A beautiful free quiet preserve along the inlet allows for gentle relaxing walking trails, and you…read morecan bring your dog. It's an 18 acre natural meadow that can be explored. This acreage overlooks the Indian River, marsh and Long Island Sound in the distance. It's a quaint little gem lots of parking, adjacent to the also free McCuster Landing, a small boat dock and cupola called McCusker Landing.

Enjoyable flat easy walk along the stunning coast line. It was a warm day with no shade so be…read moreprepared depending on weather. Plenty of benches to take a break. The train rail running parallel with the boardwalk was fun as they went by.

A pop up shower shortened my visit, but otherwise it was an enjoyable experience. Some nice views,…read morealthough parking can be a little difficult. Overall a nice way to spend some time during the summer.

A playground near the beach with grass areas and trees, I mean what more could a kid ask for! There…read moreare multiple play areas for varying age groups. The park is in good condition, all new rubber mats along the bottom and trees surround the park so it's a beautiful spot to picnic that overlooks the water. During fall months there was no fee, I'm sure the summer it is packed here due to the beach. But if you have kids this is a fantastic place to spend a a few hours.

Fantastic beach! It's not huge, but it's still a decent size. Brought my 4 yr old here on a Sunday…read moreand had a great time! We arrived about 10:30 and there was plenty of space. The nice guy in parking told us it was $30 to park for nonresidents (assume that's both parking and pass, though not sure), but free parking was available a short distance up the road and entry fee would be just $10. We went with that even though it meant I would be carrying everything to the beach. The parking was really not far... maybe one wide city block. It's literally across the playground (which you can't cut to since it's part of the park and fenced in). Then you go down the hill which is all sidewalk (good when you have kiddos), and down to the paid parking and beach. Once you arrive to the parking, you go to the restroom building on the left and there's a sign that says "passes" on the right side. Go there to pay the $10 pass. There were some rules I wasn't aware of, so some tips: umbrellas need to be behind the cones. I believe the life guard said it was to keep the incoming tide from washing it out? The tide did come up a little during the day we were there. Also, no boogie boards allowed anywhere at the beaches with life guards. What I didn't know, was it was allowed at the private beach strip between the two public beaches. There are houses overlooking the private beach area, but everyone seems to use it or at least walk it to get from one public beach to the other. I'm sure if someone really didn't want you hanging out there, they'd tell you, but we seemed to be allowed. We also were just 2 people and not a party hanging out, so that probably helps. The water was warmish in the shallow waves but cooler once in. Water is pretty clear and some areas had more seaweed than others, but not bad. There are a ton of boat type shells and not much of others. The sand and waters are full of nice pebbles, stones, and larger stones. There is also a floating raft a short distance out (of both public beach areas) that you can swim to, although we did not since my daughter still doesn't swim well. The beach gets busy after noon, but it wasn't too bad. There are a couple outdoor showers by the bathrooms that worked really well. We didn't use the bathrooms so not sure how they were. I don't know if there's a concession stand; I didn't see one. But there was an ice cream truck that came by at the main beach. A nice playground is up the hill a little bit from the beach that we were going to visit, but decided to keep moving and go home. I'd definitely come here again. For $10 and a little hassle of carrying your things a short distance, it's a really pretty and clean beach, with nice views of sailboats on the water. The waves are gentle too, so it's good for little ones. Still watch them though bc as the day went on, the waves got a little bigger and has a good pull for small kiddos.

I really like this beach. It's cool for kids, has bathrooms, outdoor shower, and changing rooms…read more Plenty of parking, lifeguards, and even a food truck. The tide goes out really far, and leaves plenty of things to explore such as tide pools, and long sand bars that go out again very far. It does cost money to get in, but I think it's free after like 6pm. Only thing I wasn't a fan of is the swimming area. There are big patches of grasses growing right where you'd swim during high tide, and it makes the swimming area very small, and a few big rocks that should be moved and are dangerous. Very clean beach. Haven't seen really any trash or plastic. There are crabs to catch, and shells to find. They even let us drop off for free. It is considered one of the best beaches in Ct.

4 stars, nice (for ct!)…read more thats the way it is these days, when you summer in RI, you expect certain things, harvey beach is very different than what i typically experience. the flats! this is one of the neatest part of the beach, low tide you can walk out into the bay real far out, its surreal! high tide has a lot of grassy areas, again, kinda weird to me for a beach, but its still nice sand and clean water. there is also a lobster truck in the lot and bathrooms too. 15$ to park, which stung, but way better than say 16$! cost of doing business, this is a public beach, so if you can walk, save the moneys. sandy (danny?)

To see the…read more sea The town of Clinton Connecticut has lots of great places to kayak and canoe but unfortunately it doesn't have many good places to launch a yak or other type of small boat. Most of the coast line is private and finding a place to park a car or truck is problematic. Some cool rivers and of course Long Island Sound is right there but you just can't get to it. Fortunately the town realized that the number of people yaking is growing every year and decided to do something about the problem by building a launching area for yaks, canoes and other small craft. It was completed this summer and It's located off of Main Street right on the Indian River. From the Indian River you can go north up the small river or south down into Long Island Sound. Either way is pretty cool but if you go north make sure you judge the tide right or you might end up carrying carry your yak in places. I usually save going up river until the winter or late fall when all the horrid flies are gone. Going south into the sound gives you miles of great yaking. You can go west to Hammonasset Beach, east to Duck Island or if you have the time and energy even cross the sound and go over to Long Island, New York. A long trip but fun in the proper weather conditions. The ramp itself is more of dock which makes launching a bit tricky for novices. I have seen many people go over trying to get in their yaks from the higher dock. Seems a simply ramp would have been a better choice for a small boat. Still, it's not really difficult with a little practice. One of the best things about the launch site is the location. It's right behind the town hall which means there is always plenty of parking and it's a safe place to leave your vehicle. So many parking areas for boating are prime targets for degenerates, perverts and thieves. The launch area has beautiful views of the Indian River and has a little gazebo for people to relax and enjoy the scenery even if they don't want to actually go on the river. A great idea to give people access to the wonderful water that Clinton has. Hopefully this site is just the first of many more.

The Riverquest previously operated by Captain Mark & his side kick Mindy is now operated by the…read moreConnecticut River Museum in Essex CT. But have no fear, the operation is run flawlessly by professionals that love what they do & it shows. We have been enjoying the Connecticut river journeys on the Riverquest for several years now & learn something new every trip. Any cruise is a fun outing but we give high marks to the Old Saybrook lighthouse cruise & the Swallow migration cruises offered late summer, early fall. Several cruises do have tables set up where you can bring food & libations on board for a DIY onboard picnic while you cast a keen eye for vultures, osprey, eagles, cormorants & other water fowl, nesting hunting & feeding on the river. The scenery is wonderful. The ship is comfortable. 5 well earned stars.

My wife, a friend, and I partook the sunset cruise. It was a more personalized experience because…read moreit was small. We went on a steamboat ride and it felt like a ferry ride, crowded and loud. We were only 18 people in the riverboat so each group had our own table where we brought our own food. They provided binoculars for us to see things. We saw bald eagles, swallows, egrets, swan, etc. The crew was really knowledgeable. He taught us why the mute swan is an invasive species and how they damage the ecosystem. The ride was quite smooth and the breeze at the end of the day was really soothing. We didn't see the sunset unfortunately. The neighborhood in the area is very quaint and cute. People are extremely nice when compared to NYC. They say hi all the time. There is parking nearby but you had to pay attention to the signs. I didn't so I had to look further which I didn't revert because we got to explore the neighborhood.

Essex Park aka Essex Town Green is located on a popular street in Essex. It has river views, a…read morelawn, benches, and a gazebo. Public parking can be found nearby and on street. We were strolling around and found this park. Since it was winter, it was covered in snow. I'm sure once the weather gets warmer, this place is even nicer. The views of the river was so lovely; a great spot to picnic. It's worth a stop if you're in the area.

great place to hit before going out to fish. very knowledgeable staff and super friendly. Fully…read morestocked and knows the local water