Ellington’s center has the features of a classic New England town: a town green with a gazebo where fairs, a summer concert series, and other community events are held; a steepled Congregational Church; and the historic town library, with the post office and town hall a stone’s throw away. Within this town center on Main Street is Arbor Park, a small area that is safe to walk and a nice place for young children to ride bikes. A lively farmer’s market is held seasonally on Saturday mornings here, often with entertainment in the gazebo and artists’ booths as well as foodstuffs. Just down the street, Brookside Park offers recreational facilities including sports fields, a tennis court, a volleyball court, a playground, and a covered pavilion that can be rented out for events. If you are hungry, drop in to the Chuck Wagon, located next to the post office, for good, old-fashioned diner-style breakfast and lunch.

Not far from the town center is Kloter Farms, a destination for classic New England handcrafted structures and furniture. Located on 16 acres, Kloter Farms has both showrooms and an outdoor display park that includes gazebos, patio sets, and lots of playscapes adorned with cool features like pirate ships, rock walls, rope ladders, and tire swings. These are open for kids to play on (and choose which one they ask mom and dad for!). Next to the playscape park is the Ice Cream Barn, an ice cream stand where kids and families can relax with ice cream on Adirondak chairs and even enjoy nighttime fire pits. On special event Saturdays, kids can enjoy train rides around the property.

Opposite Kloter Farms you will find Johnny Appleseed’s, a pick-your-own orchard with two locations in town. You can pick your own peaches and apples from easy to reach dwarf trees located on a scenic hillside. You can also pick pumpkins in the fall. If you don’t have time to pick your own, head to the farm store, which offers baked goods and specialty items in addition to freshly picked fruit and vegetables. Check the web site for the latest picking conditions.

Another of the town’s main attractions is Crystal Lake, a pretty, tree-lined, 200-acre lake that, year’s ago, was a popular summer resort for out-of-towners. Its public beach is open to both residents and non-residents (for a higher fee). It is very popular for boating (the state of CT operates a public boat launch on West Shore Drive) and fishing as well.

Ellington also has a small airport, Ellington Airport, that operates a helicopter school and is home to Connecticut’s premier skydiving center. Visitors are free to drive in to the airport, located on route 83. Little flight enthusiasts will love seeing the small planes up close and personal, watching helicopters circle and land, and seeing parachutists drop from planes and make their landings.

I would be remiss in writing about Ellington if I didn’t mention it’s informal moniker: Smellington. Yes, Ellington is perhaps best known for it’s dairy farms and cow pastures (Oakridge Dairy supplies the milk for Connecticut’s Stew Leonard’s stores). For kids who love cows, drive down Meadow Brook Road and they are easy to find. For others innocently driving through, don’t let the smell of cow manure in the summer scare you away; Ellington is a small town that nonetheless has a lot to offer.