Hammonasset Beach State Park
Beach, boardwalk, campground, marsh, and the Meigs Point Nature Center make Connecticut’s largest shoreline park far more than a swimming stop.
Artwork inspired by Fidelia Bridges
Hammonasset protects a long barrier-and-marsh landscape on Long Island Sound. The main beach areas handle crowds and swimming, while Meigs Point brings rocky shore, tidal habitat, birding, and interpretation into view. Walking between them clarifies how sand, marsh, and glacial stone produce different coastal experiences.
Summer parking fills and out-of-state vehicles pay seasonal fees, while Connecticut-registered vehicles receive state-park parking benefits. Choose the beach area before arrival, observe swimming flags and wildlife closures, and carry water outside peak facility hours. The campground and nature center follow separate reservations and schedules. Meigs Point adds rocky-shore habitat to the long sandy coast.
- Shoreline
- About two miles
- Water
- Long Island Sound
- Nature center
- Meigs Point
Quick guide
- Choose your coast
- Use the broad beach for swimming or Meigs Point for ecology.
- Read the tide
- Compare sandy shore, rock, marsh, and wrack lines.
Know before you go
- Pick an entrance
- The park’s long shape makes one parking area a poor base for everything.
- Check the flag
- Follow lifeguard, water-quality, and surf notices before swimming.
- Walk beyond sand
- Use marsh and point trails to find coastal structure.
- Respect closures
- Nesting and restoration areas can remove tempting shortcuts.
Good to know
Warm weather weekends can close entrances when lots reach capacity. The Sound is not the open Atlantic, but changing weather, jellyfish, water quality, and unguarded periods still require same-day judgment.
Notice these
- Boardwalk beach
- Meigs Point
- Salt marsh