Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned Resort’

Dancing in the Moonlight – The Abandoned Lincoln Lake Lodge

Posted: September 20, 2018 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Connecticut, abandoned home, Abandoned Hotel, Abandoned House, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned New Hampshire, Abandoned New York, Abandoned Park, Abandoned Places, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned Restaurant, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned Summer Camp, Abandoned Theaters, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Vermont, Abandoned Wonders, Beaches, Broken, Closed, commercial, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, East Haddam Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, fire, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Haunting, Hiking, History, left behind, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, photography, Ruins, Safety First, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Dancing in the Moonlight

The Abandoned Lincoln Lake Lodge

Written by: Wilk

Photographs by: Lassie

Imagine your life without music. Just try to picture it for a second or two. Imagine not having anything to tap your feet to while on a long car ride. Imagine your favorite movies or television shows without their iconic scores. Imagine not having your favorite tunes to pick you up when you’re feeling down. Music is what makes things feel larger than life. It’s truly the universal language of the world. It can bring out any emotions that it dares to conjure. Whether you just need some background noise to liven a situation, or something to really reflect to, a little bit of music can go a long way. When you take it away, all that is left is the sound of silence. It is the raw emptiness that haunts the air, and can sometimes make life feel a little too real. We have felt it many times before in our travels. It can be really scary at times, like in an abandoned hospital corridor. But it can also be really sad, like in an empty bedroom of a derelict house. There are few places we have ever been to over the years that have exemplified this haunting feeling more than this one. Most abandoned places we have visited have their own surreal sense of silence. But when a place was once home to the lively chorus of music, the silence seems to be even grimmer.

May I introduce you to the Lincoln Lake Lodge, the unofficial cousin of Sunrise Resort. Unfortunately, we are going to have to bring up the latter’s name quite a bit in this piece. They both experienced very similar beginnings and ends. And they coincidentally happen to be in very close proximity to each other. Unfortunately, information on Lincoln Lake Lodge has proven to be far scarcer than for her much more famous contemporary. First founded in 1958 by the Davis Family, not the same founders of the nearby Sunrise, the lodge was established as a musical venue and recreational area. Many iconic acts of the past had performed at this local venue, allegedly even Frank Sinatra. Picnicking at this outdoor venue while listening to some live music was this place’s calling card. Much like her contemporary, the lodge was a roaring success for many years. People from all over the country came to see the live music and stay at the lodge. Tragically, around the same time as Sunrise, the lodge went out of business and up for sale. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to have not been any takers. Recent hurricanes, arson damage, and the slow decay of time has started to tear this old relic apart. And the property is still owned by the Davis Family.

Though they share a very similar aesthetic, Sunrise Resort and Lincoln Lake Lodge are very different. To compare sizes, Sunrise Resort is the Sun as Lincoln Lake Lodge is the Moon. Sunrise had its own on-site pool and riverfront property. Dozens of families and couples could stay at the resort for their holidays at a time. There were over eighty buildings that were demolished when the former resort was converted into a state park. Lincoln Lake Lodge has a pond swimming area, and had a much more intimate setting for its guests. You can count the number of buildings here on one hand. Only a handful of people would actually stay in the cabins. The lodge was much more of a music venue than a vacation destination. Yet both have a near identical architectural structure,  and the same white/green color scheme. They both look and feel like something right out of the Dirty Dancing era. In a sense, the lodge was simply a more rustic version of nearby Sunrise. But conversely from her now demolished cousin, the lodge seems to have flown under the radar. It took many weeks for me to find out anything about it. The place has been under my vary nose for all these years, and I had never even heard of it. It also took us several tries to go see it.

The remains of Lincoln Lake Lodge lie off an old country road that many locals use as a shortcut to bypass Main Street. The first time we went to visit this place in the late summer of 2018, we arrived to find a young couple having sex in the parking area. I’m not kidding. It was a first for us. We pulled into the old vacant lot, next to the only car there and bam. There they were in going at it in the backseat. I think we startled them as much as they startled us. To save everyone the awkwardness, we decided to just come back another day. And not park at the lodge’s old lot. So a week later, after some exploring of the local area, we found an old pathway around the pond and through the woods into the abandoned grounds. To me, it truly felt like Sunrise Resort incarnate. The old buoys were still in the pond, marking the swimming area. The white walls of the buildings were now stained with graffiti. Trash and liter is just bloody everywhere. The grass grows wild and free, overtaking the old gazebo and basketball courts. An old satellite dish has fallen from her perch. And to top it all off, there is a lot of fire damage. The silence around the grounds was deafening. From the music hall to the residence buildings, everything was utterly quiet.

Though each building on the property had its own unique feel and it’s own share of challenges, the main hall of Lincoln Lake Lodge was by far the most haunting. The once lively dance floor is now a blank and barren wasteland. There is an eerie stillness to a place that was once all about movement. We also found all kinds of old artifacts scattered across the ground. Televisions. Skateboards. Makeshift beds. Couches. Clearly, somebody has been either squatting here or using it as some sort of hangout. The darkest, and most haunting, thing to me that we found was the old piano. This grand instrument, which was once used to inspire all kinds of emotions through her beautiful songs, is now a broken and abused relic of the past. Turned over on her side, with many keys missing, it was truly moving to see such a once treasured item in such a state of decay. Her tunes once filled these now empty halls with the sounds of music and life. Now, there is only the sound of silence left here at the Lincoln Lake Lodge. And the only dancers for this dark tune are the shadows and spirits old. I don’t know what the future holds for this place. It was truly a haunting spectacle to behold. But hopefully, someday, music will once again fill these darkened halls.

“Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life.” – Jean Paul

Bizarro World – The Abandoned Mount Tom Ski Area

Posted: July 24, 2018 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned Restaurant, Abandoned Ski Area, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Broken, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, Haunting, Hiking, History, left behind, Massachusetts, Mystery, nature, new england, overgrown, photography, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, Stories, Sunrise Resort, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Bizarro World

The Abandoned Mount Tom Ski Area

Written by: Wilk

Photographs by: Lassie

Every abandoned place is a little bit bizarre. I think that kind of just comes with the territory. Some of them are just better at hiding it than others (if you got the reference, pat yourself on the back). Each one is so very similar, yet completely unique in their own special ways. Derelict liter coats the ground. Colorful graffiti is plastered all over the walls. Distant echoes of days long since passed still linger in the air. But this one was different. Very different. The only other place that I got a similar vibe from was the infamous Sunrise Resort many years ago. And that was the first abandoned place that we had ever explored. Walking through the grounds was just very, for lack of a better word, bizarre. It was surreal. We’re talking a whole new world living just outside the spectrum of our own. And so few of us even know of its existence. It honestly gave me a profound feeling of, “Holy shit. This place is real.” It is a rare feeling, but a cool one none the less.

This is the Mount Tom Ski Area in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her story began 1962. Following a similar trend of many of the now abandoned ski areas we’ve covered in the past, it opened during the boom period of skiing. During this period, smaller ski slopes began to pop up all over the Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut areas. Their notable amenities included ski school, night skiing (who the Hell does that?), and a state of the art chair lift system. She thrived here for many years. But, regrettably, that trend of seasonal fun slowly began to wane in the New England area. Larger snow resort empires, particularly in Vermont, gradually began to consolidate their power over the industry. Her story ended in 1998 when she finally went out of business. Or was it just the next chapter? Though there have been several attempts at a revival, the Mount Tom Ski Area has sat here abandoned ever since. And over the years, she has become plagued with an ever increasing vandal and arson problem.

Our trip to the Mount Tom Ski Area was a weird one. We did extensive research on this place before making our visit in mid-summer of 2018. Full disclosure: we had done an interview with The Boston Globe a few weeks before. They had contacted us wanting to do a piece on urban exploration, and were going to come with us on our investigation. This, however, fell through due to legal issues. No hard feelings, though. Luckily, it was only a short drive for us. It was a brief, yet heavily sunbathed, hike to the old ski area. It lies deep in the heart of the Mount Tom reservation. Right off the bat, things got weird. As we approached the old facility, we heard music. Loud music. Followed by lots of voices. As we rounded the corner, we realized it was a party. About a dozen people, a long with a baby, were partying in the park’s old wave-pool. Unusual, but okay. We continued on. Usually we’re alone for our investigations. But there was actually a lot of people here.

We seemed to be the only one’s really interested in exploring the buildings, though. Which we did. All of them. This seems to happen a lot at abandoned places during the summer. People care less about the place, and more about having a good time. One building was completely gutted by a maliciously started fire a few years ago, and now remains fenced off. The rest of the buildings, including the main lodge, are now treasure troves of graffiti and destruction. Some old equipment was clearly left behind, but has since been destroyed. Everything here is in a serious state of decay. It was honestly some of the best examples of true urban exploration that we have ever found. Yet, strangely enough, we weren’t able to get as many good pictures as we wanted because of how many people were hanging out at the old facility. We were cautious of them at first, but eventually came to the realization that nobody really gave a shit. Its a problem we never really faced before. Still, though, I think the images we did get speak for themselves.

Mount Tom Ski Area is more than worth a look. I think the summer time setting definitely helped bring it more to life, too. The urban decay here is just really striking and raw. The color graffiti shines vibrantly in the summer sunshine. There is a lot left to see. But truly, this was a bizarre place indeed. Much like the old Sunrise Resort, I walked through this place with just an odd feeling. Everything was just so different and weird. We’re used to having to sneak around places were exploring. But not here. There was a group of young adults having a party in an empty wave pool. Some old guy was giving his family of five a guided tour of the grounds. Another young couple walked around in silence looking just as confused as us. A lone minstrel perused the abandoned buildings singing songs to himself. Yet none of these groups interacted with each other, almost like everyone was invisible to everyone else. It was all quite odd. But then again, much like abandoned places, each of one of us is just a little bit…bizarre.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise what it is, it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be it would, you see?” –Alice in Wonderland

Top 5 Abandoned Places that Aren’t There Anymore

Posted: February 22, 2017 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Fairgrounds, abandoned home, Abandoned Hospital, Abandoned House, abandoned mill, abandoned new england, abandoned paper mill, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned Sanatorium, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Broken, Cabin, Children's Hospital, Closed, commercial, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, East Haddam Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Information, left behind, lost, Meriden CT, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, overgrown, paper mill, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, Sunrise Resort, Talcottville Mill, Uncategorized, Undercliff Sanatorium, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex
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Top 5 Abandoned Places that Aren’t There Anymore

Guess what? It’s still winter, and there’s still a ton of snow on the ground. It’s hindered us from several planned urban exploration journeys this month. But we really like to keep getting things out there for our followers to read. We really do appreciate your support. Since the last few Top 5 Lists we’ve published lately have gotten some decent views, let’s keep this going. Parting is such sweet sorrow, and there are several abandoned places we’ve covered here on our site that regrettably have been demolished since we’ve visited them. Here are the Top 5 Abandoned Places that Aren’t There Anymore.

#5 – The Green House, Andover, Connecticut

The Green House was an absolute chill in the bone to visit. We had been covering abandoned places for several years at this point. But for some reason, this abandoned house was really disturbing to me. Literally everything had been left behind. Toys. Clothes. Furniture. Workout equipment. Hell, there was even still food in the fridge. It was like whoever lived here had just disappeared one day. But recently, the entire house has been refinished. All the trash has been cleaned out. The siding has been replaced. It looks like a brand new house. She is either currently for sale, or already been sold. While she was once a terribly haunting specter of her former self, her story actually got a happy ending.

#4 – Norton Paper Mill, Colchester, Connecticut

I grew up right down the street from this place. I used to drive by it all the time on my way to the coast. After a raging fire had left this place totally gutted, she simply stood there for many years as a ghostly skeleton. The entire place was fenced off, but you could still see the remnants of what this place used to be. In the last few months, the property has been reacquired by the town of Colchester, and been scheduled for demolition. The damn that was once the life source of the mill has already been removed, and what still stands of her bare remains is next on the chopping block. But it is all done in the name of the environment. With the damn removed, fish can now swim up the river. And with the old mill gone, she can finally rest in piece.

#3 – Talcottville Mill, Vernon, Connecticut

Back in 2015, we named this place the #1 abandoned place we had visited that year. It earned that honor for a reason, as this place was huge and captivating. There was so much to see here, with massive amounts of space simply left behind. But today, that is no more. Shortly after our visit to the historic Talcottville Mill, funding was approved by the local government to redevelop the area into apartment complexes. The work got underway shortly after that, and continues as we speak. The property has stood for almost 150 years, and after being abandoned for some time, is finally getting a makeover. After sitting silently for far too long, the historic Talcottville Mill will finally be working to serve the local community once again.

#2 – Undercliff Sanatorium, Meriden, Connecticut

To date, this is still my favorite abandoned place that I have ever explored. And though she is now long gone, she will always hold a special place in my heart. Even after all these years she still remains such a mystery. Once heralded as one of the most haunted places in all of Connecticut, Undercliff Sanatorium had quite the story. Serving for years as a state hospital and institution, the main hospital was closed in the 1970’s. Though the rest of the grounds remained operational. For years, she was a major target for urban explorers and ghost hunters. Many legends and stories abounded about this place. And I can tell you from experience, it more than lived up to its reputation. Sadly, the main hospital was razed beginning in 2013. Though we have yet to make a return trip, I am sure that the ghosts of Undercliff still haunt these wooded grounds.

#1 – Sunrise Resort, East Haddam, Connecticut

Of course it was going to be this. It’s no secret that this was our first exploration. We even did a three part piece on it a few years ago. And anyone who was around to explore this place before it was demolished should know why this place has earned the top stop. Sunrise Resort was functional and flourishing for years. I even went there once a kid for a class picnic. Returning to it years later after its closure was breathtaking. Windows were smashed. Copper wiring was ripped from the walls. The massive in-ground pool had been drained. The baseball field had grown wild and dangerous. It was an apocalyptic ghost town. The scariest part of all? It was all legal to visit, due to its status as a state park. But sadly, that was her undoing as certain state officials pushed hard for her demolition. And it was all for the best. Today, Sunrise State Park can now be enjoyed by all. And if you look close enough, you can still see the shadows of the former resort.

And that’s our list! Know of any other great abandoned places that aren’t there anymore? Please leave us a comment! We look forward to hopefully getting some new material out here soon!

Cape Cod’s Psycho 2 – Return to Bates Motel

Posted: July 6, 2016 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Cape Cod, abandoned home, Abandoned House, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Bates Motel, Beaches, Birds, Broken, Cabin, Cape Cod, Closed, commercial, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, House, Information, left behind, lost, Massachusetts, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, Ocean, Ocean View, overgrown, photography, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, seaside, Stories, time, Truro, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Cape Cod’s Psycho 2

Return to Bates Motel

Written by: Sean L.

Photographs by: Amanda H.

Every great Hollywood movie ends up getting a sequel. Especially horror movies. Jaws. Saw. Halloween. Friday the 13th. Scream. Yes, even Psycho. While the sequels are not as wisely known or as fondly remembered as Alfred Hitchcock’s original classic, they set a precedent as far as horror sequels would go. In an effort to outdo their predecessors, most horror sequels end up being much darker, brutal, and more sinister than what came before them. Most of these films fail to meet these expectations. But some go a little bit too far. This is our first “sequel.”

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Over three years ago, we visited an abandoned landmark along the white sandy beaches of Cape Cod – Bates Motel. It has stood silently amongst the bustling vacation community of North Truro, Massachusetts, for over two decades. It’s origins are a mystery. Nobody anywhere seems to know just what this place was or how it came to be in its present state. We wrote a piece on it about a year ago, and it went on to become one of our most popular articles. A few weeks ago, while on vacation in Cape Cod, we decided to stop by to see how our old friend was doing.

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Let’s just say that the years have not been kind to the Bates Motel. Where once rusty old padlocks kept people out of the rooms, not everything is boarded up. The windows. The doors. The office. Everything. The tall seagrass has grown wild and uncontrollable. The pavement of the old parking lot lies in jagged chunks mixed among the scorching hot sand. The gulls still soar overhead, cawing at the misery of this sad place. On either side, happy vacationing families pay no heed to the Bates Motel. They simply ignore it, like a stray dog lying wounded in their summer paradise.

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We don’t break in to places. We never have, and we never will. But someone, or something, had broken into the Bates Motel before our visit. The old plywood covering the maid’s closet had been busted open, so we popped in to take a few pictures. While it was damn near pitch black inside, plenty of stuff has been left inside. Small beams of sunlight peaked through the cracks in the wooden planks. We even found the entrance to the basement, but it was much too dark to get any good photographs. Though we were unable to get inside the office, plenty of furniture is still sitting in there as well. It is almost as if Bates Motel just up and closed one day. Never to re-open.

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Our first visit to the abandoned Bates Motel was much like the first film in a great horror franchise. It was shocking, fascinating, and highly recommendable. Our second visit was much like the sequel. While it was unavoidable, it was much darker than the original. It was much like Psycho II: it left us feeling like we had never come back, that we could just remember the Bates Motel how it was. The slow rate of decay on this place is a bit depressing. The place looked like it was about to just collapse in on itself at any moment. Will there be a Part III for us at the abandoned Bates Motel? Only time will tell.

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Top 10 Pieces of Graffiti Art in Abandoned Places

Posted: May 25, 2016 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Amusement Park, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Cape Cod, Abandoned Cinema, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Drive-In, Abandoned Fairgrounds, Abandoned Forts, Abandoned Hospital, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned military bases, abandoned mill, abandoned new england, abandoned paper mill, Abandoned Racetrack, Abandoned Railway, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned Sanatorium, Abandoned Stores, Abandoned Theaters, Abandoned train station, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Broken, Closed, commercial, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Fort Wetherill, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, House, Information, left behind, lost, Mansfield Training School, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, Nike Missile Base, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, Seaside Sanatorium, Stories, Sunrise Resort, Talcottville Mill, Terminus, The Enchanted Forest, The Walking Dead, UCONN, Uncategorized, Undercliff Sanatorium, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, Walking Dead, writing
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Top 10 Pieces of Graffiti Art in Abandoned Places

Written by – Sean L.

Photographs by – Amanda H.

Anyone who has ever visited an abandoned place knows that you are always guaranteed to find two things – trash and graffiti. While we’ve already done a piece on all the weird stuff we’ve found on our adventures, we thought we’d try a little something new here. By all means, we are not condoning graffiti or vandalism. This is just some of the strangest, coolest, and most unique pieces we’ve ever encountered in our travels across New England.

Here are the Top 10 Pieces of Graffiti Art in Abandoned Places:

#10 – CT FINEST

We don’t know what “CT FINEST” is. But this phrase was spray painted ALL over an abandoned factory. Connecticut’s finest what?

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#9 – LET GO

It’s in all capitals. Which usually means they’re serious. Almost like they’re yelling at us. Interpret as you will.

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#8 – Terminus – Sanctuary for All

This one is for all you “Walking Dead” fans out there. Luckily, we didn’t find any cannibals, zombies, or Governors at this abandoned military fortress.

#7 – Zombie Hand Prints?

I don’t know what this is or what happened here. But frankly, it looks really cool in a weird way. The white hand prints on the blood red wall, straight out of a George Romero movie.

#6 – “No God? No Joy.”

Simple as that. We find religious graffiti every once in awhile, but usually it is against God. Not in favor of him. Plus it’s written in what looks like red crayon.

#5 “Get Out While U Can”

While I don’t care for their spelling, this was certainly a foreboding message to see while we were exploring yet another abandoned factory. Lucky for us, we got out just fine.

#4 – Puff, the Magic Dragon

This is one of the happier pieces of art we’ve ever seen. It isn’t dark, offensive, or nasty. It’s just a nice colorful dragon. He may not have eyes, but he’s very beautifully drawn. Enjoy it.

#3 – “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”

This was the only real philosophical piece of artwork we’ve ever seen in an abandoned place. Usually they’re just plastered on road signs or bumper stickers. But it does make sense…

#2 – “We’re on a road to nowhere…”

There’s just something special about this one. It was written on the wall of an abandoned summer camp. Maybe it just strikes a nerve. Maybe it’s just different. Or maybe it’s because someone out there actually remembers how to write in cursive.

#1 – “GO AT NIGHT”

We caught this one as the sun was beginning to set,  and we just finished exploring an abandoned mental hospital. It has always been my favorite. I think the visuals speak for themselves. Go At Night.

Have any that you would like to share? We’d love to see them! Follow us on WordPress, Facebook, and YouTube for more content!

 

 

 

 

Sunset on Sunrise — Remembering Sunrise Resort Part III

Posted: February 11, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Connecticut, abandoned home, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Beaches, Broken, Cabin, Children, Closed, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, East Haddam Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, House, Information, left behind, lost, Love, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, Sunrise Resort, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Sunset on Sunrise

Remembering Sunrise Resort – Part III

“Once more into the fray. Into the last great fight I shall ever know.

Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day.”

–The Grey (2011)

This will be our final installment on the now fabled Sunrise Resort. We have covered our discovery of the resort in the first issue, followed by our investigation of the resort in our second. This final issue will cover our final visit to the grounds, after they had been demolished by the State of Connecticut. We hope that you have learned a thing or two about this place, and why it is important to us. It may be long gone, but it will live forever in the photos that we have taken and the stories that we tell about it. Sunrise Resort was loved by the people of Connecticut for many years. Following her demise, she was left abandoned for over half a decade. Finally, she was demolished by her owners leaving nothing but the memories and the tattered remains of what once was.

Spanning over 140 acres, Sunrise Resort was sold to the State of Connecticut for 2 million dollars after going out of business in 2008. When the state failed to act on reusing/redeveloping the resort, the grounds’ 82 buildings slowly fell into disrepair and became derelict. Though they sat empty and decaying for many years, one state lawmaker was determined to do something about it. Connecticut State Representative Melissa Ziobron, a former employee of Sunrise Resort, was the driving force behind the demolition. For many months, her proposition toiled in the state’s offices. Finally, in the summer of 2013, the demolition was approved. Over the next few months, every last deteriorating building was destroyed. The site has since been rechristened as Sunrise State Park. It was not until over a year afterwards that we decided to return to the site, to see what was left to see.

Since we had first discovered the resort in 2012, we watched it closely. We followed Representative Ziobron’s campaign to have the resort demolished. We had even written a script for an apocalyptic short film to be filmed there in the spring of 2013. Plans for this however fell through following the devastation of several nasty snow storms during the winter, which made the grounds completely impassable. Shortly after that, the grounds were designated off limits to visitors as the state prepared for the demolition of the resort, which would last throughout the summer of 2013. It was later reopened during the fall of that year. In the summer of 2014, we finally decided to make our return to the grounds. Almost exactly two years after we first discovered this abandoned wasteland on a hot summer day, we returned to see what had become of Sunrise Resort.

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At the time we visited the grounds, there was still no visible sign designating the space as Sunrise State Park. We parked our car in the same place that we had parked the last time we had visited the resort, though there is no longer a guard shack to stop cars from pulling up closer. The few buildings at the front of the resort are actually still standing. These buildings are still used by the State of Connecticut for storage. They are heavily padlocked and protected against any intruders, and they still remained as remarkably untouched as we had last seen them two years prior. A few of the buildings have their windows boarded up, some with plywood and others with just cardboard. Though they are looking quite old, they are clearly not abandoned and are the only structures still standing on the grounds.

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We continued down the road further into the resort, though there was no dog following us this time. The large parking lot where school buses used to load and unload visitors is still there, though now it is all dirt and chipped asphalt. From the parking lot, you can see the spot where the old office building and pool used to be. The pool has been completely filled in, and a deep layer of wood chips has been placed on top of it. The office building has been demolished, leaving only a checkered cement foundation that looks like a human chessboard. Farther down the path, we came to where the rows of cabins once stood. Much like the pool, there are just layers of wood chips covering the spots where the structures once stood. Though it had been a long time since we had been here, you can always tell where an old building once stood by the wood chips.

There really wasn’t much to see. Down by the river, everything had been cleared out. Even the old pine tree that stood in front of the dining hall had been removed. The only thing left to distinguish what once was, was the old chimney, still partially standing at the back of the lot. The only other real thing of note here were the sports fields. A few chain link fences had been left up around the baseball diamond, though it is long since overgrown. The tennis courts are still here too, just in very poor shape. We even found the old bocce ball and basketball courts, lost in the weeds where the old children’s center once stood. If you had never seen this place the way it used to be, it would be hard to imagine that is was once a fun filled resort. But with our daylight dying, we decided it was time to call it a day. We bid farewell to Sunrise State Park, as the sun began to set.

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We all have different feelings when we see the sunset. Some of us see the end of the day. Others see the dawning of a new tomorrow. But in a strange way, we can all agree on one thing about them: they can be indescribably beautiful. Not just to the eye, but to the heart. Because a sunset always gives way to sunrise, the dawning of a new day and the chance for a new beginning. That is what we hope that this place has. The sun may have set on Sunrise Resort, but there is glimmer of hope here. Though the resort is long gone, the grounds are still enjoyed. Hikers, fishermen, and dog walkers now heavily frequent the area. The large abandoned buildings have given way to recreational space. The painful sorrow of seeing this doomed summer dream world has passed. And in a place where darkness once ruled, there is finally sunlight for Sunrise.

Abandon All Hope — Remembering Sunrise Resort Part II

Posted: February 2, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Connecticut, abandoned home, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Beaches, Broken, Cabin, Children, Closed, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, East Haddam Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, fantasy, fire, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, House, Information, left behind, lost, Love, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, Sunrise Resort, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Abandon All Hope

Remembering Sunrise Resort – Part: II

Written by: Sean L.

Photographs by: Amanda H.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” Much like the city of Pripyiat, the home to the workers and families of the Chernobyl tragedy, Sunrise Resort was literally abandoned overnight. However, it was not because of a nuclear disaster. Sunrise Resort, which had stood for decades, had become a thing of the past. Over the years, attendance to the once popular vacation destination steadily declined. When it finally went under, the owners were able to sell the land to the state of Connecticut, who hoped to use the grounds as a camp for the disabled. Unfortunately, this never happened. Over the years, Sunrise Resort stood empty and alone, nothing more than a sad afterthought. Because the land had been purchased by the state, it was designated a state park. This created a massive legal loophole, making this large abandoned resort completely legal to visit.

Our return to Sunrise Resort came just two days after our initial discovery. We arrived early in the morning, intent of covering every inch of the property. Luckily, the sun was out and the weather was fair. We drove directly up to the resort this time, rather than walking in. The gates from the guard shack at the front were still closed, so we parked there. At the very front of the property, two large older buildings stand. They have large padlocks on them, and are used by the state for storage. They are the only buildings on the property to still be in use and that have been untouched by vandals. Beside them stand the old dining hall. Windows have been smashed, furniture has been removed, and the old fireplace is now full of trash. A road connects the entire camp together. A large stray dog accompanied us as we began our descent into the wasteland.

Our first stop was the main office. I first walked down these steps was I was in the sixth grade. I was on a class wide picnic, and this place was full of people having fun. I did not return until I was twenty one years old. There weren’t any more people, and the fun times were long gone. The glass doors to the office were smashed, littering the ground with large chunks of broken glass. Inside the office, papers and all kinds of debris coat the floor. We found several first aid kits that had been torn apart, though curiously only the syringes were missing. There were also gaping holes in the walls, with all of the buildings copper wirings torn out by scavengers. This was a common trait throughout the resort, as we found almost every building suffered this fate. On the wall, in red crayon, was written: “No God. No Joy.”

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Beside the main office stood the old pool. The last time I saw this pool, it was full of water and happy children enjoying the vacation. Now, it lies empty. The water and swimmers are long gone, with the pool now only holding nothing but graffiti and debris. This ranged from tree branches, garbage bags, and even a roller chair. The pool had a window on the deep end, where people could watch swimmers from. We moved on into the pool house to reach this window. Lockers had been ripped open. Walls had been trashed. Even a few bathing suits had been left behind. We then reached the room with the window looking into the pool. A large colorful octopus was painted on the wall.

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Moving past the pool, we found the cabins. Sunrise Resort offered all kinds of camping, and cabin camping was very popular. Most of these cabins still stood untouched. The clean sheets were still waiting for the next guests, neatly folded atop the beds. The bathrooms were all still fully stocked. Notes indicating checkout time were still there. Past the cabins, we explored “The Frog.” This was the restaurant of the resort. The tables were all neatly stacked up in one corner. A bible lay abandoned on the ground. An old tabletop Christmas tree had been knocked over. The run down television set had been smashed. Several vending machines still stood against the back wall, though there was nothing left inside of them. Packets of mustard and ketchup were still sitting in their dispensaries, though they had long since gone bad. We continued down the road, leading us to the banks of the Moodus River.

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Along the river stood a series of cabins. They were each three stories high, and completely ransacked. In one of these cabins, the room at the top floor had been converted into a makeshift sex den with a heavily used mattress and condom wrappers galore. Beside these cabins was the now empty boat house and the dining hall that we had originally seen the other day. After a short lunch in the old gazeebo, we explored this large building. Carpet was ripped up, windows were smashed, and walls were demolished. Against the very back wall stood a fireplace with a sturdy chimney. A few fire logs were still inside. The kitchen was completely dark, but most of the equipment had been gutted. Several empty pavilions stood outside. Rather than taking the rickety staircase we had seen last time, we continued up a different path back into the heart of the resort.

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We passed several more sets of cabins until we came up the children’s area of the resort. It was complete with a small building, where kid’s artwork still hung from the walls. An old overgrown wooden playground stood beside it. A small in-ground pool was at the front of the area, though its water was now stagnant green. An old push car had been unceremoniously dumped into it. A miniature golf course was there as well, though now completely overgrown. At the farthest side of the resort stood the apartments. Two large buildings full of apartments were there: one high-rise and one low-rise. They were totally ransacked by vandals, though a small family of raccoons guarded the basement. Finally, there was the spa. Workout equipment and machines were still there, abandoned overnight just like everything else here.

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With our daylight dying, we decided it was time to head home. We began to head back to the car, bidding farewell to the abandoned Sunrise Resort. Though we didn’t know it at the time, this would be our last goodbye. Stay tuned for Part III next week.

Stay tuned for Remembering Sunrise Resort Part III coming next week!!

The End of the Road – Remembering Sunrise Resort: Part I

Posted: January 27, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Fairgrounds, abandoned home, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned Stores, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Beaches, Birds, Broken, Cabin, Children, Closed, commercial, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, East Haddam Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, House, Information, left behind, lost, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, Sunrise Resort, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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The End of the Road

Remembering Sunrise Resort – Part I

Written by: Sean

Photographs by: Amanda

You always remember your first. Whether it be love, sex, friendship, you always remember the first. Because the first will always be special, whether you like it or not. We’ve been doing this for about three years now, and I still remember our first. It was kind of an accident; we just happened to stumble upon one of the greatest abandoned sites in Connecticut while hiking in the woods. It was more than just an abandoned building; it was a small community that had been completely deserted overnight. This is the place that started our journey as urban explorers. What follows is part one of a three part series that will fully cover our three visits to the legendary Sunrise Resort in East Haddam, Connecticut. Part one will cover the discovery of the resort. Part two will cover our investigation. And part three will cover our return to the site after its demolition.

The only way to really tell this story is to start at the beginning. I mean the real beginning. Sunrise Resort was established in the 1930’s by Ted Hilton, a Hartford Taxi Driver. Over its 92 years the resort became Frank Davis Resort then what we know it as now, Sunrise Resort. In its heyday, the resort was known for theme weeks, meals, parties, music, and its excellent family atmosphere. It provided services such as maid service, childcare for those parents who wanted a break, boating/sailing, horseback riding, and children’s programs. They even allowed you to bring along the family pet! The resort provided many forms of housing may it be rustic cottages, motel rooms, apartments, or resort lodging. Sunrise had it all. Just as a fun fact, both Amanda and myself visited the resort while we children. Both of our schools scheduled our end of the year summer picnics here. Unfortunately, we did not take any photos while there.

Over the years Sunrise’s old fashion look and feel began to lose customer’s interest and it slowly began to wither. Near its end customers were found to complain of it being “out-of-date,” musty, and unclean. Sadly, in 2008 Sunrise was closed and sold to the CT Government. At first the government had plans of making it into a newer, updated Campgroup or into a camp for the disabled. This never happened. The Connecticut Government put things off and forgot about Sunrise until it became too late; nothing was left to save. Since then it fell into ruins. It had been vandalized (windows smashed, copper piping ripped out of the walls, items stolen, memories shattered) and nature has moved in to reclaim it. This once beautiful resort was now a ghost town resembling Chernobyl. Everything is left the same as it was as if its happy, smiling patrons simply vanished.

It was a hot summer day in 2012. We were just hanging out. The days of summertime were slowly drawing to close, and we would soon be returning to college. The beach was no fun anymore. We had hiked all of our local parks. And we didn’t have the money to go to the movies. We decided to do something different. It was actually the website damnedct.com that got us into this. We had occasionally surfed that site, looking at all of their cool articles. But most of them were out of date. First, we looked into checking out the Little People’s Village. But further research revealed that this site has been so horribly vandalized, there is nothing left to see. We then thought of checking out Holy Land USA, hearing that it was quite easy to get in. Further research into this revealed that a young girl had tragically been murdered there very recently, and the place was near impenetrable.

With our day slowly ending, we ended up deciding to check out Machimoodus State Park in East Haddam. There were rumors of strange, unearthly noises here so we decided to check it out. We even brought along our Japanese Chin named Tojo. The state park was nice, though we didn’t hear any weird noises. There was an old barn still standing towards the center of the park, but nothing too interesting. That is until we took a dark trail leading into the woods. The farther we got down this trail, the weirder things got. First we found a shoe sitting on an old stump. This shoe had been there so long, moss had completely coated it. We also found a crushed up loud speaker in the dirt. Further down the trail, we found a rusty storage trailer, completely full of old cots. It was completely silent. Then, we saw it.

 At the end of the trail, seated comfortably alongside the banks of the Moodus River, we found an abandoned summer camp. The old dining hall stood before us. It was three floors, with a porch out front. The windows were all shattered, and its outer paint was rapidly fading. The old kitchen equipment had been left out back to rot in the sun. A rickety gazeebo stood out in front of it. Beside that was a tall withered pine tree, slowly dying in the summer heat. Several empty pavilions guarded the river bank. Two yellow chairs were seated in the water, still standing. The long grass all around grew wild and free. A couple of small storage sheds stood closer to the edge of the forest, though the steps leading into them were slowly collapsing. A very old and unsafe looking staircase stood leading up the hill, though we dare not follow it. What was this place?

Unknown to us at the time, this was the abandoned Sunrise Resort. Since we had our dog in tow and had no idea where we were, we decided to leave…after snapping a few pictures of course. This place wasn’t safe for Tojo to be walking around, and we were completely in the dark on what this strange place was or if we were allowed to be there. As we made the trek through the forest and back to the car, we decided to do some research on what we had just found: what is was, who lived there, why it was abandoned. But more importantly, we vowed to return. Stay tuned for Part II next week.

Graveyard of Empires — The Abandoned Sunrise Resort

Posted: January 21, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in Abandoned, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Wonders, Closed, Connecticut, Destruction, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex
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