Beautiful park. If no one is at the booth when you arrive, scan the QR code near parking and pay…read moreonline. Plenty of picnic tables are scattered around the park and a few charcoal grills. Lots of port-a-john near the beaches and a building closer to parking. No swimming was allowed at the beaches. Plenty of fishing though. Nice place to walk and look for shells. The mansion gardens are small and beautiful. Lots of colorful plants. Graceful collonade. Definitely a nice spot for photos. Lots of pollenators enjoying the gardens too. Pathways through the park are a mix of paved and gravel. Watch out for goose poop when crossing through the fields. Pets are welcome on a leash and be sure to pick up after them. State parks are "carry in, carry out" so there are no trash bins. Be sure to bring your own trash bag to dispose of your trash at home.

A beautiful seaside park that was surprisingly busy on breezy November weekend. We walked around a…read morefew of the gardens which I imagine will be even more impressive in the spring and summer.

A good spot to hang out and chill alone or accompanied. You can observe nature, bike, jog, walk or…read moreget in the water & do kayak, boating, swim or paddle board if you desire. It's a beautiful park. Check it out.

Beautiful hiking spot with easy to navigate trails and stunning ocean views. We were able to see…read moreFisher's Island, Long Island, and Groton. The port-a-potties were a nice amenity too. It was a little loud due to small airplanes taking off and landing at the nearby airport but it added a layer of intrigue. There are picnic tables and plenty of spots to sit along the water. Next time, I'll bring food and a book.

Not my cup of tea personally for a beach. Get here early enough it's peaceful and have better…read morechances in finding beach glass. Once the kids started showing up and screaming for no reason was where I made my decision. Looks like plenty to do though. There's a plentiful of volleyball nets. Looks like a play place as well.

I was a little disappointed this time around. This is usually my fave beach b/c of the white clean…read moresand,pool,& ocean. The ocean water was dirty & I've never seen that before @ this beach. Came on a Saturday so parking for non New London residence is $40. I was super bummed b/c the pool was closed. Worker said it was closed b/c it rained in the early morning. In the forecast there would not be rain after that & it didn't rain. I stood the whole day @ the beach. I tried getting in the water but it was dirty & freezing. It is always colder than lost beaches b/c it's off the Long Island Sound. I was not a happy camper especially after paying $40 to not really have a good time & couldn't even get a swim in.

Four stars because it was pretty and the old asylum was a sight to see. The parking area is…read moreneedlessly far away from the building, under some shady trees. There are actual paved spaces that must have once been parking sports (maybe one a low budget basketball court) that would bring you closer and prevent walking exposed to the boiling summer sun. I cannot speak to any actual walking trails, but the dogs that were playing seemed to be having a great time. The old building is gated off, understandable, but you can tell from the outside it was made in an older era where aesthetics meant something and it wasn't all about saving a penny.

The Seaside State Park is quite a unique place as it hosts the infamous and now abandoned Seaside…read moreSanatorium, a building that was commissioned in the 1930 when tuberculosis was a major affliction. One of the treatments for this disease was fresh air, so many of these sanatoriums were built around the coast and around lakes, copying a trend that had taken over European lands. Over time it was discovered that fresh air not only helped tuberculosis but all types of diseases, particularly mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. As tuberculosis became a controlled ailment, the Seaside became a host to more people with mental illnesses as well as the elderly. Supposedly, during this period of the Seaside as a psychiatric ward, many irregularities took place and the consequence resulted in patient's deaths. I have no proof of this but that is how the story goes. All this information is found on the Connecticut .org websites. Arriving to this "haunted" and "damned" place, as many publicize it, is a unique experience. I parked in a lot with an abandoned garden house next to it, making even the parking area spooky. The building sits at the distance, and some people jog around or walk their dogs. The peculiar feeling of being watched is pervasive though, even though there aren't many people around. I walked the garden, walked a covered bridge that is very spooky, touched a water well that has dried up, walked by the beach and over a wall that protects the shore from erosion. I stayed on the paved path as much as possible because I felt that a certain order needed to be followed, even if there are no signs that say "Keep off the grass". One lap around this property is more than enough. I started on the left, and exited on the right. Once I exited, I didn't look back because I felt that I was being watched from behind the boarded windows. I was not interested in seeing a ghost looking at me or waving goodbye from the broken glass window... Spooky as it may seem, this is a beautiful place, the building is gorgeous, the view is amazing. If you are looking for serenity, this is a good place for it. The views of the Connecticut coast are amazing as well. I was very happy to have visited this active site in Waterford. This place is also known as The Seaside Sanatorium.

This playground is perfect for kids of all ages, but I especially love that it's appropriate for my…read moretwo year old AND six year old. There's plenty of variety but I also feel that it's a safe environment for both kids to play without resorting to being a helicopter parent. It's also nice that there's the adjacent track, if one feels like taking a stroll or run. This is one of our favorite playgrounds!

Great park for children and it has plenty of various rides to keep the children moving. The park…read morealso includes a large field where I saw children playing soccer and baseball. There was also a walking trail where I need to be.

The distance from the parking lot to the dog park is too far. People don't pick up after their dogsread more

Only complaint is that there's not small stone gravel where all the dirt is! Dogs bring in a cup…read moreof dirt into the house afterwards, & car is a mess!

The most beautiful, relaxing walk I've had in quite some time. A perfect trail spot for pets, very…read morepet friendly. The homeowner of the house facing the parking lot was very kind while working in his front yard, the whole area was a great experience.

I had a pretty decent experience at this park, but the weather was a factor in perhaps a lower…read morereview than it could be. This park is located off of a residential neighborhood in Groton, close to the coast and with hiking and cycling trails. One of the issues with this park is that none of the trails are really blazed, so although there's a trail map, there are a lot of deer paths and twisty trails that make navigation difficult. Rain makes this a little more tricky. We were there to see the Canopy Rock, which is a historical landmark, the site of a religious revival. Sadly, the rock is covered in graffiti, which was really disappointing. I plan on coming back to give this park another chance, because what we saw was interesting, but the rain really forced us to cut our visit short.

This place is such a little treasure. This place is so well-maintained. It's stunning. There are so…read moremany different types of trees here and they are labeled so you can get an idea of what type of trees that you're looking at. There are several loops in this place that you can loop around different sections. The main loop is around the pond but there's other shoots so you can spend a couple hours here just wandering around checking out the different things. The trails are well maintained. You may get turned around a little only because there are so many loops but just keep your eye on the pond and you won't get lost. I recommend thisplace. It's very easy walk. My friend and I walked around for about an hour and a half half or so just taking in all of the scenery. We definitely plan to come back here in May or June when the mountain is at its peak because there is so much mountain Laurel here. I think that will be stunning at this time of year. I also want to come back in September October to watch the colors of the leaves change. The parking is off street parking. There are signs for two hour parking. I did not see any charged parking, but it looks like you can park on both sides of the roads up and down the street.

What a hidden gem! Wanted to take a walk along the water on a summer weekend day but finding a good…read morespot that allowed for social distancing was a challenge. Although the arboretum is not on the the sound, this place was perfect. Very quiet and incredibly expansive. I didn't do tons of exploring in here but it looks like there are plenty of paths to walk! The paths aren't paved but to be expected in this environment - very natural wooded area. If walking isn't what you are looking for there is space to spread out and have a picnic (no tables) overlooking some small ponds. This place is easily accessed from a Williams Street. Many of the addresses online have you enter through the gates on Monhegan Ave, you won't be able to access the arboretum here. Had to up on theto drive back out to the main road and drive to the other side of campus where you can access the arboretum. Easily found free 2-hour street parking. Not sure how easy it would be during the academic year but it wasn't an issue when I went but spots had definitely filled in by the time I got back to the car. Looking forward to coming back and this time more prepared to fully experience this wonderful spot!

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.