Hammonasset Beach State Park

The Largest Shoreline Park In Connecticut, With Two Miles Of Long Island Sound Beach, A 550 Site Campground And The Meigs Point Nature Center; The Most Visited State Park In The State · Madison, Connecticut

Hammonasset is two miles of Long Island Sound beach on a low peninsula at Madison, and at around 900 acres it is the largest shoreline park in Connecticut and the most visited park in the state system. The beach itself is the draw for most of the two million-odd annual visitors, along with a 550-site campground that books out for the summer within hours of reservations opening. The more interesting half is at the east end: Meigs Point, a rocky headland with a nature centre, salt marsh and a mile of trail, which is one of the best birding sites on the Connecticut coast - the peninsula funnels migrants and the marsh holds waders that are hard to find elsewhere in the state. Out of season the parking is free and the place is close to empty, which is when it is at its best. September is the answer almost nobody gives: the water is at its warmest, the crowds have gone with the school year and the parking charge is easing off. In July and August the lots fill by mid-morning and the park closes to further vehicles.

1288 Boston Post Road, Madison, Madison, Connecticut, 06443, United States

Open all year from 8am to sunset. PARKING CHARGES ARE SEASONAL, applying roughly from late spring to early autumn and on weekends either side, with different rates for out-of-state vehicles - outside that season the park is free to enter. Lifeguards are on duty only in the summer season. The campground runs roughly late May to September. The Meigs Point Nature Center keeps its own reduced hours and closes on some weekdays.

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