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Hammonasset State Park
Categories: Active Life Parks Active Life Beaches Active Life Fishing Parks, Beaches, Fishing [Edit]
Hammonasset State ParkMadison, CT 06443
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
16 reviews for Hammonasset State Park
16 reviews in English
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Review from Charley C.
Atascadero, CA
10/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
What a gem this park is for CT. On a long spit of sand the beach is lovely, south facing, and seems to stretch for miles! even on a busy day with thousands of others there is still plenty of space and the people are oooh sooo nice. The covered patios are also very well constructed and I am betting that this place is so spacious for the locals during the week. Come and enjoy a wonderful afternoon at the beach. Whether sun bathing or bundled up reading a book, this place is nice!
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Review from Gabriela G.
Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful, peaceful, vast, not overcrowded, quiet, easy parking, dog friendly, soothing, calming ocean sounds, soft breeze. They also have camp grounds, a store, a nature center, a cafe.
It was free to get in (might not normally be free but it was free today...maybe cause of the weather or because it was late afternoon). Great place to stop and take five minutes with nature. Conveniently located just off the 95Freeway on the drive between New Haven and New London.
It's no Yellowstone, or Yosemite, but for what it is, a nice peaceful beach away from the main road, with nature trails and ocean, it is beautiful. Not breathtaking, but beautiful non the less. -
Review from Karen G.
Glastonbury, CT
8/15/2011
Where to start? Most of the campsites are in full sun and on tiny crammed together postage stamp spots. Picnic tables are in various states of disrepair. Forget asking for a better one. It won't happen.
We actually had a shaded site .. thank you for Reserve America and the ability to reserve several months in advance. I think that was the only positive aspect of our visit. We reserved for two weeks and ended up leaving before our stay was up.
The bathrooms were barely maintained and it was not unusual to have several toilet stalls without paper. The showers were difficult to use as you had to lean heavily against the shower wall to get under the water and could not adjust the temperature. It was actually way too hot and scalded more often than not. Not good when you've returned from the beach with a sunburn and wanted a cooler rinse than was available. The toilets never flushed completely and made one wonder how much water was being saved when you had to flush two or three times before paper would go down. Forget soap .. although there was a hot air hand blow dryer. Also located at the restrooms was a dishwashing station .. nice idea, but most of the time the sinks were clogged and unusable.
Although the park has a great huge parking area for beachgoers .. many that stayed in the campground attempted to park at the campstore lot for the day. Since it's obvious that nobody can read and that authorities do not enforce the 15 min parking rule .. it made it extremely difficult for us to park to purchase ice or firewood. We certainly were not gonna carry these heavy items all the way back to our site without a vehicle.
Speaking of unenforced rules .. no one stopped a man and his son from flying a kite right at the walkway to the camp beach. The wind was brisk and the kite hit several people trying to access.
Our biggest peeve was the lack of enforcement of the noise policy. There was a set of 4 campsites that hooted, hollered, played bongos, guitars, buckets, pieces of wood, tin buckets, new years eve horns ... you name it. Got the picture? Most were drunk and disorderly beginning around 4pm and the "band" usually started up just before dark. These weren't young adults either .. I am ashamed to say the average age had to be about 50. They had no respect for other campers .. we were several sites away, but that did not diminish the noise. We could not hear our own radio (sometimes our own voices) without adding to the chaos. Complaints were made by numerous registered campers. We complained EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK. Nothing was done to alleviate the noise or to remove the offenders. One of my fellow campers tried to ask them to lower the levels and was told by one of the two troopers that was also camping with them that they would arrest him if he didn't go away. I was informed on my visit that they could make as much noise as they wanted .. as loud as they wanted .. until 10:00 pm. Unfortunately, they didn't know how to tell time either as they continued on past midnight on a couple of nights. This was also the same group that took over the volleyball court one day with beers in their hands. Oblivious to the children riding past on their bikes. Definitely have to mention one fellow from the group who had the nerve to tell a little girl on her bike with training wheels to ride somewhere else because she was keeping him awake at 9 am.
The campground offers movie nights, but not on a regular basis. They posted movies for nights that were going to obviously rain and none at all when the weather was due to be beautiful. Posted also was the note that movies would be cancelled even if it hinted at rain. Hence, not a single movie was played during the nearly two weeks we were there.
No .. We won't be going back. -
Review from Brian P.
Clinton, CT
10/8/2011
Good Beach......Loads of Parking... Great place to bike or take in nature!
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Review from Brian s.
Sanford, FL
1/17/2009 25 photos
The
largest
beach
The largest beach in Connecticut, how can it not get 5 stars. Sure it gets crowed it the summer but the beach is long enough so if you walk a bit you still can find a place for your self. There is a great broad walk to take a hike on and a great nature center for the kids as well as views of Faulkner's island on a clear day. Meigs point is great place for everyone, including a place to launch or land kayaks. Throw in a couple of concessions stands for crummy food and several huge parking lots and a campground and you have the best beach in all of Connecticut.Listed in: Go take a hike, Beaches
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Review from Jessica H.
Middletown, CT
2/10/2009
I love Hammonasset. My fiance and I go there every summer to camp for Memorial Day, 4th of July Week and Labor Day. The camp sites mostly have no trees or one or 2, but big fields in the middle of each section so you can play games. There are modern bathrooms, so you can shower everyday for free and they clean them daily. The only bad thing is there is no soap, and if you bring your own the clean crew takes it away. you are only allowed 2 vehicles at once on a spot, and visitors can park in the lot til 10pm. I do not think dogs are allowed.
The beach is really nice, although it is getting smaller and smaller. They have food shacks with hot dogs and hamburgers if you don't want to bring a grill or pack lunch. There are picnic tables right off the beach so you can enjoy a family meal. Meag's point is really cool, there is also a nature center down that end of the beach. Sometimes there are jelly fish, they will warn you before entering the park.
This is where my fiance proposed to me :) -
Review from Zoe P.
Arlington, MA
8/2/2007
Pretty nice. If you like a park at the beach, which I do.
Although it gets busy in summer there's always been plenty of room to park and plenty of space on the sand. It's not as packed as Jones Beach, or even Island Beach State Park, in New Jersey.
It is the Sound, so the water is incredibly calm but it's great for kids and older folks and you can really stay in for a long time.
The landscape is pretty, I like the little walking/jogging trail (which has never been over-crowded and is esp. nice off season), the roses, the rocks at the far end . . . I find it hard to walk on the actual beach here, the sand is very soft, and pebble-y.
I almost forgot: STINGING BLACK FLIES. If the wind is from the marshes, the flies are unbearable. And so is the heat, in summer. Winds off the ocean are nicer in summer, and dastardly in the off season.
Each of the parking lots has its pros and cons. I'll let you explore. But all in all, an easy place to have a quiet day on the beach.Listed in: Inedible Delights
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Review from Tracee D.
Boston, MA
1/3/2009
For the eastern sea board this is a great place.
I taught a 5 year old how to meditate here and he got it. Like, really got it.
After a few seconds of breathing with eye's closed he exclaimed "it's ok, everything's ok, there's nothing to worry about. I don't need to worry about things". Need I say more?
it's a pretty beach with a cool walking path. I like to climb down to the rocks and climb and jump my way to the end.
there's also good paved ways for rollerblading (but I am probably the only person left on earth who still does that)Listed in: noelle's new, new haven life
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Review from Carrie R.
Los Angeles, CA
5/15/2007
Coming from the west coast it's just hard to compare apples and oranges...but...as far as oranges go, Hammonasset State Park is a large, deep colored one!!
It's CT's largest beach and houses over 2 miles of shoreline....you can enjoy swimming, bicycling, camping, picnicking, salt water fishing...!
I've camped here once or twice and sat on the beach in the summer...as far as CT goes...it's a great location for soaking up the sun. There are different park entrance fees depending on the time of the year so it's always best to look into it prior to arrival. You might also need to call ahead if you want a great spot at which to pitch yer tent. -
Review from tracy r.
Derby, CT
8/28/2008
Just got back from here last week, it is the second time I've camped at this campground. Overall it is a very nice place. Out of the hundreds of camp sites there are very few that aren't ideal.
There are both wooded and sunny sites, although there are many more sunny sites. Most of the sunny sites do have trees for some offering of shade at some point of the day. Yet because the campground is so close to the shore there are generally cooling breezes.
Not all sites have electric hook up, but there are outlets in the bathrooms (for charging cell phones, and one woman actually brewed her coffee every morning). The campground is well maintained, fire pits at each site, but you must bring something to burn a fire in. No open ground fires.
There is an outdoor, walk-up movie arena, which plays movies a few times a week. Volley ball net set up. Kiddie playground and camp store for snacks, ice cream, ice, and other forgotten items.
I would have given five stars, but this trip I thought the bathrooms were not kept as clean as the last time I camped here. Oh, and the showers are an adventure. You must push the water knob every 20 seconds because it is self regulated. At first it takes a little getting used to, but really is not a big deal, sounds worse than it actually is.
I like camping in the farther section of the campground because there are fewer sites, which means there are typically less people on the beach in this area. There are two campground beach accesses, the one at the other end, near Podunk, is also near one of the public, day-use access, therefore there are many more people to contend with for beach space. -
Review from Ben T.
Long Island City, NY
12/5/2009
This park is one of the best state parks I have been to. That means a lot coming from a person who scrubbed its poopy toilets tirelessly for 3 consecutive summers. Those were some of the best summers though since I got to race coworkers through the park in state go-cart vehicles, "litter pick" along the shore (which really meant swim or take a nap), and search for lost children along the waterfront on the busiest days.
You can camp in the grounds from the end of May through the end of September and admire the work of the state employees in the spotless bathrooms;)
As an aside, once one of my best friends had a birthday so I schemed with other coworkers and friends outside of work and we set to work to make the day memorable. We bought chocolate twinky cakes and other chocolate cakes which we then used to decorate a bathroom the birthday boy had to clean. Before he arrived, we spread the chocolate all over the walls in every stall and in the showers that are attached to the bathrooms. We then hid one of our friends in a stall where he stood with a candle lit chocolate cake with the words "poop" scribed on it.
When our unsuspecting birthday boy arrived on the scene, he was frustrated and exhausted from cleaning other dirty bathrooms and dealing with angry campers that their bathrooms were dirty (a common misfortune with which every state employee is well familiar).
He showed up and we all stood outside the bathroom with our faces in our hands. "Oh God, what now?" he muttered as he walked into the bathroom. He quickly saw the questionable brown substance smeared all over the walls and shouted profanities. Meanwhile all of us outside started laughing. He started cleaning not realizing what the brown stuff actually was until he got to the stall our other friend Torin was hiding in and we all came rushing in singing "Happy poopy birthday!" -
Review from ronald s.
Hammonasset is much more than just a beach - with its camping, hiking, biking, nature center, outdoor pavillions, kite flying, snack bars, and more and more .. its a really cool place to go in the winter for a nice walk on the boardwalk or to sit in the sand and catch some rays. In the winter its peaceful, cold, but still a nice respite from the bustle of modern life.. usually we end up here a dozen times over the summer and its always nice.
sometimes it does get VERY buggy - but after all, it is a beach situated on a marsh full of insects. last year we were swarmed by dragonflys. i mean like hundreds, it was amazing and creepy like out of The Birds, but with dragonflys. -
Review from Ila S.
9/25/2010
This is a beautiful, well maintained, clean beach. Even the bathrooms are kept clean. Lots of space to spread out and have some privacy. Plenty of parking. An easy drive from the Springfield area (much closer than the Cape.) For a day at the beach, this is the place to visit. But bring cash because parking costs $$!
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Review from Anonymous U.
Los Angeles, CA
7/11/2011
Not the best. I despise this place. Campsites are generally small and it's not that natural. Many of the campsites are just grass area. Only some are trees and something more natural. Although there are activities. Bathrooms are decent (most of the time), but no soap unfortunately. It's very lazy of them to not provide soap I mean come on, why can't you provide any soap. It's a shame. Camp somewhere else. It sickens me people like this place.
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Review from Patrick R.
Stratford, CT
7/27/2010 1 photo
Beautiful Park with a nice clean beach. We came here for a few hours to cool down on a hot & humid Summer Evening. Definitely a park to come back to and spend more time in.
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Review from Barb J.
Oakland, CA
1/15/2009
I love camping here! We used to come at least once every summer to camp when I was growing up, and more just to go to the beach. There are some especially great sites if you know your way around and book in advance. The bathrooms are usually pretty clean - very bare bones, but clean. Long lines in the mornings though, but I think that's true of most campgrounds. The roads are great for biking, and there are some nice off road trails. The nature center is really fun, a good rainy day activity. The beach itself is huge, and a short walk or bike ride away from the campground. I don't particularly like that the sand is very gravelly, but it's okay. Lots of jellyfish at times, but in general, there's little to bother you when you are swimming. There are lots of families and kids - I made several friends when I was younger and camping here (and met my first boyfriend!). I love camping here - there's nothing better than falling asleep to the sound of the waves. For that matter, you can of course do the same thing laying on a blanket on the beach :)
