Hartford

Campers Brave Rain for Final Weekend at State Parks

The Labor Day Weekend was not a complete washout.

Though Sunday’s rain put a bit of a damper on people enjoying the waning days of camping in state parks.

State campgrounds will shut down Monday because of the missing state budget.

If you want to meet a hearty group of people, stop by the campsites of Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.

“The weather isn’t bad. We were riding bikes through puddles,” Michael Ziomek of Newington, said.

As the rain fell on Sunday, campers enjoyed the last weekend pitching a tent or setting up an RV at state campgrounds.

“It’s awesome. We always expect rain because it always seems to rain when we go camping,” Danielle Drozd of Newington, said.

This year all state parks are shutting down camping on Monday because of the missing state budget.

Though money woes in Hartford were not the reason some people had a hard time getting rest Saturday night.

“Sleeping in a tent with all of the rain and wind which got really bad. All the walls would pulse in and out with the wind,” Jessica Drozd of Newington, said.

Last year Hammonasset and Rocky Neck State Park continued camping through Columbus Day Weekend.

But this year those two parks weren’t spared. So that left many enjoying the final days of summer, even if it felt more like fall.

Originally the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection had held out hope that if a state budget passed fall, camping might have been given the okay.

But that does not appear to be in store for this year.

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