Gillette Castle State Park

Very beautiful park! This apps information is wrong though. The Castle is only open Thurs-Sun and it is $6 admission. You can walk around the outside though.

Great place to spend a awhile. Lots to see. Spend at least a Few hours and then enjoy the landscape and Inside interior of the castle. Well worth the Stop.

Went during the COVID-19 closure. It was still worth the drive.

Gillette Castle State Park is NOT in Old Lyme, CT near I-95. It is located further up the Connecticut River in East Haddam, CT.

Correct Address: 67 River Road, East Haddam, CT

Very interesting architecturally and historically.

Not much of a hiking trail!

We went a bit out of our way to visit the castle and are so very glad we did, it's definitely worth it! We learned everything we didn't know (which was nothing) about William Gillette and how he amassed his fortunes with Sherlock Holmes! We saw one of his plays being reenacted, secret passages, gorgeous views and 47 unique doors in his "pile of rocks"! They've restored the castle to greatness and there isn't a tiny hint of the 17 cats that once lived there other than their toys and knickknack likenesses!

Designed by Connecticut’s William Hooker Gillette, Gillette Castle in East Haddam, CT, beckons architecture and history buffs alike. Covering nearly 200 hilltop acres overlooking the Connecticut River, the castle was the actor and playwright’s passion project, doubling as a residence and medieval mansion.

Built in the early 20th century, the castle is now Gillette Castle State Park and is open seasonally to the public. Intricate woodwork and interior curiosities ignite the imagination while walls made of local stone remind you of the castle’s roots.

When done with your tour, venture outside and stroll the walking paths, take a breather by Gillette’s goldfish pond, and admire the property’s three mile narrow gauge railroad.

We think a visit here is one of the best things to do in Connecticut.

beautiful park!!