Devil's Hopyard State Park

Chapman Falls is the show: the Eightmile River dropping about sixty feet over stepped ledges, and it's practically at the parking lot. This is the rare marquee waterfall where the toddler-to-view distance is measured in steps, not miles.

The potholes are the story. The ledges are drilled with smooth, round holes, some inches wide, some big enough for a kid's whole leg (they will test this). Geologically it's spinning stones in the current over centuries. Colonially, it was obviously the devil hopping through with hot hooves, and honestly their version is better for the car ride.

Colonial farmers saw perfectly round holes drilled into solid rock and decided the devil had walked through with hot hooves. My kids heard that story once and now narrate it to strangers at the falls.

Below the falls, the picnic area and covered bridge make the easy version of the day: falls, rock-hopping in the shallows downstream, lunch at the tables, done. The Vista Trail across the river adds a real-but-moderate loop to an overlook if the crew has legs left.

Stack it with Gillette Castle, fifteen minutes away, and you've got the complete East Haddam double feature: the devil's waterfall and the actor's castle. That's a day trip with a movie poster.

There's a small campground here too, wooded and quiet, if you want the overnight version of the trip.