Always Wear A Helmet

Litchfield

Short Bike Rides in Connecticut
Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith

LITCHFIELD

Litchfield is a short Short Bike Ride designed to give you a leisurely look at this quintessential New England village of the mid-seventeen hundreds. The best way to do it would be to arrive between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on any day except Sunday, so you can visit the Litchfield Historical Museum located on the corner of South and East streets before you start out on the ride. It has displays in its four galleries and an outstanding manuscript collection of old Litchfield. A note on parking your motorized vehicle: The Town of Litchfield has instituted one- and two-hour limits for parking around the small green, so I suggest that you park behind one of the nearby churches.

Start from the Litchfield Green. At the east end of the green, turn right onto South Street (Route 63). Just around the corner there is an entrance into Cobble Court, an old cobblestone courtyard bordered with fascinating shops. Continue down South Street, which is flanked on both sides by eighteenth-century homes, one of which housed the first law school in America, started in 1775 by Tapping Reeves, whose brother-in-law, Aaron Burr, was his first pupil. It matriculated more than one thousand students before it closed in 1833.

When you get to the intersection of South Street and Old South Street, notice the Ethan Allen House, built in 1736. This house is believed to have been the birthplace of the Revolutionary War hero. Bear right and follow Old South Street from approximately 1-3/10 miles as it loops back to South Street, where you turn left and go uphill back to the green. On South Street the sidewalk is broad and passes close to the lovely old houses; it’s a good place to ride if there is not too much pedestrian traffic. Watch for the Oliver Wolcott, Sr., House (Wolcott, governor of Connecticut, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence). Turn right when you arrive at the green, circle around the end of the green and proceed to the intersection with North Street (Route 63 north). There are stately homes on both sides of North Street, including, on the west side, Sheldon’s Tavern where George Washington once slept. Go up one side of North Street and down the other, using the Alexander Catlin House (1778) at the Y as the turn-round point. Return to the green.

TAKEN FROM

This company has published a number of other biking books. Check out your local bookstore or contact them for availability.