River Access & Views
River Access & Vista Map
The Connecticut River runs through many picturesque communities as it heads towards Long Island Sound.
Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Lyme, Essex, Chester, Deep River, East Haddam, and Haddam are charming New England towns that share a distinctive quality — they boast riverfront lands that all can enjoy.
Whether it is a town or state park, a boat or kayak launch, or a hilltop preserve with expansive vistas, each of the eight towns have their special spots.
The Connecticut River Gateway Commission created a map of select locations, favorites of commissioners from each of the eight member towns, where you may enjoy wonderful views or get on the river in your boat, kayak, or canoe. We suggest you use the map to supplement the government information available below or that from commercial sources.
Black Hall River Canoing, Kathleen DeMeo
Coastal & Boating Guides
The State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) maintains a Connecticut Coastal Access Guide. This interactive map provides useful information and directions to shoreline sites that are open to the public.
Use the DEEP guide to identify sites open to the public for boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities.
DEEP also owns and/or operates numerous boat launches on lakes, rivers and Long Island Sound. Visit their Connecticut Boater's Guide to, as the agency’s commissioner writes, learn how “to get out on the water and — most importantly — get back safely.
Ideas & Attractions
The lower river valley offers delicious food, delightful museums and theaters, inns and lodging, family fun and active adventures. Go to CT Visit, the Connecticut’s tourism site, for ideas suitable for this season.
As you enjoy your time at the Connecticut River, you’ll soon recognize that this truly special place is worth protecting.
The Connecticut River Museum
Preserving A Natural and Traditional River Scene
Connecticut’s Legislature considered protection of the lower Connecticut River valley so critical that it provided the CT River Gateway Commission with the unusual authority of being able to disapprove locally-approved zoning regulations if the Commission believed such town regulations would harm the “natural and traditional river scene.” The Gateway Commission is the only Connecticut regional entity with that level of authority.