City, Kent is the bucolic gateway to the rural Northwest Corner of Connecticut.
Incorporated in 1739, Kent has had a rich history of agriculture and a thriving iron ore industry. It is now a rural community of about 3,000 residents with many small hamlets, such as Bulls Bridge, Kent Hollow, South Kent and The Cobble.
Kent’s village center is wonderful place to explore filled with a vibrant mix of art galleries, shops, restaurants, and cultural points of interest. Kent is also an ideal place for our outdoor enthusiasts, with lots of opportunities for hiking, cycling, camping and boating.
For lots of ideas of things to do in Kent, you can visit the official town website.
Below are a couple of our favorite things to do in and around Kent.
Bull’s Bridge
Intersection of Bull’s Bridge Road and Kent Road
Located just a few miles from the house, Bull’s Bridge is the archetypal New England covered bridge. You can’t come to New England and not see a covered bridge.
Park on the road by Bull’s Bridge Road
One of our favorite things to do in Kent is to park our car by Bull’s Bridge and walk the trail down to the Housatonic River. There’s a trail that runs along the river, and lots of opportunities for wading and scrabbling over rocks. The kids have historically loved going down there. Fair warning: you should plan on them getting wet.
Estate Sales
Google for details!
Enjoy Downtown Kent
Park on Main Street, Kent
Kent is an adorable little town. And there’s more to see there than you might think. Kent has been a haven for artists since the late 19th century, and there are several exhibition spaces in town, including the Kent Art Association and the Morrison Gallery. You’ll find antique stores around the area, and a couple of delightful restaurants downtown. Also, during the summer, the Kent Memorial Library tends to run a massive book sale on sunny weekend days, which is a favorite place of ours to check out.
We’ve rarely spent a weekend in Kent when somebody didn’t end up going to an estate sale to poke through the interesting things that Litchfield County-ans are getting rid of. And some of the things they’re getting rid of are very interesting. It’s worth Googling around to see what the estate sale situation is during our weekend in Kent.
Hiking
There’s a ton of great hiking in and around Kent. The good people at Kent’s official town website have helpfully curated a list of great hikes in the area! Wasn’t that thoughtful of them?!
Explore Litchfield County
The good people at The New York Times [conflict of interest disclosure]
helpfully put together a rundown on how you might spend
36 hours in Litchfield County!
That’s just about how much time you have in Litchfield County!
(if you’ve read this far, you will see some familiar spots on that list!)
