10 Best Things to Do in Connecticut This Summer 2025

Looking for the best things to do in Connecticut this summer? Whether you’re in the mood for cultural deep dives, coastal bites, or cool mountain escapes, this curated list of 10 can’t-miss experiences has you covered. From following a Christmas movie trail in July to catching drive-in double features, splashing around at a brand-new water park, or dining with skyline views in Hartford, these are the most memorable ways to explore the Nutmeg State—whatever your summer style.

10 Best Things to Do in Connecticut This Summer

1. Find Christmas in July – Follow Connecticut’s new holiday movie trail through real-life storybook towns.

More than 20 holiday movies have been filmed in Connecticut, and you don’t have to wait for actual flurries to fly (the directors don’t!) to open your heart to a bit of magic. Follow a stretch of the new Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail (ctvisit.com/articles/christmas-movies-in-connecticut), and you’ll encounter screen-worthy towns, cozy eateries, attractive inns like Wethersfield’s Silas W. Robbins House (silaswrobbins.com), and maybe that old flame you’ve never erased from your brain. You never know.

2. Delight in the Museum – Explore 200 years of history (and coffee!) at Hartford’s reimagined cultural hub.

The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History looks as much to the future as the past in its “Then, Now, Next: 200 Years and Counting” exhibition, opening May 22 in the midst of a yearlong bicentennial celebration for this Hartford institution. There’s a jolt of energy that’s fueling museum programming, expansion plans, and events that you’ll sense even before you wander through the multisensory exhibition “Coffee: A Connecticut Story,” also on view through early 2026.

3. Catch a Drive-In Double – Watch movies under the stars at the retro-cool Mansfield Drive-In.

The Mansfield Drive-In turned 70 last year, and with nightly double features on three outdoor screens, it’s as robust as ever. Affordable ticket prices make it easy to splurge on fresh-popped corn, fried dough, and slushies. Your quiet canine is welcome to join you for an under-the-stars night of entertainment. If you’d like to make a weekend of it, the dog-friendly Daniel Rust House is eight minutes away in Coventry.

4. Make a Splash at Great Wolf – Dive into Connecticut’s newest indoor water park in Mashantucket.

Rain or shine, it’s a water-play day at Great Wolf Lodge. This new indoor water-park resort in Mashantucket will welcome its first families on April 25, so get there while grand-opening deals are available and the hoopla is at a high. Kids will love the nonstop entertainment and log-lodge-style rooms, while their parents find the 21-and-up North Hot Springs inviting. Word is there’ll be a waterslide here unique in the Great Wolf universe.

5. Take It to the Top – Dine above the skyline at Jeff Lizotte’s hot new Hartford restaurant, The Foundry.

One of Connecticut’s premier chefs is back on top of the world, and you can be among the first to savor what Jeff Lizotte is cooking up in his window-walled space atop the Hartford Steam Boiler building. At The Foundry, expect an always-changing, seasonally inspired menu of dishes that exist only here at this moment in time. All signs indicate this will be summer’s toughest reservation to score, so plan accordingly.

6. Chill Out in Norfolk – Escape the heat with hikes, concerts, and cool mountain air.

Norfolk is known as the “icebox of Connecticut,” and naturally cooler temperatures make this an ideal escape for hiking at Dennis Hill State Park and Haystack Mountain State Park, as well as for spreading out a blanket on the green for free Friday-night concerts. Stay at the comfortably regal Manor House Inn and you might bump into acclaimed musicians who are here to play in Yale School of Music’s enduring Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

7. Eat to the Beat in Madison – Pair beachfront dining with free Thursday-night concerts.

Toes in the sand, drink in hand—be sure to allow time for a private-beach stroll before your reservation at The Wharf Restaurant at Madison Beach Hotel. Who knew some of the highest-caliber free summer concerts are in Madison on Thursday nights? You do now, so reserve a table on the porch and listen in as you devour grilled swordfish or a hot lobster roll. Lighter bites are available for purchase on the lawn on show nights if you’d rather bring your own chairs. Our Weekends with Yankee crew met up at The Wharf with Connecticut-based vegan chef Chrissy Tracey for Season 9 (check your local PBS listings).

8. Shuck and Sip Along the Trail – Slurp your way through the new Connecticut Oyster Trail.

Thanks to the 2024 debut of the Connecticut Oyster Trail, you now have a handy map to the Nutmeg State’s bevy of bivalve farms and the restaurants that serve their salty-sweet harvest. Only have time for one stop? Make it Fair Haven Oyster Co., overlooking the lovely Quinnipiac River, where you can trust that chef Emily Mingrone is serving the best raw-bar selections, along with clever cocktails and savory plates including what Gwyneth Paltrow has hailed as “one of the best cheeseburgers of my life.”

9. Get Cooking Again – Learn from the pros at the revived Silo Cooking School in New Milford.

Dormant for years since the days when it attracted celebrity-chef teachers like Martha Stewart and Jacques Pépin, The Silo Cooking School in New Milford is making a comeback. Register for a public class or book a private session for your group, and experience the inspiring environs of Hunt Hill Farm as it aims to become Connecticut’s culinary epicenter once again.

10. See the Sun Rise – Catch WNBA action as the Connecticut Sun light up Mohegan Sun Arena.

Just when you’re missing March Madness, the Connecticut Sun season is heating up at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville. From mid-May through mid-September, every WNBA star will make an appearance in this arena, but do consider cheering for the home team—the only pro-level squad in Connecticut.

Kim Knox Beckius

Kim Knox Beckius is Yankee Magazine's Travel & Branded Content Editor. A longtime freelance writer/photographer and Yankee contributing editor based in Connecticut, she has explored every corner of the region while writing six books on travel in the Northeast and contributing updates to New England guidebooks published by Fodor's, Frommer's, and Michelin. For more than 20 years, Kim served as New England Travel Expert for TripSavvy (formerly About.com). She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and is frequently called on by the media to discuss New England travel and events. She is likely the only person who has hugged both Art Garfunkel and a baby moose.

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