Looking for a place to spend some quiet time, especially by the water? The beaches in Connecticut are the perfect place for swimming, sunbathing, and enjoying a picnic under the beautiful sun, each offering you a calm escape from the busy city life with its calm waves and soft sand. If you are already planning a beach trip this season, these beaches are some of the places you should be looking at to get a real feeling of what it feels like from your past beach visit.
Best Beaches in Connecticut
1. Hammonasset Beach State Park
2. Ocean Beach Park
3. Sherwood Island State Park
4. Silver Sands State Park
5. Rocky Neck State Park
5 Best Beaches in Connecticut
1. Hammonasset Beach State Park
If you want to spend some quality time on the beach, this state park beach is where you should go with friends and family for picnicking. The Connecticut beach is nicely maintained, beautifully huge, and clean, with plenty of camping and picnic areas. The Beach area is right across from the nature center on Meg’s Point. This is a gorgeous beach with multiple beach access points. The park has a massive campground in the inner part of the park with dozens of marsh ponds with osprey nests and abundant wildlife everywhere. There are also working paths throughout the interior of the park with plenty of picnicking areas and many scattered pavilions.
The beach sand is beautiful with plenty of shells to be picked by the children, plus the fairly shallow water with waves. The beach has plenty of restrooms with large covered pavilions. Visitors can also work on the trail along the beach, which goes to a height where the view of the beach is nice. There are plenty of parking spaces with multiple lots available, plus there is a shuttle service offered for the campers. The camp staff are awesome, plus a live guard on standby. This is a beautiful place to go for swimming, walking, shell collecting, sunbathing, rock climbing, and crabbing.
The best time to visit is during the summer, as it is usually less crowded. It is important to note that dogs are not allowed on the beach. They must be leashed at all times, too. There is a cute Museum in the park, which is an added attraction for any age people of. There are plenty of places to eat right on the beach, from street food to American seafood to Italian. A lot of people prefer East Beach to the west because it is less chaotic. This beach appears to be one of the most maintained and overall best in Connecticut. Make sure to bring your bike because the whole vibe here is kids and family-friendly.
Location: 1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison, CT 06443, United States
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 8 AM – 6:30 PM
Price: $24 – $48
2. Ocean Beach Park
If you don’t enjoy the crowd, this is the beach to visit mostly during the off-season, as it is very quiet and serene. This place is an excellent place to make reservations for any kind of event, celebration, or gathering. The water is super clean, either by the cove or in the open, with very small waves, perfect for kids of all ages. Alewife Cove nature trail is nice, and the water is shallow. The beach has a great boardwalk, perfect for watching the sunrise or sunset, plus it is a lovely little wetland habitat to explore and marvel in with the kids or alone.
Ocean Beach is much cleaner and with fewer rocky shells than other Connecticut beaches. The beach has a variety of seashells, nice water with a beautiful view of ferry traffic, and if you are lucky enough, you will see a submarine coming back to the port, which is a rare sight on any other CT beaches. Furthermore, there are plenty of lifeguards on standby, guiding swimmers from going offshore. The Beach restrooms are super clean and well-maintained for a public beach. Also, the beach has a small amusement park with water slides and carnival rides, which are quite dated but well-maintained enough for people to ride.
There is a small inlet that is suitable for smaller children to swim and catch hermit crabs. There are other rides, a pool, water slides, and an arcade that attract additional fees. There are plenty of things to do here – swimming, fishing, playing in the sand, making castles, volleyball games, nature and broad walking, splash pad, and pool too. Kids can bring their nets and buckets for crabbing or clamming. Note that this beach is not dog-friendly.
Summer is the best time to visit because there are usually a lot of fun things to do, like car shows on Monday and free line dancing on Thursday with plenty of Live music. Few restaurants are selling nicely made meals and snacks, plus an upstairs bar. There is also nightly entertainment here. To sum it up, this beach has a lot of things to offer its visitors.
Location: 98 Neptune Ave, New London, CT 06320, United States
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 8 AM – 10 PM
Price: $20 – $50
3. Sherwood Island State Park
If you live in NY but want to bring your family to a nice beach without the fighting, cursing, and littering associated with some of today’s youths, then it’s more than worth the hour drive to come to Sherwood Island Beach in Westport, CT. This is a very pleasant place to be with family and friends, either for a social gathering or fishing.
The park is nicely maintained, including a 9/11 living memorial, lots of green areas, BBQ places, a good beach, and some restrooms. The beach horizon is wide, the ocean view is peaceful, and there are clear signs to separate fishing and swimming areas. The 9/11 Living Memorial here is more than stone and inscription. It’s a space of reflection, framed by trees and facing the Manhattan skyline, where the twin towers once stood. On that tragic day, smoke from the World Trade Center was visible from this very spot. Now, the memorial honors the 161 souls with ties to Connecticut who were lost, and the thousands more whose lives were forever changed.
Parking is free for CT-registered cars. For others, there is a fee. There are some signs scattered in the park where you can pay with your phone using a QR code. It’s not obvious at the entrance. Don’t buy the parking pass in advance in case of no parking. But, do bring a pen and paper to write down your permit number to put it in the dashboard. Not sure, this is necessary, but better safe than sorry. This beach has food with a limited menu, a large bathhouse with toilets, dressing rooms, and outdoor showers for rinsing off, a nature center, and a model airplane area. There are also places to walk the coastal marshes. There’s a clubhouse & designated parking area for the members. No alcohol, smoking, or pets. There’s no visitor center, souvenir shop, or food store inside.
This Park is very clean, has Rangers patrolling the parking lot routinely, and offers the most peaceful atmosphere one could ask for in the summer. People here are very friendly and like to wave, so wave back and enjoy. The beach is very clean; however, be sure to bring water shoes for the little ones, as the shells can be sharp on the sand. This is one of the best beaches around, and for all that it has to offer, you won’t mind sitting in traffic. Sherwood Island Beach is where you let the wind carry your thoughts. It’s a place that invites you to pause, remember, and feel.
Location: Sherwood Island Connector, Westport, CT 06880, United States
Price: $40+
Opening Hours: 8 AM – Sunset
4. Silver Sands State Park
This beach is very pretty and well-kept in terms of cleanliness. Although not a big beach, they had multiple lifeguard towers (all occupied) and individuals actively checking on the safety of visitors inside the water. Beautiful place for pictures as various groups are taking professional shots. The tides come in and out 2x per day, which opens up a path to the nearby Charles Island. Low tide in the evening allows you to walk out and take these amazing shots of the sunset. The water is great, and the life guard presence is an added benefit.
The beach has a great little outdoor restaurant available with different food options. There is abundant parking, and the upkeep of the grounds is great. The park employee at the entrance always tells everyone that weed and excessively loud music are prohibited, which a lot of visitors appreciate. There is something a lot of people do appreciate about this beach, and that is free parking access for CT residents, while out-of-state plates have to pay for the parking. There is a little bit of a walk along the boardwalk to get to the beaches.
Bathrooms here are cleaner than most beach bathrooms, and they also have portable toilets in the parking area. You need water shoes because it’s full of shells, and it will feel hard on your feet. The initial boardwalk is a bit lengthy without any benches, but once you get down to the sand, there are definitely benches along the way. A lot of people prefer visiting during the wintertime in April so they can easily get in without paying.
The cafe at the beach is really cute but understaffed, so be prepared to wait for a bit on a busy day. The food is probably worth it, though (people didn’t mind waiting in queues). Suggestion for cafe: separate lines for ice-cream/beverages and food. If you’re looking to spend the day on the beach, swimming, picnicking, taking pictures, enjoying a romantic walk, taking in the phenomenal sunset, or even taking a walk on the sandbar at low tide that connects to the famous Charles Island, you are definitely in for some fun, no matter what.
Location: 1 Silver Sands Pkwy, Milford, CT 06460, United States
Price: $40
Opening Hours: 8 AM – Sunset
5. Rocky Neck State Park
The beach is very gorgeous with subtle waves, making it a perfect destination for people with families. It’s the ideal getaway to create unforgettable memories with friends, solo, or with family. The beach sand is soft, a bit rocky when you get in the water but all the same, it’s a wonderful experience. There is a boardwalk that’s parallel to the shore that makes it easier to walk further down the beach. During the beach peak season, they usually have a concession stand for convenience.
There is also a large pavilion for gatherings on the West side of the property. There is also an observation deck with a coin-operated binocular viewer. The East Beach has a shallower area. The beach is a short distance from the campsite. The campsites are plentiful and spacious, even though it can get noisy on some days due to the road and proximity of other campsites. This beach is dog-friendly but only at the picnic area; they are not allowed on the beach. The public restrooms in the middle of all campsites have running showers and toilets. Garbage and recycling bins can be located in the parking lots, as well as portable water. Each site at the beach has a fire pit and accessible showers.
There are plenty of fun activities to do, from bird watching to crabbing, building sand castles, fishing, and swimming, just to mention a few. The beach staff are very informative and helpful, helping visitors with a map and the location of the concession area. If you love to soak yourself in the sun, play games, or enjoy your picnic by the shore, this beach is the place you need to be.
Location: 244 W Main St, Niantic, CT 06357, United States
Price: $30 – $50
Opening Hours: 8 AM – 8 PM
CONCLUSION
It doesn’t matter the kind of beach you choose; Connecticut has a perfect match with your kind of vibe. Each beach has its own atmosphere and beauty. Whether you are visiting for a long or short trip, these beaches are worth every moment.
