Connecticut / Naugatuck Valley Planning Region / Naugatuck

Hop Brook Lake Recreation Area

Closed — Open for day-use recreation only. No overnight camping allowed at this facility.

About

Hop Brook Lake Recreation Area is a 536-acre day-use park managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, located within the towns of Middlebury, Naugatuck, and Waterbury in Connecticut. The park provides a suburban escape with diverse recreational opportunities centered around its lake and surrounding forests of maple, oak, hickory, ash, birch, white pine, and hemlock. The lake is popular for canoeing, kayaking, and rowboating, with electric trolling motors permitted but gas-powered motors prohibited. A designated beach and swimming area offers summer recreation. Anglers can fish the lake and feeder streams, which are periodically stocked by CT DEEP with brown, brook, and rainbow trout, plus resident populations of largemouth bass, perch, and panfish. Over seven miles of trails wind through woods and meadows, accommodating hikers, walkers, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers year-round. The park features four reservable picnic shelters equipped with electrical outlets, picnic tables, and charcoal grills, plus additional first-come, first-served picnic sites throughout. A ball field is available for reservation, and the park includes volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and restroom facilities with flush toilets and water fountains. Wildlife is abundant, with opportunities to observe hawks, owls, osprey, turkeys, waterfowl, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, black bears, and numerous other species. User fees are no longer charged for park entry. This is strictly a day-use area with no overnight camping permitted.

Directions

From Bridgeport, take Route 8 N 23.5 miles to Exit 26/CT-63 S in Naugatuck. Head southeast on Main Street and turn onto CT-63 N. Travel approximately 3 miles. The park entrance is on the right at the intersection of CT-63 and CT-188. From Hartford, take I-84 W 31 miles to Exit 17 (CT-64, Watertown/Middlebury). Go straight to the intersection of CT-64 and CT-63, turn left on CT-63, and travel approximately 1.5 miles to the park entrance on the left at CT-63 and CT-188.

Nearby Campgrounds