Cheshire Library has a collection of museum & state park passes that are available on a first come, first served basis for Cheshire residents to check out. CPL Staff member Lisa continues our series about the museum passes we offer, along with related reading material. This month, CT State Parks and Forests Pass!

Featured Museum Pass:           CT State Parks & Forests Pass

This month’s featured museum pass is for the CT State Parks & Forests. This pass can be used to cover the cost of parking at state parks and forests where there is an established parking charge.  Parking fees are charged at all four state park beaches on Long Island Sound as well as several inland parks.  The pass can also be used to cover the admission fee for two adults and four children at state historical sites and exhibit centers at Dinosaur, Fort Trumbull and Gillette Castle State Parks.  It is not valid for groups or vehicles carrying more than 12 passengers. All museum passes are available to Cheshire Residents on a first-come, first-served basis and must be returned by the close of business the next day.

The State Park Pass is part of the No Child Left Inside program established by the CT DEEP. The Connecticut Library Consortium and the CT DEEP have partnered to provide Connecticut State Park Day Passes to public libraries across the state. Launched in 2006, No Child Left Inside^® is a promise to introduce children to the wonder of nature – for their own health and well-being, for the future of environmental conservation, and for the preservation of the beauty, character and communities of the great State of Connecticut.  For more information on No Child Left Inside, check out their website at: http://www.ct.gov/ncli/site/default.asp

To celebrate the past, present and future of Connecticut State Parks, the Connecticut State Parks Division, in partnership with the Friends of Connecticut State Parks (FCSP) and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA), is planning a year-long Centennial Celebration. Connecticut State Parks have much to offer: hiking, fishing, swimming, camping and picnicking are just some of the things that you can do at the various parks. To locate a park, find out what amenities are offered or learn more about the Centennial Celebration check out the CT DEEP website at http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325086&deepNav_GID=1650

For a list of state parks and forests and information on parking fees, check out: http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325082&deepNav_GID=1650

To find out more about camping at Connecticut State Parks and Forests, including fees, amenities, site availability and to reserve a site go to www.reserveamerica.com

If you are interested in visiting Connecticut State Parks, you might be interested in:

Hidden in Plain Sight: A Deep Traveler Explores Connecticut by David K. Leff. In the course of the mundane routines of life, we encounter a variety of landscapes and objects, either ignoring them or looking without interest at what appears to be just a tree, stone, anonymous building, or dirt road. But the “deep traveler,” according to Hartford Courant essayist David K. Leff, doesn’t make this mistake. Instead, the commonplace elements become the most important. By learning to see the magic in the mundane, we not only enrich daily life with a sense of place, we are more likely to protect and make those places better. Over his many years working at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and writing about the state’s landscape, Leff gained unparalleled intimacy while traveling its byways and back roads. In Hidden in Plain Sight, Leff’s essays and photographs take us on a point-by-point journey, revealing the rich stories behind many of Connecticut’s overlooked landmarks.