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
100s of Years Quarrying Granite in the Lower Connecticut River Valley
With help from the Connecticut River Gateway Commission, the Middlesex Land Trust preserved a quarry in Haddam Neck. The Brainerd Quarry Preserve offers ridgeline paths with breathtaking views of the Connecticut River and Haddam Meadows State Park. In the 18th century, granite blocks were split from outcroppings and sent down the steep hillside to be shipped via the river to New York, Philadelphia, and even New Orleans for construction.