For a city shaped by water, New Haven can feel strangely cut off from it. Highways, rail lines and industrial sites occupy much of the shoreline, making it surprisingly easy to forget you’re living along the coast.
Still, the water is there if you know where to look. With summer running short, we rounded up a few fun ways to leave dry land behind.
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River Marina on Front St in Fair Haven rents small electric paddle boats alongside kayaks, canoes and dinghies.
Renters can take a self-guided trip along the Quinnipiac between the Grand Avenue and I-91 bridges, passing the Fargeorge Preserve, active oyster beds and a mix of marsh, docks and old industrial shoreline.
Walk-ups are accepted, but we’d call ahead for availability and current pricing. Afterward, walk over to Fair Haven Oyster Co. for food, drinks and a waterfront table overlooking the same river you just explored.
Thimble Islands
From Stony Creek in Branford, the Thimble Islands rise just offshore: tiny, rocky outcrops crowded with cottages, docks and improbable-looking houses that seem to have been sprinkled directly into Long Island Sound. Most are privately owned, which makes for better sight-seeing than hands-on exploring. Fortunately, The Sea Mist runs a 45-minute narrated cruise for $20 per adult, weaving among the islands while the captain supplies the local legends.
Or if you’d rather set foot on one, take the Thimble Islands Ferry to Outer Island. The $20 round-trip ride drops passengers on one of the few Thimbles open to the public. Wander the shoreline and pretend you’ve been marooned until the ferry comes back.
Lake Saltonstall
Lake Saltonstall is the large reservoir you glimpse for a few seconds while driving on I-95 between East Haven and Branford. From the highway, the water looks inaccessible. Mostly, it is.
But the Regional Water Authority makes an exception for anglers.
With a Connecticut fishing license and an RWA recreation permit, fisherfolk have a chance to get out onto the reservoir itself. While you can’t bring your own boat, rentals are available starting at $20.
New Haven Harbor
Head over to Long Wharf and you’ll find New Haven Community Boating (formerly the Canal Dock Boathouse), which offers something rare in New Haven: a reasonably straightforward way out onto the harbor. From its docks, you can sail, row, kayak or climb into a dragon boat, leaving Long Wharf’s highway ramps and warehouses behind for open water.
This Sunday, August 16, the boathouse hosts a free Community Open House from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rowing, kayaking and dragon boating take over the morning; in the afternoon, volunteers take visitors sailing around the harbor.
If you get hooked, an annual sailing membership costs $295.
Connecticut River
If you head 30 miles east, Essex offers two old-timey ways to get out on the Connecticut River: a 17th-century sailing ship and a Mississippi-style riverboat.
The Onrust is a full-scale re-creation of the Dutch sailing vessel Adriaen Block built in 1614. It leaves from the Connecticut River Museum in Essex for small-group afternoon cruises ($35) and sunset sails ($45). In September, those evening trips become $50 tree-swallow cruises, timed to see huge flocks of migrating birds swirl over the river before dropping into the reeds to roost.
The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat pairs a vintage steam-train ride with a 1¼-hour cruise aboard the Becky Thatcher, a Mississippi-style riverboat with multiple decks. The boat heads north from Deep River past coves and marshes, with views of Gillette Castle and the Goodspeed Opera House before the train carries you back to Essex. The full 2½-hour trip costs $49 in coach or $65 first class.
Written by Daily Nutmeg Staff
