A handsome boathouse adorns the shore of East Twin Lake in Salisbury.

On a spin around Lake Washining in Salisbury, Connecticut, the visiting boater will no doubt notice the elongated island that serves as a summer camp for the American School for the Deaf. The cigar-shaped landmass, Isola Bella, with its Instagram-worthy stone tower, juts halfway into the lake, making the waterbody appear a lot smaller than it really is.

At about 1.5 miles in diameter and 859 acres, East Twin is the largest lake in the Connecticut Berkshires, and just one of several that have tempted vacationers and fishermen for over half a century. Who even knew that Connecticut had a Lakes Region?

Nestled amid lush, green hills, these small, cobalt-colored basins in the extreme northwest corner of Connecticut are ideal for fishing, tubing, waterskiing, swimming, paddling, or just hanging out on the water. And hardly anyone outside of the area knows about them, which is just fine by the folks who live or have second homes here.

There’s a laidback sensibility in the town of Salisbury that harkens to a bygone era. Neighborhood kids congregate in the dwindling sunlight to talk, fish, or simply play, while adults walk their dogs and engage in actual face-to-face conversation with neighbors. There’s not an electronic device in sight.

Before he died, Paul Newman was a frequent visitor to the Salisbury village of Lakeville, where he raced cars at Lime Rock Park. Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, Daniel Day Lewis, and Oliver Platt all have homes in the surrounding countryside. Here, unpretentious glitterati leave their glitter in Hollywood or New York City, preferring the area’s spectacular scenery to that of the Hamptons.

Many enjoy the great fishing the lakes provide.

The 350-acre Lake Wononscopomuc, better known as “Lakeville Lake,” is small but deep (up to 100 feet), and famous for its abundance of fish. Bass spawn in the lake, and the Connecticut Bureau of Natural Resources also stocks it with trout. Pickerel, yellow perch, and sunfish are other species of interest. In 1918, a 29-pound, 13-ounce lake trout was pulled from Wononscopomuc—a record that still stands.

The only place to launch a boat (10 horsepower or less) on the fish-rich Wononscopomuc is at Town Grove Park, in the Lakeville section of Salisbury. A public park that charges visitors for use of the launch ramp and other facilities, Town Grove includes a small beach with lifeguard, a small store, and a fishing pond for kids. With restrictions on motor power and no towing of skis or other flotation devices allowed, Lake Wononscopomuc is also the perfect choice for paddlers who want to enjoy a quiet afternoon.

The vibe is a bit different about six miles north, at Lake Washinee and Lake Washining, collectively known as “Twin Lakes.” The two shallow lakes are connected by a small inlet beneath a bridge, and Washinee can only be accessed by kayak or rowboat.

Washining buzzes with Jet Skiers and speedboats (speed is restricted to 35 mph and 6 mph in certain areas) on hot days, and features the area’s only full-service marina: O’Hara’s Landing. Locals meet for breakfast or lunch at the home-kitchen-casual Mary’s Restaurant, which is also an enduring favorite among boaters who, besides those engaging in watersports, often fish, canoe, kayak, swim or just cruise around before stopping in to refuel.

You can launch your own boat at O’Hara’s for a fee, or rent anything from kayaks and canoes to small fishing boats to 12-person pontoon boats. The marina also sells bait and tackle. For those with car-top boats, there’s also a small state launch—the East Lake Boat Launch—around the corner from O’Hara’s. It offers limited parking and a shallow, murky put-in area, but it’s free.

The stone tower on Isola Bella.

Though boating will likely take up most of your time, it seems that everyone who visits the area manages to find his way to what was Paul Newman’s “home away from home”—Lime Rock Racetrack, just a few miles from Lakeville Lake. Newman last raced on this 1.53-mile course at age 82, a year before he died, and the place still sees swashbucklers of a similar age taking the wheel of high-performance cars.

Various prestige car clubs rent the track for a few days for big boy “driver’s ed,” and of course Lime Rock hosts important races. Yet the vibe remains friendly, inclusive and welcoming, especially towards drive-by tourists who hear the roar of the engines and just want to gawk for a while. Unless there’s a big race, you can enter for free.

Curiously, this faraway corner of Connecticut is known for its fantastic restaurants and inns, plus a tiny museum that showcases the region’s obscure history as an iron-mining and manufacturing center that supplied cannons and munitions to George Washington’s army during the American Revolution. You can learn more at the Salisbury Association Museum inside the 1833 Salisbury Academy Building, built of handmade bricks and beautifully maintained.

Also on Main Street in Salisbury is the Salisbury General Store, exuding a tinge of old-fashioned souvenir shop mixed with period children’s toys and sundries. Nearby is Sweet Williams Bakery, where locals gather each morning for fresh scones, croissants, cookies, coffee, and freshly squeezed lemonade.

If you’re looking for a sit-down lunch or dinner option, the Lakes Region has you covered. Thirty years ago, The Woodland on Route 41 was a shake shack, but eventually became the local hangout it is today. Trendy places come and go, but “everyone ends up here,” says one patron who lives nearby. The chef does wonders with a range of food, from salads to sushi.

Also popular among locals and visitors alike is the White Hart restaurant at the Interlaken Inn resort. The Interlaken welcomes trailer-boaters who wish to stay overnight in Connecticut’s northwest corner. The inn features plenty of waterfront and land-based amenities, such as a heated outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts and a lakeside beach and a dock with canoes and kayaks.