Hammonasset Beach State Park | |
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Location | Madison, Connecticut, United States |
Coordinates | 41°15′54″N72°33′21″W / 41.26500°N 72.55583°W [1] |
Area | 936 acres (379 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 10 ft (3.0 m) [1] |
Designation | Connecticut state park |
Established | 1919 |
Administrator | Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection |
Website | Hammonasset Beach State Park |
Hammonasset Beach State Park is a public recreation area occupying two miles of beach front on Long Island Sound in the town of Madison, Connecticut. It is the state's largest shoreline park and one of the most popular attractions in the state, drawing an estimated one million visitors annually. [3] [4] The state park offers beach activities, large campground, and nature center. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The park began with the purchase of 499 acres in 1919. [5] The park drew over 75,000 visitors in 1920, its first year of operation, a figure that grew to nearly 450,000 by its fifth year of operation, 1924. [6] In 2013, Hammonasset accounted for over one-quarter of statewide park attendance and over one-third of the revenue generated statewide by the state park system. [7] Officials estimate annual attendance at one million visitors. [3]
The park closed during World War II when the site became a U.S. Army reservation and active aircraft firing range. In 1955, a stone breakwater was built at the Meigs Point end of the park. [3]
A new Meigs Point Nature Center was opened in 2016 to replace the center's original farmhouse site that had been in use for more than 40 years. The facility offers 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of exhibit space with observation deck and hands-on learning experiences. [8] Exhibits feature a touch tank and live turtles, snakes, amphibians, crabs and fish. [9]
The park offers bicycling, boating, fishing, hiking, picnicking, and swimming as well as a campground with 550 units. [3]
Chatfield Hollow State Park is a public recreation area occupying 412 acres (167 ha) that lie adjacent to Cockaponset State Forest in the town of Killingworth, Connecticut. The state park offers hiking trails, a swimming beach, trout fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and picnicking areas. Park attractions include 6.67-acre (2.70 ha) Schreeder Pond, Indian caves, historic sites, a restored water wheel, and a reproduction covered bridge. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Rocky Neck State Park is a public recreation area on Long Island Sound in the town of East Lyme, Connecticut, United States. The state park's 708 acres (287 ha) include a tidal river, a broad salt marsh, white sand beaches, rocky shores, and a large stone pavilion dating from the 1930s. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Lake Waramaug State Park is a 95-acre (38 ha) public recreation area located on the northwest shore of Lake Waramaug in the town of Kent, Litchfield County, Connecticut. The state park's first 75 acres (30 ha) were purchased by the state in 1920. The park offers swimming, fishing, picnicking, camping, and a launch for car-top boating and canoeing.
Black Rock State Park is a seasonal public recreation area adjoining Mattatuck State Forest in the town of Watertown, Connecticut. The state park covers 444 acres (180 ha) and is known for its large rock face, Black Rock, that offers views of Thomaston, Watertown, and portions of Waterbury. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Sherwood Island State Park is a public recreation area on the shore of Long Island Sound in the Greens Farms section of Westport, Connecticut. The state park offers swimming, fishing, and other activities on 238 acres (96 ha) of beach, wetlands, and woodlands. Sherwood Island is numbered as Connecticut's first state park because state purchase of land at the site began in 1914. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Devil's Hopyard State Park is a public recreation area located at the Eightmile River's Chapman Falls in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut. The 1,000-acre (400 ha) state park includes facilities for hiking, fishing, bicycling, picnicking, and camping. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Wharton Brook State Park is a public recreation area located off U.S. Route 5 in the towns of North Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut. Activities in the 96-acre (39 ha) state park center on Allen Brook Pond, a 5-acre (2.0 ha) pond that empties into Wharton Brook. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Machimoodus State Park is a public recreation area located on the Salmon River near the village of Moodus in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut. The state park is bordered by Sunrise State Park to the north and by the Salmon River and Salmon Cove to the west and south. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Beaver Brook State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area covering 401 acres (162 ha) in the towns of Windham and Chaplin, Connecticut. The state park encompasses Bibbins Pond, also known as Beaver Brook Pond, as well as the acreage northward as far as the Air Line State Park Trail, which forms the park's northern boundary. The park is a walk-in facility, open for hunting and trout fishing, managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Windsor Meadows State Park is a public recreation area on the west side of the Connecticut River in the town of Windsor, Connecticut. The state park occupies three largely undeveloped sections measuring 48, 19, and 88 acres located between railroad tracks and the river. Park activities include picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking, and biking.
Mount Bushnell State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area located south of Lake Waramaug in the New England town of Washington, Connecticut. The state park provides 214 acres (87 ha) for hiking. The park had its genesis in the state's purchase of 70 acres in 1916. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Wooster Mountain State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area located within the city limits of Danbury, Connecticut. The state park covers 444 acres (180 ha) and is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Farm River State Park is a privately operated, publicly owned recreation area on the western shore of the Farm River estuary in the town of East Haven, Connecticut. Public access to the 62-acre state park is limited and boating is restricted to those with passes obtained from Quinnipiac University, which manages the park for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Park activities include nature trail hiking, bird watching, and fishing.
Bluff Point State Park is a public recreation area and nature preserve on an undeveloped peninsula located between the Poquonnock River and Mumford Cove on Long Island Sound in the town of Groton, Connecticut. The state park's 806 acres (326 ha) encompass a barrier beach, steep cliffs, forested sections, and tidal wetlands; 778 acres (315 ha) are designated as a coastal reserve. Recreational opportunities include hiking, mountain biking, boating, saltwater fishing, and shell fishing. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Selden Neck State Park is a 607-acre (246 ha) island and public recreation area on the Connecticut River in the town of Lyme, Connecticut. Accessible only by boat, the state park has four areas for primitive, riverside camping. Hiking, fishing, and hunting are also available. The park was among the first parcels secured for park purposes by the state, with initial land purchases on the island made in 1917. It is managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Gardner Lake State Park is a public recreation area occupying 10 acres (4.0 ha) on the southern edge of Gardner Lake in the town of Salem, Connecticut. The state park offers opportunities for boating, fishing, and swimming and is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Salt Rock State Campground is a public recreation area that preserves one mile (1.6 km) of wooded riverfront along the Shetucket River in the town of Sprague, Connecticut. In 2001, the state purchased the 149-acre (60 ha) campground for US$750,000 from Dwight and Jean Lathrop, whose "sensitive stewardship" of the property as its previous owners was recognized in the press. The state park offers RV and tent camping sites, swimming pools, and river fishing. The state curtailed camping services in 2016, reinstating them in 2018.
Sunrise State Park is a public recreation area occupying the site of the former Sunrise Resort in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut. The state park encompasses 143 acres (58 ha) on the east shore of Salmon River and shares an entrance with Machimoodus State Park to the south. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Haddam Meadows State Park is a public recreation area occupying 175 acres (71 ha) on the west bank of the Connecticut River in the town of Haddam, Connecticut. The state park offers picnicking, fishing, and a boat launch. Park trails lend access to a diversity of riverside landscapes: marsh, beach, sand bar, fern growths, meadow lands, and hardwood forest. The park was established through the donation of land in 1944 by the Edward W. Hazen Foundation. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Dart Island State Park is a public recreation area comprising an undeveloped 19-acre (7.7 ha) sandbar island in the Connecticut River that is only accessible by boat. The island is within the corporate boundaries of the city of Middletown, Connecticut, its nearest neighbors being the Middletown Generating Station and Pratt and Whitney plant on the river's west bank. The island is wooded with "typical river trees like willow, poplar and red maple." It is managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which lists boating, fishing, and bird watching as activities for visitors.
Hammonasset, which accounts for roughly one-quarter to one-third of all paid [park] visitors in the state, generates over one-third of all park revenues...