What to See and Do
When the kids ask, “What are we going to do today?” you'll have no shortage of answers when you vacation along the Connecticut shore. Whether you're an active or an inquisitive bunch, in search of simple pleasures or seeking unforgettable experiences, here are some of the best amusements and attractions southern Connecticut has to offer.
Aquariums and Zoos
With two aquariums and a zoo, the Connecticut shore is a great destination for animal lovers of all ages. These fine educational facilities offer interactive learning experiences and opportunities to appreciate the diversity of creatures that share our planet.
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport
203-394-6565
Whether you spend an hour or an entire day at Connecticut's only zoo, you'll be charmed by the antics of playful prairie dogs and the majesty of birds that soar within the free-flight aviary and gain an appreciation for the challenges faced by endangered and threatened species. A carousel and farmyard appeal to the littlest visitors. Challenge older children by printing a scavenger hunt from the zoo's Web site before you go.
The Maritime Aquarium
10 North Water Street, Norwalk
203-852-0700
From IMAX movies shown on a giant screen to daily harbor seal feedings, there are plenty of activities to enthrall young visitors at Norwalk's aquarium. The focus here is on the unique ecosystem of Long Island Sound, and exhibits provide a peek under the surface at the variety of life sustained by this sheltered sea inlet.
Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration
55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic
860-572-5955
Mystic Aquarium is not only a refuge for an amazing variety of marine creatures, it is home to the Institute for Exploration, an extraordinary oceanic research organization founded and led by Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the
Beaches
Because it is shallow and sheltered from the open sea by the largest island in the continental United States, Long Island Sound tends to be relatively warm and calm. As a result, these beaches are ideal for tots to build their first sandcastles and dip their toes in the waves. Here are the state's largest and most popular public beaches.
Hammonasset Beach State Park
1288 Boston Post Road, Madison
203-245-2785
The two-mile stretch of sand within this 919-acre state park is Connecticut's largest beach. Admission is charged by the car, with higher rates assessed on weekends and for out-of-state vehicles. In the off-season, the park is free to all visitors, and it is still an inviting place for a stroll along the boardwalk. During the summer months, the Meigs Point Nature Center offers a variety of programs and hands-on activities for children.
Lighthouse Point Park
2 Lighthouse Point Road, New Haven
203-946-8019
With its octagonal lighthouse, antique carousel, Splashpad fountains, and lifeguard-protected beach, New Haven's oceanfront park appeals to families. Nonresidents pay a parking fee.
Ocean Beach Park
Ocean Avenue, New London
800-510-SAND
In addition to its sugar-sand beach and half-mile boardwalk, Ocean Beach Park boasts an Olympic-size pool with a waterslide, classic kiddie and adult rides, an arcade, a slot car raceway, an 18-hole miniature golf course, a café, and a roster of special events from concerts to beach-blanket movie nights. Pay one fee for parking and admission for everyone in your car. Some activities carry additional fees.
Rocky Neck State Park
244 West Main Street/Route 156, East Lyme
860-739-5471
You can do more than swim at this white sand beach. Picnic under the stone pavilion, follow a variety of easy walking trails, try crabbing or saltwater fishing, and camp overnight while the ocean sings you a lullaby. Admission is charged by the car; higher rates apply on weekends and for out-of-staters. Camping fees are additional. Admission is free in the off-season.
Sherwood Island State Park
Sherwood Island Connector, Westport
203-226-6983
Connecticut's oldest state park makes a fine destination for families in search of a place to play in the sand. Facilities include a picnic grove, bathrooms and showers, a food concession, and a platform from which to observe birds and other marsh life. Admission is charged by the car, with higher rates assessed on weekends and for out-of-state vehicles. There is no admission charge in the off-season.
Boat Tours
For scenery and history, book passage aboard a Long Island Sound cruise. These boat tours operate seasonally and provide family vacationers with a memorable way to experience Connecticut's coastal places.
DownEast Lighthouse Cruises
Pine Island Marina, 916R Shennecossett Road, Groton
860-460-1802
See lighthouses, tall sailing ships, and submarines on a cruise around New London Harbor and the mouth of the Thames River, or choose one of the other excursions including sunset cruises on Fisher's Island Sound and lobstering adventures.
FAST FACT
Oyster cultivation has been an important Connecticut industry for more than a century. There are over 70,000 acres of oyster farms along Connecticut's Long Island Sound coast. Each September, this delectable mollusk's role in the economy of the Constitution State is celebrated at the Norwalk Seaport Association's annual Oyster Festival (203-838-9444,
Sabino Island Steamer
Mystic Seaport, 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic
888-973-2767
At Mystic Seaport, visitors can book passage aboard
Seamist Thimble Islands Cruise
Indian Point Road, Stony Creek
203-488-8905
The Thimbles are a storied archipelago of tiny islands lying just off the coast of Connecticut near Stony Point. According to legend, seventeenth-century pirate Captain Kidd stashed treasure here that's never been found. On this narrated cruise, you'll hear tales of pirates and bootleggers, as well as the islands' current wealthy and celebrity inhabitants.
Casinos
It may come as a surprise that Connecticut is one of America's premier gambling destinations. It is the only New England state to permit gambling casinos on Indian reservation lands. While they cater to a primarily adult audience, many families visit the state's two casinos each year to attend concerts and sporting events, to dine at tantalizing buffets and fine-dining restaurants, to shop, and to marvel at these incredible facilities that contribute more than $400 million in slot revenues annually to the state's coffers.
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Route 2, Mashantucket
800-FOXWOODS
The world's largest casino isn't in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, or Atlantic City. It's in Connecticut! The Mashantucket Pequot tribe's Foxwoods Resort Casino, which has grown exponentially since it opened in 1992, offers twenty-four-hour gaming action, more than 7,000 slot machines, and a Bingo Hall that goes on forever. You'll also find three on-site hotels, thirty-five dining options, headline entertainment in the 1,400-seat Fox Theatre, a spa, and more.
FAST FACT
Visitors to the casinos must be at least twenty-one years of age to gamble or even to set foot on the casino floor. The Bingo Hall at Foxwoods is open to players ages eighteen and up.
An MGM-branded casino, which will add 2 million square feet of additional gaming, dining, entertainment, and hotel space to the Fox-woods complex, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008. While Foxwoods' sheer size will astound visitors of all ages, the casino offers few entertainment options for children. The Tree House Arcade has games that will appeal to everyone from preschoolers to teens, but children under age fourteen may not be left unattended.
Mohegan Sun
1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville
888-226-7711
The Mohegan tribe boosted Connecticut's draw as a gaming outpost in 1996 when it opened Mohegan Sun. A $1 billion expansion completed in 2002, which added a 1,200-room, thirty-four-story hotel; a spa, salon, and fitness center; more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including the largest ballroom in the Northeast; the Sky Casino, with 115,000 square feet of additional gaming space; an additional 175,000 square feet of premium retail and entertainment space; and a new 10,000-seat arena to the Mohegan Sun empire, has made it even more competitive with its neighbor to the south.
JUST FOR PARENTS
The Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun blends Native American traditions and signature Elemis treatments to create unique rituals you won't find at any other spa. Celebrating an anniversary? The Ceremony of the Strawberry Moon begins with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries served while you enjoy an exotic jasmine flower bath for two; it concludes with a couple's massage lesson.
It's also the more family-friendly of the two casinos. Older children can play video and arcade games in a supervised atmosphere at Cyber Quest. At Kids Quest, child care and even meal service are provided for ages six weeks to twelve years. Or, stick together, and enjoy the casino's incomparable sights, such as an indoor waterfall, and the many kid-friendly restaurants and shops.
Historic Attractions
In 1614, Dutch navigator Adriaen Block was the first European to sail into Long Island Sound. In the ensuing quarter-century, Dutch and English settlers purchased lands from Native inhabitants and established towns along Connecticut's shoreline. As you travel in this region, you'll discover historic attractions that tell the story of Connecticut's colonial period, as well its role in the conflict and commerce that contributed to the growth of a new nation.
Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park
57 Fort Street, Groton
860-449-6877
The Battle of Groton Heights lasted only forty minutes, but when it was over, 88 of the 165 defenders stationed at Fort Griswold and 51 British attackers were dead. Today, visitors to the site of this battle of the American Revolution can relive that September day in 1781 when Connecticut native Benedict Arnold, who had deserted the American cause a year earlier, led British troops into an area that he knew quite well.
Admission to tour the historic fort, a Revolutionary War museum, and the Ebenezer Avery House, which sheltered the wounded, is free. The park is open year-round, but its museum and monument are only open daily from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and then on Saturdays and Sundays through Columbus Day weekend.
Fort Nathan Hale and Black Rock Fort
36 Woodward Avenue, New Haven
203-787-8790
Black Rock Fort and Fort Nathan Hale, a restored Revolutionary War fort and a restored Civil War fort, respectively, are open free to the public from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
TRAVEL TIP
It's much easier to get into Yale if you're not applying to be a student. Take a free, student-led tour of the historic Yale University campus, the alma mater for many U.S. presidents. Tours are available at 10:30 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. on weekdays and at 1:30 P.M. on weekends. They depart from the Visitor Information Center (149 Elm Street, New Haven, 203-432-2300).
Henry Whitfield State Museum
248 Old Whitfield Street, Guilford
203-453-2457
The stone house built by Reverend Henry Whitfield, who led a group of English Puritans to Connecticut's shores in 1639, is the oldest house in Connecticut and New England's oldest stone house. Tours are offered April through mid-December.
Mystic Seaport
75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic
888-973-2767
Climb aboard the
FAST FACT
In 2006, after receiving several phone calls from visitors to Mystic Seaport who shared similar accounts, a team from the Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group investigated to see whether there might indeed by a ghost aboard the Charles W. Morgan. What did the ghost hunters conclude? “It is our opinion that the old ship is haunted…to what extent remains to be seen,” they stated.
USS
One Crystal Lake Road, Groton
800-343-0079
Visit the U.S. Navy's only submarine museum, and step down into the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS
Museums Kids Will Love
Museums don't have to be boring. You'll be able to prove it to your offspring when you include one of these stops on your Connecticut itinerary.
The Barnum Museum
820 Main Street, Bridgeport
203-331-1104
P. T. Barnum, America's crown prince of oddities and the mastermind behind “The Greatest Show on Earth,” was born in Connecticut. He and his cast of characters — General Tom Thumb, Chang and Eng the Siamese twins, Jumbo the Elephant, Jenny Lind, and others — come to life at the only museum dedicated to the famous showman.
Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket
800-411-9671
America's largest Native American museum will immerse you in the history and culture of Connecticut's first people. The five-story, 308,000-square-foot facility features lifelike dioramas, dramatic films, galleries of artifacts and crafts, hands-on activity stations, audio tours, and even an escalator that transports visitors back to the last Ice Age. You can drive to the museum directly, or take a free shuttle from nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Peabody Museum of Natural History
170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven
203-432-5050
This Yale University Museum is filled with fascinating exhibits related to plant, animal, and human evolution, but it is the Great Hall of Dinosaurs that will really catch kids' attention. If you are traveling with older children, consider visiting one of the university's other museums. You can see a rare Gutenberg Bible and original Audubon bird prints at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library; art from Europe, America, Africa, and the Near and Far East at the Yale Art Gallery; and the most extensive assemblage of British art outside of Britain at the Yale Center for British Art.
RAINY DAY FUN
Youngsters will find interactive exhibits featuring science, art, music, culture, history, safety, and health to delve into at the Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut (409 Main Street, Niantic, 860-691-1111,
Outdoor Recreation
Ready to stretch your legs or work your arms? From hiking trails to kayaking trips, Connecticut's coastal region is a great place for outdoor recreation.
Bluff Point State Park and Coastal Reserve
Depot Road, Groton
860-444-7591
This 800-acre park is the largest undeveloped tract of land along the Connecticut shore. It is a popular spot for kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, and wildlife watching. There is no admission fee.
Connecticut Coastal Kayaking
18 Oak Tree Lane, Lyme
860-391-3837
This outfitter offers half- and full-day kayaking tours that are suitable even for inexperienced paddlers.
FAST FACT
Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness, is named for Lyme, Connecticut, where it was first diagnosed. Connecticut remains one of the states with the highest number of cases of the disease each year. Lyme-carrying ticks are especially prevalent during spring and summer. Protect yourself while outdoors by wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, tucking pants into socks, using insect repellent, and checking yourself and your children for ticks daily. If you do discover a tick, remove it carefully with tweezers. Keep an eye on the bite area, and if any swelling or discoloration occurs, contact a physician.
Roy and Margot Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary
2325 Burr Street, Fairfield
203-259-6305
Stop by the Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield, and then explore this adjoining 152-acre habitat with its meadows, streams, woods, marshes, and ponds. Walkways and bridges offer access to bird and wildlife viewing areas.
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
39 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford
203-322-1646
This multifaceted attraction boasts a working farm, planetarium, observatory, and nature exhibits. Miles of scenic walking trails wind through the 118-acre property, which is open year-round. Kids will adore Nature's Playground, where they can climb a spider's web, wiggle like worms across large maple leaves, crawl through an ant's nest, get a bird's eye view from a hawk's nest, and search for fossils in the sand pit.
Shopping
Whether you're hunting for souvenirs and bargains or seeking a singular shopping experience, you'll find plenty of opportunities for retail therapy along Connecticut's coast.
B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill
129 North Stonington Road, Old Mystic
860-536-3354
Sip sweet cider and munch on just-baked mini-doughnuts at the only remaining steam-powered cider mill in the United States and the country's longest continuous producer of hard cider. B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill is open daily from August through late December.
Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets
20-A Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton
860-664-0700
This outlet village features seventy stores, from Off Saks Fifth Avenue and Polo Ralph Lauren to Nike and Little Me.
Shanti Bithi Bonsai Nursery
3047 High Ridge Road, Stamford
203-329-0768
This unique nursery is one of the largest American growers and importers of bonsai trees. It is a lovely place to stroll and to shop for a living remembrance of your time in Connecticut.
Stew Leonard's
100 Westport Avenue, Norwalk
203-847-7214
Designated the “World's Largest Dairy Store” by
Tanger Outlet Center
314 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook
860-399-8656
Shop sixty-five designer outlet stores, including children's wear favorites like Old Navy, Carter's, OshKosh B'Gosh, and The Children's Place.
Sports
Enjoy a home game during your time away. Sporting events in southern Connecticut range from world-class tennis and professional women's basketball to minor league baseball.
Bridgeport Bluefish
Ballpark at Harbor Yard, 500 Main Street, Bridgeport
203-345-4800
This Atlantic League baseball team entertains crowds at its Bridgeport Stadium. Check the team's Web site for fun-filled promotional events throughout the season.
Connecticut Sun
Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville
877-SUN-TIXX
The WNBA's Connecticut Sun plays its home games at Mohegan Sun Arena. See some of the top names in professional women's basketball by reserving tickets to a game.
JUST FOR PARENTS
At Sports Haven (600 Long Wharf Drive, New Haven, 203-946-3201,
Pilot Pen Tennis
Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale, 45 Yale Avenue, New Haven
888-99-PILOT
Each August, as the U.S. Open approaches, top men's and women's tennis players tune up their games at this exciting and intimate tournament.
