The Gem Hunt
America decides what makes the map.
Every state has a spot the algorithms miss — the one locals send strangers to. Name it. Vote on the finalists. The winners get built into Roamward, the scenic road-trip app that proves you actually went. No download required to play.
Nominate
What does Connecticut do better than anywhere?
One hidden gem — a place a chatbot would never know. The most-named spots become finalists, and the crowd votes the winner into Roamward.
Vote
Connecticut gems, most-loved first
- 1Gillette CastleA stone medieval-looking fortress an eccentric actor built above the Connecticut River in East Haddam, full of trick locks and hand-carved oddities, with a hilltop view over the valley.
- 2Holy Land USAA surreal, partly restored hillside of cinder-block Bible scenes and a glowing cross overlooking Waterbury — kitschy, eerie, and open for free daytime visits.
- 3Kent Falls State ParkA series of cascades totaling some 250 feet tumbling beside a streamside staircase trail in the northwest Litchfield Hills — a quick, rewarding stop off Route 7.
- 4The Traveler RestaurantA roadside diner near the Massachusetts line in Union where every guest takes home free used books pulled from the shelves stuffed throughout the dining room.
- 5Devil's Hopyard State ParkA wooded park in East Haddam built around Chapman Falls, a 60-foot cascade over stair-stepped stone, with mossy trails and a whisper of local folklore.
- 6Ballard Institute and Museum of PuppetryA UConn museum in Storrs holding one of America's largest puppet collections, from marionettes to elaborate stage figures, with free admission and live performances in the quiet northeast corner.
- 7World's Tallest Uncle SamA 38-foot red-white-and-blue Uncle Sam towering outside the Danbury Railway Museum, impossible to miss from the road, paired with a hands-on rail yard you can climb aboard.
- 8Chester-Hadlyme FerryA tiny open-deck car ferry that has crossed the Connecticut River since 1769, gliding beneath the turrets of Gillette Castle on the far bank — a five-minute living-history shortcut.
- 9American Clock and Watch MuseumA Bristol house museum packed with one of the world's great collections of American timekeeping, a nod to the region's clockmaking heyday — a ticking, chiming detour.
- 10Boothe Memorial ParkA 32-acre Stratford park dotted with eccentric structures — a windmill, a miniature lighthouse, and Connecticut's last surviving highway toll booth among them — a free, strollable collection of oddities.
Not your state’s turn yet?
Want Roamward to map Connecticut next?
Add your vote — the loudest state gets mapped first.
How it works
Nominate
Drop the most underrated spot in your state — the gem an itinerary generator would never surface.
The crowd ranks it
Name a place someone already nominated and it rises. The most-loved gems become the state’s finalists.
Vote the winner in
Finalists go to a public vote. Winners get built into Roamward — credited to the people who found them.
Go verify it
Drive it, GPS-verify the stop, earn the badge, and share the map that proves you were first.
Don’t miss the winners
Be the first to find what the crowd picks.
Join early access and we’ll tell you when your state’s gem wins — and when Roamward opens for iOS testing.
Get early access