From Atlas Obscura:
"UNBEKNOWNST TO MANY CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS, the small state was home to no less than 12 Nike Missile sites during the Cold War. Designed to protect the United States from Russia, the installations were constructed in two parts: a control/radar site and a launch site. The HA-26 launch site is located in Glastonbury, with its control/radar site Portland. Both are easily accessible on a long road in Meshomasic State Forest.
The HA-26 site was in operation from 1956 to 1963 and housed Ajax missiles. On May 18, 1957, the United States Army hosted an open house inaugurating the site.
The launch site housed a guard station, barracks, missile battery area, and a medical office. The control site also housed guard stations, barracks, and a large metal tank suspected to hold water.
All that remains at both sites today are foundations, concrete stairs, floor tiles, hatchways leading underground, and scraps of metal equipment."
source: (
visit link)
This site has a collection of photos of the site when it was operational: (
visit link)
To get to the site:
There are two different spots in the same forest. One was the launch site and one was the radar site. Google Maps is very helpful. Look up Del Reeves Road in Glastonbury, CT and you will find yourself driving on a well-maintained dirt road through the state forest. Zooming in will show the spots where the missile sites were. Both sites have an open yellow metal gate and a road leading off into the woods. At the radar site if you look closely you might see building foundations if you go during the right time of year. There is also a metal silo that's been heavily painted with graffiti. At the launch site there is a set of cement stairs that lead to nothing and the foundation of the guard house.
Caution: Both sites have some open manholes and rattlesnakes are known to live in the forest. Wear good shoes, long pants, and watch your step! I do not recommend driving past the yellow gates, as nature has reclaimed a lot of the roads past this point.
Also of note: some sources state that this was HA-26, not HA-36, but Ed Thelen's Nike page states that HA-36 is correct.