Really cool, although Connecticut is the last place in the US I'd make a destination to go hiking to. But I see how it's a good place to create a dashboard for, as it contains NO National Forests, NO National Parks[0], No BLM, and only 2300 acres of Wilderness (which this counter dashboard doesn't monitor), so it's much easier to put all these counters in (and the appropriate maintenance)
[0] (basically)
The entire northeast has very little federal land. You’re looking at state parks and forests if you search up hiking destinations there, mostly. (Acadia’s the major exception)
CT’s absolutely covered in hiking trails, it’s crazy, you see pull-offs and road crossings constantly. State parks, state wilderness, and just about every town (equivalent of a county in other places; CT has counties, technically, but they don’t do anything, and CT “towns” can have multiple “villages” in them) has a land trust that manages even more wild areas, trails, and parks.
Wildlife includes black bears and moose(!)
Outside the little panhandle bit that’s basically one big NYC suburb, it’s a surprisingly forested state, and feels far more wild than lots of states that have lower population density but are covered in farms. CT farms tend to be isolated, not one butting up against another for miles and miles.
The northeastern quadrant is kinda dull but the rest of the state (the bit nearest NYC excepted) is really pretty. Very hilly, lots of trees, and the whole western third or so is a highland that’s an extension of the Appalachians. Follow that up a little ways, or a bit west, and you’re in proper mountains in MA or NY.
Also, the whole state’s the size of some “greater metro areas” for cities, so you can go from the beach to highland hiking in a day. California lite.
[0] Weir Farm, one of the few National Parks dedicated to art. I get that it will never have a MacOS named after it.
I do love hiking NY and CT; verdant and accessible. Tons of towns have public parks and trails. We have amazing coastline hikes although many towns control access. (Michael Moore stormed Greenwich Point years before he stormed Gitmo). We also see the beauty of four seasons — colors just started changing.
I’m excited to see CT doing this data acquisition and visualization. I’ve only discovered CT’s dedication to open datasets (data.ct.gov) earlier this year and connected wrapped some of it with MCP.
You should try it. You're looking at state and municipally run parks, but there's lots of rolling hills and forest to explore and of course, it's beautiful in the fall and early winter. Everything from Currier and Ives to Tim Burton's films drew inspiration from the scenery there.