Tours 2024
East Coast Greenway/Farmington Canal Trail North
Travel North from New Haven to Cheshire and learn about plans to connect the former rail trail to Northampton, MA. Visit historic Locks 12 and 14 before returning to New Haven. A representative of ECG will lead the ride and provide information and background on the trail.
Explore New Haven with Take Pic's Here Photowalk
Grab your gear and join pro photographer Lance Long on a photo walk around downtown New Haven, Get ready to see awesome photo worthy locations, learn some local history and gain awesome photo skills during this tour. IPhone photography and DSLR photography accepted.
Where in New Haven is Kevin McCarthy
Spend an afternoon with New Haven's own Kevin McCarthy, a former non-partisan policy analyst at the state legislature. Kevin's daily treks by bicycle may include stops at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), FISH of Greater New Haven, the Friends Center for Children among many, many organizations.
Juneteenth Bike Tour
Take a bike tour through history showcasing New Haven's rich community of Black creativity and innovation, past and present. The ride will take in key historical and cultural landmarks where African and African-Americans have left their imprint on the history of New Haven and beyond. The journey will cover the late 1700s to the present day.
Explore What's Queer About Downtown New Haven
Take a walking tour of Downtown New Haven, but seen through a queer lens. Discover a hidden history—four centuries in the making—among the nine squares in the country’s first planned city. See where Cole Porter got his kick from champagne…Doors’ front man Jim Morrison was bloodied and arrested…Bette Davis had a bumpy night…Judy and Liza played both sides of the street…Jodi Foster’s hang out the night President Reagan was shot…frisky freshmen went subterranean for their meet and greets…and the site of one of Connecticut’s first public gay executions in 1646.
Notorious New Haven
Traitors, theives and counterfeiters have all made a home in New Haven. Take a ride through New Haven's notorious past, a past the founders of the city would be appalled by if they knew what happened here.
Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery
A guided tour of "Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery" with curator Michael Morand. The exhibition complements the publication of Yale and Slavery: A History and draws from the Yale and Slavery Research Project’s key findings in areas such as the economy and trade, Black churches and schools, the 1831 Black college proposal, and memory and memorialization in the 20th century and today.
ThaumCATrope: A Metaphorical Quantum Search in New Haven
The Yale Quantum Institute and the Yale Library Digital Humanities Lab have partnered to create an educational application, at the intersection of art and science, where you would need to explore New Haven and the Yale Campus to find your (Schrödinger) cat, and learn about quantum science along the way! We invite you to be one of our very first app testers (we will have computers and tablets or you can bring your own laptop or phone) in the beautiful space of the DHLab.
Yale Peabody Museum Renovation Tour
Learn about the creation of the galleries with some of the project leaders, and get a glimpse behind the scenes at dynamic new spaces.
City Parks - New Haven's Natural Beauties
Park Enthusiast Sydney Collins will take you on a journey through some of New Haven's parks. You'll learn about conservation efforts and the triumphs and challenges to maintaining the natural land.
ThaumCATrope: A Metaphorical Quantum Search in New Haven
The Yale Quantum Institute and the Yale Library Digital Humanities Lab have partnered to create an educational application, at the intersection of art and science, where you would need to explore New Haven and the Yale Campus to find your (Schrödinger) cat, and learn about quantum science along the way! We invite you to be one of our very first app testers (we will have computers and tablets or you can bring your own laptop or phone) in the beautiful space of the DHLab.
Tour Luckey Climbers
The tour will include a slide show and lecture with an in depth description of the process of designing and fabricating Luckey Climbers.
Tapping the Possibilities
A hands on tour of the Whitney Water Treatment plant. Where the water comes from and what it takes to get to you our customers.
Afghan Women's Narratives through Art: Exploring Themes of Identity & Home
By the end of 2024, United Nations expects 130 million people worldwide to be forcibly displaced from their homes by conflict, persecution, natural disasters, and other extreme events. 5,000 refugees have been resettled in New Haven. How can we get to know our refugee neighbors, offer support as they build new lives and be a part of the healing process?
New Haven's Pollinator Pathway
A pollinator pathway is a wild corridor providing a habitat and nutrition for pollinators. Visit current habitats created by New Haven residents and communities and learn how you can be part of the pathway.
Coffee Crawl
Explore the best of New Haven's coffee shops with a coffee crawl! Learn some history of coffee production and crafting in New Haven while we walk to various local coffee shops — and getting the best of lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, and more. More fun than educational. Prepare to get caffeinated.
Shoreline Greenway
Did you ever wish there was a way to travel from New Haven Eastward on the shoreline by bike? The Shoreline Greenway trail shares that vision to build a 25-mile trail for bikers, walkers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Ride the planned route in New Haven to connect with the Greenway and points beyond.
Botanical Garden of Healing Dedicated to Victims of Gun Violence
Hear from garden founder, Marlene Miller Pratt, about her vision to raise awareness of the magnitude of the gun violence problem in the City of New Haven and creating a healing space for families to come together and remember lives lost.
Lost Landmarks: An Architectural Journey into New Haven’s Forgotten Past
Cycle the city to uncover some of New Haven’s most colorful history — via buildings and sites lost over the centuries. You’ll encounter Revolutionary heroes (and a hero/traitor), abolitionists, Black history figures, a movie mogul, a celebrated canine, notable architects, working-class heroes, and more.
Bibliophilia X Taphophilia: The Dead Shall Be Read
Two great archives are neighbors in New Haven: Grove Street Cemetery, the nation’s first chartered burial ground, and Beinecke Library, North America’s largest building dedicated exclusively to rare books and and manuscripts. Both exist to make the past accessible in the present for the future, and both offer many encyclopedias of stories to explore and inspire.
The Murals of Fair Haven presented by Lee Cruz
A renaissance is unfolding in Fair Haven and one of its exciting outcomes is the rediscovery of murals and other forms of public art. Some of these artworks were created decades ago, while others emerged within the past two years. Local artists contributed many of these pieces, but nationally and internationally recognized figures also left their mark. Regardless of their creators' origins, these public works of art share a common thread: their existence within the vibrant tapestry of Fair Haven, a culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhood. Join Lee Cruz on this bike ride where you will see murals and other public works of art.
Welcome to Newhallville
Join us and get a first-hand look at how community residents and stakeholders have rejuvenated and revitalized sections of Newhallville. You will hear some historical and funny facts about Newhallville that will have prizes attached to the correct answer.
Downtown North: Cultural History and Heritage
Celebrating the stories of immigrants who helped build New Haven and the impact of urban renewal.
Tour of the Humanities Quadrangle
Take a guided tour of the Humanities Quadrangle at Yale. The newly renovated 14-story building, formerly known as the Hall of Graduate Studies, recently began a new era for the Humanities at Yale. Renovations included the restoration of the historic painted plaster ceiling located in the common room of the former McDougal Center and a new lower level, which required digging down 30 feet into the courtyard’s existing foundation below the existing water table.
Outer Island Family Day
Capture small invasive crabs, observe herons, drag a net to collect small bait fish and algae, become a marine citizen scientist and so much more as you discover this island Refuge in Stony Creek. Must be ages 6+ to participate.
Ely Center of Contemporary Art
Learn about the history of ECOCA (Ely Center of Contemporary Art) at 51 Trumbull Street in New Haven. Situated within an English Elizabethan style house built in 1902 by S. G. Taylor, ECOCA was home to John Slade Ely (1860-1906) and his wife, Grace Taylor Ely, who came to New Haven in 1897. Now it is one of New Haven’s premier contemporary art spaces, with a constant rotation of thought provoking and innovative art from local and national artists.
The Sound of Music in New Haven
New Haven has a diversity of music options available, and some of them are free. Ride with your hosts as they introduce you to some unusual but uniquely New Haven sounds.
CAES: The Nation's Oldest Agricultural Experiment Station
Get to know the CAES through this guided tour of the grounds and explore this renowned Laboratory! The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), established in 1875, is the first agricultural experiment station in the United States. The main mission of the CAES is research. The CAES programs exist to educate the public and to transfer new findings to people trying to solve agricultural, public health, and environmental problems. If love science and learning, this is the tour for you!
East Coast Greenway South
Travel South on the East Coast Greenway to Silver Sands State Park in Milford. This section of the ECG incorporates the Vision Trail, the Harbor side trail, the Long Wharf Nature Preserve, and the Savin Rock Trail. A representative of ECG will lead the ride and provide information and background on the trails.
Riding on Mixed Surface
New Haven has it's share of mixed surfaces often creating a challenge for even the most seasoned rider. Learn techniques from one of New Haven's most prolific riders and skilled educators on the subject.
Tour of Amistad: Retold at the New Haven Museum
Join a tour to view the New Haven Museum’s updated exhibition Amistad: Retold. The exhibition centers the experiences of the Amistad rebels and their collective action to determine their own lives. It also has a local focus on New Haven as the site of their incarceration and abolitionist organizing leading to the landmark Supreme Court decision. On display are historic and contemporary artistic representations of Amistad that convey the power of the arts to raise awareness and shape collective memory.
Clue Remastered
This isn't Colonial Mustard's Clue. Prepare yourself for Clue by bike with notable New Haven characters. Prizes will be awarded.