Tranquility at Middletown Interstate 91 Northbound Rest Area in Middletown, Connecticut

Guests Greeted with Beautiful Building and Landscaping

Sometimes tranquility can be found in the least likely of places. Nestled between a busy roadway and a mountain is a beautifully landscaped rest stop with an architecturally friendly building. This rest stop, the Interstate 91 Northbound Rest Area in Middletown, Connecticut, is used by tourists, campers, daily commuters, and truckers alike as they take a break from traveling north on Interstate 91 and seeing the rising Higby Mountain in the distance.

As motorists make their way from Connecticut's shore line to inland sections, there are few places to stop to stretch ones legs, go to the bathroom, and get a quick snack.

Nestled in a wooded area at mile marker 22 between the exit 19, Preston Avenue, and exit 20, Country Club Road interchanges is the 26.5-acre rest area which I recently visited.

The main purpose of the visit was simple: to use the restroom facilities before reaching my destination of Six Flags Amusement Park in Agawam, Mass.

I, my girlfriend, and her best friend were impressed by the beauty that was found in this spot which was not expected by the blue highway signs with white lettering simply stating "Rest Area" and counting down the distance.

This is the only rest area on Interstate 91 northbound in Connecticut while the much busier Interstate 95 has six rest stops in each direction and Route 15, the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways has five rest stops each way.

Upon entering the Middletown Interstate 91 Northbound Rest Area rest stop; cars and campers are instructed by a brown sign with white lettering to go one way while buses and trucks are instructed to go another.

Landscaped islands separate the paved driveways and are located in front of all of the property's 59 car parking spaces.

Picnic tables with galvanized steel tubing set in concrete slabs with red wooden tops and benches, barbecue grills, and brown trash cans with a stone façade are located near the parking area.

With 21 picnic tables and seven barbecue grills, there are plenty of opportunities for many to enjoy the great outdoors far enough away from the stinky car fumes of the highway.