The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
In Connecticut, Lake Pocotopaug offers a serene place to chill in the heat
We didn’t know it at the time, but our in-state cottage in June was on a lake in Connecticut that has had problems with algae blooms.
After a warm week, however, the water quality was good and no one became ill from vacationing at Lake Pocotopaug in the Middlesex County town of East Hampton.
The 512-acre Lake Pocotopaug, it turns out, was two days into a major project to avoid the algae blooms, with the EverBlue Lakes company installing an oxygen diffuser system with 20 miles of airline in the lake. Another part of the system went live in Markham Bay on July 21.
We were booked into a cottage on Lake Sebago’s Frye Island, but Maine’s COVID-19 quarantine restrictions made that an untenable situation. A late change put us in a
state-cation at Pocotopaug, a Wangunk Indian name for “lake with pierced islands” or “divided pond’’ — named for a couple of islands in the lake you can kayak between.
The water issue has been studied and discussed since large algae blooms in 2000, and swimming was banned at times during recent years — likely caused by shoreline development and fertilizer use. With the lake being the pride of East Hampton and its surrounding residents, this new technology move is enjoying a cautious but hopeful thumbs up on social media.
There’s at least one beach you can use if you’re renting at the lake, but you can also swim in the shallow water near your dock, too, as our grandkids happily did.
The lake is near a few fun day trips, if you should venture away from the water. The rail-bike at Essex Steam Train is so popular you’ll need a reservation online, and the Air Line State Park Trail nearby offers miles of wooded trail to bicycle as it winds toward Colchester, where Priam Vineyards is located.
Jessica’s Lobster & Ice Cream Shack a few minutes away in Marlborough more than fit the bill for dining out with kids and adults for an evening. There are tables set around a pond, trees for shade in the heat and lobster rolls at about $16, BYOB allowed, not to mention smoothies and ice cream sundaes.
There isn’t a lot else around the lake but that’s OK during a time when bars are closed, close contact with nonfamily is unwise and restaurants are struggling with seat restrictions. The oxygenated lake (with its lovely sunsets) is the star here.