Housatonic River, Conn.
In the northwest corner of the state, the Litchfield Hills are where highways are replaced by country roads with covered bridges and leading to pre-Revolutionary War towns. On the Housatonic, flatwater canoers can put in at Falls Village and paddle 14 miles north to Ashley Falls, Mass. White-water kayakers can put in at Power Plant Park, just below Great Falls in Falls Village, and travel 10-12 miles south on Class I, II, and III rapids under the West Cornwall covered bridge to the take-out at Housatonic Meadows State Park. This stretch is part of a 9-mile trout management area, with three miles reserved for fly-fishing. Brown and rainbow trout are plentiful in the summer.
Stephen Jermanok, author of Outside magazines Adventure Guide to New England, can be reached at www.activetravels.com.