Coasting in Connecticut

The Nutmeg State may be small in size, and densely populated, but Connecticut is a great place to play outdoors. Opportunities exist in the hills, along the rivers and especially along the sheltered coastline of Long Island Sound. 

A friend told me about kayaking around the Thimble Islands, not far from New Haven. His description of paddling dozens of tiny islands inhabited by sea birds, seals and summer folks intrigued me; I had to see them for myself.

The harbor at Stony Creek, the jumping off point for the Thimbles, is a perfect little coastal gem. It's busy on a summer morning, but not bustling. Two motor-launches offer narrated sightseeing tours around the Thimbles, which give you a look at the islands and a sense of their history.  But to my way of thinking, the best view of the Thimble Islands is from a kayak you paddle yourself.

My paddling friend Renny and I rented a couple of wide, stable, but surprisingly nimble Heritage kayaks from Action Sports in nearby Branford and headed out. 

We spent our four hours quietly poking around in and among the islands. We admired the pink granite rock formations on the uninhabited islands, and enjoyed the views of the homes which ranged from ornate Victorians to a houseboat anchored next to a tiny island. One of the houses was once owned by Gen. Tom Thumb of circus fame; a hidden cove in another island was purportedly the hideout of the infamous pirate Captain Kidd.

As we floated silently over elegantly pulsating jellyfish, we were joined by herring and black-backed gulls. Except when the occasional working boat rumbled by, or a tour boat passed with its loudspeakers blaring, the islands were quiet. There's music in the slap of waves on the hull and the cries of gulls overhead.

By the end of the day, we'd seen most of the islands up close and personal in a way you'd never see them from a tour boat. We'd experienced natural beauty and peace and quiet you'd never expect to find only three miles from busy I-95.

Don't worry about exploring this part of the coast if you're not an expert kayaker. Except in a hard south wind, the waters here are well-protected and easy to paddle. It's even a great area to test the waters, so to speak, for your first time in a kayak.

If you're not comfortable jumping in a boat and heading out on your own, Connecticut Coastal Kayaking offers guided trips in a number of locations. They'll supply the boats and instruction you need to get started, shuttle your gear to a launch site and pick you up later.

Hammonasset Beach

I bunked that night in nearby Madison, at the Dolly Madison Inn about a block from the beach. I spent most of the next day exploring Hammonasset Beach State Park (click on Outdoor Recreation, and then State Parks).

Sunbathing seems to be the most popular activity at this oceanfront park. But there's a lot more than that to do.

The park roads are flat and well maintained for biking or rollerblading. There's an abandoned roadway that makes a pleasant mountain bike ride. The hiking trails looping around this peninsula park get you away from the bustle of the beaches, into areas of sea strand, marshes and coastal forests. I saw more shorebirds than people in most of my exploring.

That afternoon, I went on a guided two-hour canoe trip on the Hammonasset River offered by the Meigs Point Nature Center. The trip was easy enough for beginning paddlers -- some of the participants had never been in a canoe and they had a great time.

Coastal marshes are a wonderful place to paddle a canoe. The water flows gently, the surrounding lands are alive with birdlife. Paddling along, we got close-up looks at two kinds of egrets stalking small fish in the shallows, cormorants, marsh wrens, redwing blackbirds, and two different pairs of ospreys nesting on platforms built for their benefit in the marsh. Fiddler crabs scurried on the muddy fringes of the marsh. Having a trained naturalist along just made everything more visible and more interesting. 

More to do

In parts of two days, I didn't feel like I'd even begun to explore the outdoor opportunities in this area. While in New Haven on business, I saw kayakers and windsurfers playing on the harbor. The Quinnipiac River offers all kinds of places to explore in a canoe or kayak. The ridges above the city are laced with hiking trails. At the end of the day, you can even sail into the sunset on the tall ship Quinnipiac.