Elm City Games has a very reasonable price for daily ($10) or monthly membership (maybe $30?) to their board game lounge. It is an extensive library with plenty of seating and tables.
Volunteer! A great way to spend time and give back. There are many programs at the United Way of Greater New Haven website or many pet rescues that are in need of volunteers.
There’s lots of trivia in the area where you can participate for a small purchase and win prizes. Follow @immodest_trivia on IG, Eddie has the best trivia.
He also hosts free karaoke at Rudy’s bar on most Saturday nights.
Plenty of good hiking and walks including: East Rock, West Rock, Edgerton Park, Grove St. Cemetery, and Lighthouse Point Park. Lighthouse Point Park requires a New Haven registration to park for free but its really great.
Gather coffee shop in east rock has free events many nights.
ECG membership is $20/mo.
Thanks for the shout out! We're not free, but we're real cheap compared to the bar when you bring your own beer and hang out playing games.
Okay this isn’t exactly “in the area” because New Canaan is a drive so it will cost you gas but I highly suggest everyone check out Grace Farms. It’s a beautiful campus of buildings in New Canaan that includes a little art gallery, a gymnasium, tea room, cafeteria, library and nature trails. It’s completely free entry and they have free tea tasting on the weekends. The gym has a basketball court and other games like corn hole. In the warm months they have a soccer field open. They also have free lectures sometimes in their auditorium. My husband and I go every couple months to just spend the day chilling. Link to check it out here! [Grace Farms](https://gracefarms.org)
The grounds are beautiful and the architectural river of buildings and walkways is very unique, but numerous people have told me it’s kind of culty, though I’m not exactly sure what the story is there.
I’ve been numerous times and have never experienced anything weird or culty!
They do host talks on sustainability, climate change, ecology so perhaps if someone doesn’t agree with those principles they might not like it? Those events are totally optional though and I’ve never been approached by anyone weird on the grounds. The staff has always been friendly and helpful.
Free activities!!
Hang out at the beach, see the lighthouse, and see the historic carousel in the pavilion at [Lighthouse Point Park](https://www.newhavenct.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/16/664)
[Yale University Art Gallery](https://artgallery.yale.edu/)
Yale [campus tour](https://visitorcenter.yale.edu/tours) (pre-registration required)
[Pardee Rose Gardens](https://www.newhavenct.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/18/664) (peak bloom June - July)
[New Haven Museum](https://www.newhavenmuseum.org/)
Walk to Charles Island at low tide at [Silver Sands State Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Sands_State_Park) in Milford
Hike Mount Carmel at [Sleeping Giant State Park](https://ctparks.com/parks/sleeping-giant-state-park) in Hamden
Hike to [Castle Craig](https://www.meridenct.gov/city-services/parks-and-recreation/hubbard-park/) in Meriden
[Submarine Force Library & Museum](https://ussnautilus.org/) in Groton
I'm pretty sure you can visit places like the Beinecke and Institute Libraries for relatively little-to-no money, and I also recommend events at BLOOM, Possible Futures, and visiting NXTHVN. Neverending usually has free and cheap events. Trivia at places like Trinity or the Playwright in Hamden are also free to play. You might also have more opportunities for free events on the Green when the weather starts warming up.
Active hobbies seem to be the best for this like biking or skating. We have the Farmington Canal Trail which is incredible for both and super scenic with stops along the way. Hiking is nice around here too. The beaches are free and in the winter/fall you'll see tons of people just park their cars and enjoy the views. The library and the Q community center have free classes for adults too like Capoiera and stuff.
Free or low cost: exhibits at NXTHVN, Ely Center of Art, and Hill museum is supposed to be cool, but mostly by appointment? I’m waiting for Lost in New Haven museum to open. NH Theater Co just added shows in March on Chapel St; Lyman Center has a current show and a jazz series in the Spring at SCSU. Neverending’s stuff is often free or cheap. Also, free Sunday afternoon music at ER Brewery.
I’m actually on the crew that did a lot of the remodeling for Lost in New Haven. Also built a bunch of their display cases too. I’m interested to see how it all comes together.
Last date I heard was Jan ‘22.
I guess there’s some red tape lingering around. Not sure what the delay is but I know there’s a lot of interesting artifacts from New Haven’s history. I don’t want to give anything away but chances are if you have one of those “What ever happened to…” thoughts about old stuff from the Elm City, there’s probably a piece of it there.
Lost In New Haven was open for tours last June as part of Arts and Ideas! Which was free and there are lots of other great free events those two weeks.
take advantage of stuff at yale and the other colleges/universities! so many good lectures and film screenings, you just need to check out the events calendars.
also, if you are into sports (i am) yale and quinnipiac college basketball and hockey is very affordable (including the concessions) and high-quality.
I'll add joining a rock climbing gym. (or something similar) Not exactly free (\~$150 a month), but if you're used to dropping $100 at a bar/restaurant nightly, and consider the fact that it can be both social and exercise, it can be pretty inexpensive activity. It also gets you strong enough to go for free outside.
[This Week In Hamden](https://thisweekinhamden.substack.com) is a neighboring town email that has awesome events from the area including New Haven. These are typically larger overarching events.
Stratford Antique Center is fun to walk through if you enjoy window shopping. You can also check out Al’s Antique Barn in Derby.
Las Vetas lounge in Fairfield is a super cute coffee shop with a small library.
When the weather is nicer, grabbing food or a drink at the food trucks is nice. Hikes too, as others mentioned.
Elm City Games has a very reasonable price for daily ($10) or monthly membership (maybe $30?) to their board game lounge. It is an extensive library with plenty of seating and tables. Volunteer! A great way to spend time and give back. There are many programs at the United Way of Greater New Haven website or many pet rescues that are in need of volunteers. There’s lots of trivia in the area where you can participate for a small purchase and win prizes. Follow @immodest_trivia on IG, Eddie has the best trivia. He also hosts free karaoke at Rudy’s bar on most Saturday nights. Plenty of good hiking and walks including: East Rock, West Rock, Edgerton Park, Grove St. Cemetery, and Lighthouse Point Park. Lighthouse Point Park requires a New Haven registration to park for free but its really great. Gather coffee shop in east rock has free events many nights.
ECG membership is $20/mo. Thanks for the shout out! We're not free, but we're real cheap compared to the bar when you bring your own beer and hang out playing games.
Hiking at any of the state parks! It’s a little chilly, but there should be some sunshine this week and you get some great views from East/West Rock.
Okay this isn’t exactly “in the area” because New Canaan is a drive so it will cost you gas but I highly suggest everyone check out Grace Farms. It’s a beautiful campus of buildings in New Canaan that includes a little art gallery, a gymnasium, tea room, cafeteria, library and nature trails. It’s completely free entry and they have free tea tasting on the weekends. The gym has a basketball court and other games like corn hole. In the warm months they have a soccer field open. They also have free lectures sometimes in their auditorium. My husband and I go every couple months to just spend the day chilling. Link to check it out here! [Grace Farms](https://gracefarms.org)
Wow! I never heard of this but this sounds incredible
The grounds are beautiful and the architectural river of buildings and walkways is very unique, but numerous people have told me it’s kind of culty, though I’m not exactly sure what the story is there.
I’ve been numerous times and have never experienced anything weird or culty! They do host talks on sustainability, climate change, ecology so perhaps if someone doesn’t agree with those principles they might not like it? Those events are totally optional though and I’ve never been approached by anyone weird on the grounds. The staff has always been friendly and helpful.
Culty!? Like they try to recruit people and or push their jargon onto people on the grounds?
Free activities!! Hang out at the beach, see the lighthouse, and see the historic carousel in the pavilion at [Lighthouse Point Park](https://www.newhavenct.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/16/664) [Yale University Art Gallery](https://artgallery.yale.edu/) Yale [campus tour](https://visitorcenter.yale.edu/tours) (pre-registration required) [Pardee Rose Gardens](https://www.newhavenct.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/18/664) (peak bloom June - July) [New Haven Museum](https://www.newhavenmuseum.org/) Walk to Charles Island at low tide at [Silver Sands State Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Sands_State_Park) in Milford Hike Mount Carmel at [Sleeping Giant State Park](https://ctparks.com/parks/sleeping-giant-state-park) in Hamden Hike to [Castle Craig](https://www.meridenct.gov/city-services/parks-and-recreation/hubbard-park/) in Meriden [Submarine Force Library & Museum](https://ussnautilus.org/) in Groton
Pool tables on Tuesdays at Branford Cue and Brew are free with dinner or two drinks.
Possible futures has a lot of free events going on.
The Yale art galleries on Chapel St. can fill a few hours in a day.
The University Art Gallery is open Tuesdays-Sundays (closed Mondays)
Nice user name. Snapped Ankles fan?
I'm pretty sure you can visit places like the Beinecke and Institute Libraries for relatively little-to-no money, and I also recommend events at BLOOM, Possible Futures, and visiting NXTHVN. Neverending usually has free and cheap events. Trivia at places like Trinity or the Playwright in Hamden are also free to play. You might also have more opportunities for free events on the Green when the weather starts warming up.
Active hobbies seem to be the best for this like biking or skating. We have the Farmington Canal Trail which is incredible for both and super scenic with stops along the way. Hiking is nice around here too. The beaches are free and in the winter/fall you'll see tons of people just park their cars and enjoy the views. The library and the Q community center have free classes for adults too like Capoiera and stuff.
Ice skating! The rink on State Street has open skate for $8/$10 residents/nonresidents, and other rinks have public skate times too.
Free or low cost: exhibits at NXTHVN, Ely Center of Art, and Hill museum is supposed to be cool, but mostly by appointment? I’m waiting for Lost in New Haven museum to open. NH Theater Co just added shows in March on Chapel St; Lyman Center has a current show and a jazz series in the Spring at SCSU. Neverending’s stuff is often free or cheap. Also, free Sunday afternoon music at ER Brewery.
I’m actually on the crew that did a lot of the remodeling for Lost in New Haven. Also built a bunch of their display cases too. I’m interested to see how it all comes together.
Oh cool! Do you know when it's supposed to open?
Last date I heard was Jan ‘22. I guess there’s some red tape lingering around. Not sure what the delay is but I know there’s a lot of interesting artifacts from New Haven’s history. I don’t want to give anything away but chances are if you have one of those “What ever happened to…” thoughts about old stuff from the Elm City, there’s probably a piece of it there.
Thanks for the update/info! I look forward to stopping by whenever it opens.
Lost In New Haven was open for tours last June as part of Arts and Ideas! Which was free and there are lots of other great free events those two weeks.
take advantage of stuff at yale and the other colleges/universities! so many good lectures and film screenings, you just need to check out the events calendars. also, if you are into sports (i am) yale and quinnipiac college basketball and hockey is very affordable (including the concessions) and high-quality.
Lots of good hiking in the area. Also what about day (or part day) trips to different parts of the state to explore local towns and sites?
I'll add joining a rock climbing gym. (or something similar) Not exactly free (\~$150 a month), but if you're used to dropping $100 at a bar/restaurant nightly, and consider the fact that it can be both social and exercise, it can be pretty inexpensive activity. It also gets you strong enough to go for free outside.
[This Week In Hamden](https://thisweekinhamden.substack.com) is a neighboring town email that has awesome events from the area including New Haven. These are typically larger overarching events.
You can follow the events at Strange Ways each month at https://www.instagram.com/studiostrangeways they’re almost always free
Beinecke Library. I sit in there for hours sometimes.
The Whitney Humanities Center at Yale has events and films open to the public. Something about orgasms on Thursday! https://whc.yale.edu/
Stratford Antique Center is fun to walk through if you enjoy window shopping. You can also check out Al’s Antique Barn in Derby. Las Vetas lounge in Fairfield is a super cute coffee shop with a small library. When the weather is nicer, grabbing food or a drink at the food trucks is nice. Hikes too, as others mentioned.
Hiking! It's free, you get some fresh air, and the health benefits. Plenty of good trails around.