Wesleyan University vs Whitman College vs Oberlin College vs University of Rochester

[circuitrider]

Whitman is possibly more outdoorsy than Wesleyan, but @Bill_Marsh gives an in-depth list of the opportunities in and around Middletown in this thread:

S21 Wesleyan vs. Haverford vs. Bates vs. Hamilton

Great stuff about Brownstone Park and rowing on the Connecticut River. Most people don’t realize it but the Connecticut River south of Middletown to Long Island Sound is designated as one of the “40 last great places” in the Western Hemisphere by the Nature Conservancy. Not only because of its scenic value but because it is protected from development by statute. I’ve canoed that section of the River a lot. A nice weekend camping trip is to leave from Middletown by canoe or kayak on a Friday after school or work, camp at Hurd Park in Middle Haddam the first night, paddle on Saturday down to either Gillette’s Castle State Park or Selden Island to camp Saturday night, and then finish the trip on Sunday, taking out at any of the multiple access points between Essex and Saybrook Point or Old Lyme (on the East bank). There are 2 cautions. First, check the tides because the river is tidal up to Hartford and second, stay out of the channel where bigger boats go if you don’t want to be swamped…