Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market

Awful for dealers/​sellers. Went with a team and 2 trucks FULL of merchandise. I’m a seasoned dealer with a well established business and 10,000 customers from 25 years of experience.
For years I’ve ignored requests to set up shop on Sunday’s at ET as another sales channel. Finally I caved. We set up the Sunday before Father’s Day and again on Fathers Day. I spent $ 100 on 2 spaces, $ 45 on gas and $ 100 on staffing. Let’s say $ 250 each day for a total of $ 500 in expenses. I packed $ 7 – 10,000 worth of merchandise. I cleared $ 350 TOTAL on both days.
The people who work there are out of the twilight zone. Awful. The preferential treatment for those who buy seasonal dealer passes, awful. The bathrooms, toxic. The grounds, average. The customers are garage sale savvy. The dealers on the other side seemed to attract a different crowd? Avoid. Pay the permit price in your local town and have a garage sale. You’ll do FAR better without the expense and headaches. If your a buyer, walk in at 1pm (where everything is basically marked like junk) and get a deal without the traffic. Avoid the staff. Never going back as a dealer or buyer. There is an indoor market down the block that looks FAR more appealing.

This is the holy grail of flea markets, people. If you’re in the area on a Sunday, definitely stop by. However, I would only recommend visiting if the weather is nice. When it is raining/​overcast, a lot of the dealers skip out, leaving only a few booths to browse. I recommend getting here extremely early. My mom and I usually arrive at 6 am to get in line. Trust me, it’s worth it. The good stuff goes fast. Admission is super cheap. I believe it’s $ 2 per person. Make sure you stop at an ATM beforehand, as you pay for everything here with cash. I never walk out empty-​handed and I’ve never felt robbed either. I recently scored a great Torino mid-​century silver lamp for $ 200 only to find it for $ 2,500 on 1stdibs. If you’re into clothing and jewelry, this is the place to go. There’s one woman that has racks of designer clothing (Etro dresses, Cavalli shirts) and boxes of upscale designer shoes (several Ralph Lauren purple label heels). I scored an authentic Chanel Boutique jacket for $ 50, a vintage Gucci bag for $ 20 and a $ 5 The Row pencil skirt. There’s also several dealers who put out piles of vintage jewelry and charge $ 1-​$ 2 per piece. Make sure you take the time and go through these piles. I pulled out a vintage authentic Hermes leather bracelet and paid $ 1.50 for it. When you’re done shopping or just need a break, head to the fried dough truck. It’s the best fried dough I’ve ever had in my life, but be careful. The powdered sugar gets everywhere. It can be cold and chilly here in the morning, so I suggest wearing a hoodie/​quarter zip over something light.

My new favorite flea market in NE region. We went for maiden voyage on a grey almost rainy day, but found sunshine in the quality and variety of vintage merchandise, charming vendors (Rebecca — vintage jewelry and David — Scandinavian décor) and great eats (you must have the mini donuts!). Overall great vibe and good prices. I can’t wait to go back when it is full swing. I will definitely bring my cart next time!

This used to be one of the best flea markets in New England but it went down hill fast. Employees are lazy and they treat vendors like garbage. I went there on the first nice weather Sunday of the year. I waited over 2 hours to get in and setup only to be told that they were full and then had customers block us in so it took another 45 minutes to get out. The employees that were much more content standing around doing nothing and didn’t think to take a head count to see if we could fit. I was one of at least 100 vendors that waited hours just to be turned away. It’s not like the last few people that came late didn’t make it or just a few people at the end of the line. it was at least 100 vendors. Its not a new flea market, they should know better. If they actually counted the vendors, I would have had enough time to go somewhere else. They didn’t even offer a discount or a free space next time. Just free admission. saving $ 2 on admission with $ 1,000 worth of stuff sitting in the back of my truck in the parking lit is not an option and it was insulting that they didn’t even apologize. Some people drive 3 hours to get there at 4:30 to set up. They didn’t care at all. They have gotten to big and to powerful. It’s no longer a friendly environment. So if you are a vendor, don’t waste your time. $ 50 for a space is really expensive, especially if I have to basically get there at 3:00am and wait 3 hours to possibly get in. It’s also one of the few flea markets that vendors can charge retail store prices but its a very long day and for that money and time you spend, you only get a handful of porter potties. I will never go back there and I will never suggest that place to anyone ever again. If you like to shop at flea markets and have respect for the hard working vendors, don’t go there. Don’t support that place. There’s other places to go.

This is a great place. I love to go here with my whole family. The only thing that bothers me is that they charge a two dollar admission. They should get rid of the admission fee. But I’m probably only saying that because I remember when it used to be free.

Have been going here ever since I was a kid and every 2 years I go I’m very happy I went

My mom and I spent the day here recently and had a blast. Varied merchandise (old, new, antique, fun junk, food, etc) and lots of good deals. We will definitely be back.

It was ok, I would rather go to Stormville flea market.

This place is a total throw back trip!
I came here about 20 yrs ago and back again a few times in between.
From the campy collector of random things to the highly knowledgable antique dealer to the Chinatown mass produced retail it’s all here!
This place sold Shabby Chic before it had a name. Deal seekers for the latest trendiest recycled & upcycled furniture. Vintage jewelry, WWII memorabilia, live plants, watches, records, art, furniture, artisans & every kind of collectable can be found here.
TAKE NOTE:
*Early Buyers: $ 20 per person from 5:45 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
*Public admission: $ 2.00 per person from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Vendors set up from like 4 – 6 & serious buyers whip through early 5:45 — 7:00.
So even though the hours are from 7 – 2:00
This place starts to wrap it up around 12:30
Ample parking, port o potties, food vendors too.

We learned about this place from a TV show and took the long pretty drive out there yesterday.
Admission is just a measly $ 2, and for your dough you get access to one of the biggest flea markets you will see this side of Brimfield. There’s a lot to love here –from the ton of parking, to the drop dead gorgeous scenery, to the dozens of food trucks, to the close to 500 dealer tables. It really is a terrific place.
I can’t even begin to tell you what I saw for sale — clothes, furniture, license plates, toys, music, tools, collectibles of every description –the selection is staggering.
We had a blast just walking the aisles and taking everything in. I picked up a few music CDs for a buck apiece. We enjoyed every minute of our stay, and I bet you will too.

I live near NYC and frequent the Elephant’s Trunk on trips home to Danbury when I need some antique furniture or household items. I always come home with great finds at a fraction of the price of comparable items from the Brooklyn Flea or thrift shops. And as others mention, a total trip for people watchers and treasure hunters.

I gave 4 stars not 5 only because vendors start packing around 1:00 PM afternoon, way to early. Admission is open until 2:00 PM and I believe market closes at 5:00 PM., so make sure you arrive before that. Otherwise great selection of merchandize. Vendors are nice, can bargain easily. A lot of vintage wares. $ 2.00 admissions fees well worth. Check out lemonade stand, make from fresh lemon juice. Need to wear old comfortable shoes, they get dusty. Dogs not aloud, if you bring dog, can not leave in a car either, they will ask you to remove car from parking lot. Make sure you bring cash, no ATM’s.

There’s so much to look at here. We were there for well over an hour & barely looked at a quarter of the offerings. Either way we went home with some stuff & got our $ 2 admissions fees worth.
If you’re a treasure hunter (or people watcher) this is a definite must. Plenty of vintage wares & crap you’d expect from a regular flea market. Vendors vary & are a bit diverse. You can buy plants, cookies, dog treats, Nazi memorabilia & antiques all in a field. Wear comfortable shoes!
I was so let down by the food vendors. The waits were kinda crazy & the options were a huge letdown. And expect to use a Porto-​Potty if you need to use the facilities.
It’s a bit chaotic but I went on opening weekend. You’ll know you’re almost there when you see cars parked on the side of the road & people walking everywhere on Rt. 7. I paid $ 5 to park at the Hubcap place which made life easy for me. I don’t know if I’d go weekly if I was local but I’d probably go again but would skip summer there.

The trunk needs a ATM machine!!! We go to the trunk every Sunday and we are sellers so we buy a lot but if we run out of the money we have we have to leave the Elephant Trunk and drive a few miles to find an ATM. The guy who runs it could care less and he is not a very nice person. He doesnt care if you have to leave and come back and try and find another parking spot. Lots of people come from afar and an ATM would sure help. Manager says its too dangerous? Who is he kidding? There is so much he can do to improve the Trunk like seating all over the place instead of one spot, renting carts, putting the food trucks in a shady place. He is just interested in what goes in his pocket. Smarten up. We buyers are what keeps this place alive.

I love visiting this flea market. There are always lots of vendors and lots of variety. I could spend hours shopping here. I recommend getting here early as things wind down around noon. Make sure to go to the restroom before leaving home and to wear shoes that you do not mind getting muddy. This place is so great that I even saw a HGTV show being filmed here one day. Sometimes excellent food trucks come. The Taco truck is the best.

Yeah, I am going to go out on a limb and give this place Five Stars. It is a fun experience both as a participant and as a visitor. One day we saw Flea Market Finds being filmed there — I think the host is Laura Flynn? Or maybe she was there from Entertainment Tonight filming them. They picked up the junkiest piece from a guy who had just cleaned out a house and filled a Penske truck with all the crap from it. Upon unloading at the Flea Market, the stuff was strewn about haphazardly and it literally was crap. Mr. Penske talked these Flea Market Finds hipsters into buying the «wonderful antiques» he had and they were beyond delighted.
There is always something interesting going on here. One day a lady came to my booth who had stolen from me at another location about an hour away and I called her out on it. She started screaming like someone out a psych ward. Believe me, there is always some sort of interesting interaction to participate in or witness.
Overall, you meet enjoyable characters, see interesting items and when combined with some other Litchfield County activity, like Kent Falls, wine tasting or going to Community Table in Washington, it can be the start of a great Sunday adventure.

This is a great flea market. I’ve been going for 18 years now, since I was a kid. It’s very large and starts first thing in the morning (vendors get there at the crack of dawn when it’s still dark). Generally it starts to wind down around noon or so. There’s definitely a lot of junk as with any flea market but one man’s trash is another’s treasure. I always find great vinyl records there and sellers are usually always willing to haggle. There really is a little bit of everything, including a huge selection of fresh flowers and potted plants. There are definitely more food trucks than there used to be. There’s the traditional ones selling fried dough, breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, fries, etc. And last time I was there I noticed new ones like a Korean BBQ truck. All in all it’s a great place to browse on a Sunday morning.

I was told it’s not what it used to be and I guess they were right. This was my first visit to this market.
Found a good number of interesting things but it seemed the dealers are used to retail shops, caused it was really hard to get some to work with you on their prices. All of the items I liked at 7:30 am. were still there at noon, and at the same «no haggle» price. (seriously, my wife and I were shocked to see ALL the same pieces still there)
I did buy a good bit of smaller things, but to leave such a popular market disappointed, with a pocket full of money, was kind of a bummer.
On the bright side, we did good at a few yard sales on the way back to the highway.
Maybe if I give it some time before going back, the effects of the TV shows will wear off and the dealers will get their heads out of… um…the clouds!
If you go, at least grab one of those grilled hot dogs. Yum!

I learned about this Flea Market because I am an avid HGTV watcher; it’s just about the only channel that is ever on my television. Flea Market Flip is a great show and they start off, most of the time, buying their «trash» pieces at the Elephant Trunk Flea Market and then turning them into «treasure» by refurbishing them.
I was expecting a bit more and my experience yesterday has everything to do with the weather. My friend and I were anxiously awaiting this past Sunday to arrive as it was the day we picked to make the 2 ½ hour trek from Providence to New Milford, CT. We were checking the weather consistently until we left for our excursion and it kept saying «30% chance of showers» in the New Milford area. We weren’t afraid of a little rain or a passing shower.
Low and behold, as soon as we hit a certain point on 1 – 84, it just started down pouring. We stopped at a gas station around 9 a.m. to use the ladies room and were told by the gas station attendant that it had been raining since 6 a.m., but was supposed to clear up.
We arrived the flea and were able to find decent parking. It cost us $ 2 per person to enter. Just about the entire hour and a half that we were there, it rained the whole time. It was really quite miserable and a whole huge big section of the land was vacant because vendors made the right decision to stay home, however; that having been said… there were still a decent number of vendors there… I’d say that the land was about ¹⁄₃ full.
I could very easily see the potential for this being a fabulous flea market, if the sun were shining. I saw lots of unique and one of a kid pieces, lot of antiques and a fair share of junk. We both left pretty much empty handed, with the exception of a spoon ring that was made on the spot by this nice man, Keith.
I will most definitely come back here again, but you bet your lil’ bum that the weather is going to say «SUN SUN SUN» the entire day.

Been going since 1989.
One of the best outdoor fleas left on the East Coast.
Half the antiques I own were purchased at the Trunk.