Rocky Neck State Park

We rented a spot to spend some quiet and quality time with the family. We had access to the beach as well and it was an amazing time. Being able to park the van next to the camp site was a plus so I didn't have to carry all the stuff over a long distance. My attitude was adjusted and made great memories with the family.

Imagine stIt’s the ideal getaway for creating unforgettable memories with friends or family. Whether you’re soaking up the sun, playing beach games, or enjoying a picnic by the shore, this beach offers a perfect escape for everyone. Come and experience the beauty and joy that awaits!

I think we found "the gem" of the Connecticut coast here honestly. What a perfect though must be CRAZY Busy spot during summer peak season. Luckily we slid in and thru just beforehand here. FYI - if your chosen campsite is "near the beach access road", (review the map) do expect a decent to heavy amount of traffic near to your site until dusk, when beach closes and the road goes quiet. Oops, we picked a site, (Seagull 14) near that road-).

One of the most clean beach in Connecticut. The sands are clear and so kids can enjoy with no worries of cuts. The crowd is also good. Lot of people are baking in sun, playing balls. Good for family day out!!

A very beautiful and relaxing place... The sea, beach, breeze, sun, nature, train, animals, squirrels, birds, bunnies, and more... a nice place to spend a pleasant afternoon with friends or family. Highly recommended ⭐️5⭐️

Absolutely gorgeous. I've been going here since I was little and ìt is still by far my favorite beach to go to. Recently I've noticed a lot more trash everywhere, hence the four stars, but that can be easily fixed by more trashcans and signs telling people to pick up after themselves.

Very cool beach/park definitely one of a kind I haven't ever been to a beach/park that's as interesting as this one. I've been to quite a few around cape cod and Rhode island

Best beaches for children to play. Walkable distance from parking. Clean rest rooms. Showers available out side to quick wash.

Not crowded clean CLEAR WATER leashed dog friendly soft sand There was a wedding on the premises CT license plates are free

We stayed at the campground here and I wish I could have stayed all summer! Our campsite was in the shade and had a huge grass area it backed up to where the kids could run and not bother other campers. The bathrooms were clean. The showers are outdoor style and have the auto turn off to save water so you have to push a few times if you're washing hair or anything. The camp site also has a big fire ring and picnic table. It's about a 10-15 min walk to the beach. Or you could drive if you wanted to. The beach at rocky neck is the best for the shallow water areas for kids that can be found. For the price this cannot be beat. I'm already planning future stays here.

Clean, very VERY busy, but ample parking. EVERYONE was there on this warm April Day (SPRING BREAK!!!) Bathrooms had toilet paper and soap.. Thank you!!!... Sand was in good shape. No litter, a few shells, people were grilling, playing sand games and sincerely enjoying themselves! It is an easy time getting in but very hard getting out as there is no traffic light, and you have to wait for a break in traffic to turn, making it very tough... The park officially opens on Memorial Day weekend and offers camping, concession stand, and life guards. https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Rocky-Neck-State-Park/Overview Despite the issue with no traffic light, it's one of our go-to as it is very family friendly.

Built in 1936 this magnificent, beautiful stone building atop the hill at Rocky Neck State Park, The Ellie Mitchell Pavilion (see photo image of dedication plaque), a true State of Connecticut treasure and landmark, is waiting to be renovated by funds allocated to the State Department, DEEP, to perform and complete its renovation. I understand back in the day, this grand venue with ballroom/dance hall were used for large events and gatherings. People would eat and dance in the hall and watch the ocean from window views, the terrace, and the rooftop patio. You can almost hear the big band music playing and the young couples dancing.... The exterior and the grounds of the building are open to the public to enjoy as well as the vast number of surrounding walking/hiking paths, roads and trails around it and the beach area. Visit the beach or the park and take a walk up to this wonderful stone "castle" and YOU TOO can enjoy the stunning, breathtaking and magnificent views of the beach, the Connecticut shoreline and Long Island Sound!!

Wow, this used to be a beautiful place almost like a nature preserve. It is now completely overcrowded, more of a beach party place, but there are problems. It is also much dirtier than it used to be. I have seen people drinking there, I've seen people letting their unruly dogs run around without a leash, I've actually seen people having sex in public. And I'm a lady and I have been followed by strange men a few times. There were also some, untimely deaths at least one that was shot. It's still a pretty place sometimes but it's too overcrowded to really enjoy it most of the time. And sadly, it's just not the same as it used to be.

The water is nice. Full of jellyfish but nice. The beach is long but narrow so you do not have to walk far to the water wherever you plop down. The beach is a little rocky (thus the name) but still walkable. The water is fairly clear for CT. If you take a path to the right after going through the tunnel,there is a picnic area with a gorgeous view of the water and a nice jetty out to explore. We happened to also camp out at their campground and enjoyed ourselves. We had a nice flat spot with some trees, fire pit and picnic table. They had drinking water available nearby and full bathrooms/showers within walking distance. We were able to take a scenic walk past the salt marsh and osprey to get to the beach. Had a great, relaxing time there.

Rocky Neck State Park sits on the Long Island Sound in East Lyme, Connecticut is 710-acres between a salt marsh and a Tidal river. We stopped here on a road trip and spent a couple of hours hiking Rocky Neck's diverse trails with our dog. We saw many cranes and herons as we walked alongside the salt marsh. Then we headed towards the 4-mile river through meadows and woodlands. That trail climbed up to an overlook at Tony's Nose. We explored the pavilion and white sand beaches before heading back to the car.

That was ospreys bathhouse this is there I'm staying for two weeks I'll have keep using my own RV

We came on a Sunday evening around 5:30pm and boy was the beach busyyyyyy. The sand is the softest in CT, I'd say, and there's practically no trash. Great view of the water, as like any other beach. Water was perfect, no trash or scum around. The bathrooms... Yuck. Wet toilet paper scattered all over the floors, some beach-goers like to use the toilet and stuff it with toilet paper without flushing, no attendants monitoring or cleaning it. Absolutely disgusting. Please please please, clean up after yourself after using the bathroom, you don't need to be told this after the age of 7.

Beautiful spot with so many scenic views. Ample parking and stunning pavilion. Amazing beach and hiking areas.

All the basics! The Osprey camp loop had a great tree canopy, flush toilets, and (free) showers with actual warm water. Not bad! Though no water hookup was at sites themselves, taps were all around the loop and dishwashing space was available by the bathhouses. Firewood was $5 a bundle, and available at the camp office as it should be! :) We also liked having a dump station when we left (and wish we knew about the clean water tap beside it so we wouldn't have to pre-fill before driving). Best of all was having the walking/bike route to the beach, seeing deer, herons, egrets, a garter snake, and blue claw crabs and schools of fish from the bridge. At the beach the water between tides was shallow enough to allow walking far from the shoreline, and clear enough to see tiny hermit crabs crawling on the ocean floor. The white beach sand appeared to be raked every morning. There are showers for a quick rinse when you leave the beach, and more communal showers in the beach restrooms (alas, not as warm as the camp shower!). We liked the long boardwalk and watching trains go by constantly--but recommend avoiding the poison ivy all along the woodsy part of the boardwalk. Apparently there's also a second entrance to the park, directly across from the Niantic KOA if you prefer more amenities, but entry for CT residents is free at the main gate too. In all, neither the most glamorous nor the roughest place to camp, and a great local escape!

We went here in the springtime, not for the beach, but for hiking on the trails. I will say that the beach area is really pretty, with nice white sand. The trails themselves were pretty well maintained, but some of the worst blazing that I've seen. Thankfully, we had maps, otherwise it would be easy to get lost here. The hiking and bird watching was great here, though, and I can see why this place gets really crowded in the summertime.

Pretty scenic woods and marshes, however the beach is not that great, camping might be good but I'm not sure, I don't plan to go here for the beach

Rocky neck is my family's favorite beach in CT. We lived in Maine for seven years about 5 min from the ocean, we were used to the rocky coastline & always enjoyed the rocks more than sand around the beach. When we moved to CT, we were looking for rocky shores around known beaches and were disappointed everywhere. We went to half a dozen known beaches in CT as well as Rhode Island but none of them have giant rocks to sit on. We almost gave up until we discovered the Rocky neck state park, there are beautiful giant rocks to the right of the beach and plenty of shades to hid under, this has become our fav. beach in CT. We just came back here for July 4th weekend, only 1 hour easy drive from Hartford & what a relaxing day! We did a little fishing but no one caught anything including a bunch of other fisherman. I decided to snorkel around a bit, the water is cold but not freezing like Maine. I was able to scope out the deepest spot which is to the far right, near the tallest rock. Although fishes are not around today, we still had a great time. For others, there are sand beaches, BBQ pits, picnic tables, camping grounds, San bathing lawn etc. you name it. There is something for everyone. I think it's the best beach in CT!

Very clean & the water is decent . You won't find a bunch of seaweed and oil in this water here . Even on a October afternoon the water wasn't that cold and my 7 yr old was able to enjoy one last hoorah at the beach. During the summer season they do have showers outside and a food shack that is pretty good . The train to NYC is on the route so you may see it pass by a few times when your there . Parking is a breeze and plenty of it. Beware it's made of rocks ,so you may want to park farther away of you don't like driving over them like I don't,lol. They have a nice camping sight just around the bend . Easy access to the highways ! Connecticut plates for all State parks are free now to get in all year long ! Maybe a small fee for outsiders.

Wonderful for a family beach day with young kids. We loved this beach. The sand was soft and the water was clear and beautiful. When the tide is low there are lots of sandbars to explore and you can walk out a long way from shore in shallow water. The kids loved playing in the inlet stream and looking for hermit crabs and clams. The only downside is that it's a bit of a walk if you have a lot of stuff. There are also no waves which can be an upside or a downside depending on what you're looking for. It was a great place to skimboard. We saw some kids doing it and want to try it next time.

I wasn't expecting to see something so beautiful this beach made me feel like I was in Rhode Island or Cali . Where I'm from the beaches are small and cute so I don't run into beaches that make me feel like I'm on vacation . Hopefully you know what I mean if you're a traveler you get it lol . But anywho lovely beach nice and clean and I love a mix of different people which I saw & loved . This is definitely my new spot . Price: not sure I went after 6 Parking: plenty Very clean A lot of kids tho

This is a very beautiful beach. The sand is soft and white. The water can be colder than most in Connecticut but it's definitely one of the clearest. I would say you have about 50 meters from the sand to the ocean so it's close to see the little ones if you are far away. People also jet ski and driver there boats here. I would recommend coming to this beach. They also have camping grounds. I haven't personally stayed here for camping but I've heard good things.

We spent 3 nights camping at Rocky Neck State Park. The park is very pretty and convenient but read more details below about its quirks. BEACH - Beautiful beach with a separate grassy section for picnicking/grilling. Water is relatively calm so great for wading. Lifeguards until about 5 PM. Large bathing pavilions and restrooms. Concession stand available. Amtrak runs at the edge of the beach so you will hear passing trains. Beach is about 15 min. walk from the campground so very convenient. SALT MARSH - pretty salt mark near the beach. Great for bird watching and crabbing. TRAILS - There are some mostly flat trails for those who want other activity besides the beach. CAMPING - Location - 5 min. from I-95 Exit 72. Lots of stores & restaurants within 15 min. of the park. Burger King and Stop & Shop are located at Exit 74 in Flanders. - Cost - $20/site/night. $30 for out of staters. - Osprey loop campsites are woodsy and offer the most privacy. However, campsites vary in size. You can definitely park 2 cars or a car and an RV on the blacktop pad but some sites have little space to pitch a tent. We had to switch our campsite to another to fit our two small 6X6 tents! The ground is full of rocks and just dirt (no grass) so my tents ended up with holes at the bottom. Therefore, I do NOT recommend this loop for first-timers at Rocky Neck. - Heron, Crane, Seagull & Egret loops - these are mostly open field camping on a lawn. No privacy but lots of space with partial shade from trees. Tent campers and those with more gear will do well with these larger sites. - Bathrooms - bathrooms/bathhouse (4 toilets & 2 showers with 2 dishwashing stations outside) at each loop. They are relatively clean although not as clean as those at state parks at NJ, NY, PA & MD. We went during a week that was almost all booked and never needed to wait to use the bathroom or shower. - Firewood - available at the campground office for $5 a bundle. Enough to burn for about 2 hr. if you pace yourself. - Laundry - no laundry facility inside the park but there are laundromats at Niantic (exit 74). - Fishing - You can fish from the jetty but it would require longer poles to extend out. There is a boat launch at Four Mile River (driving distance) if you bring your canoe/kayak. No kayaking from the beach though. - Camping during COVID - No campers wore masks at bathrooms or dishwashing stations. Luckily, the bathroom had at most 3 people at a time so I was at least 6 ft. away from them. The risky part is taking a shower as they are not 6 ft. apart. For my 3 showers, I showered next to someone on the first day but showered alone on the 2nd & 3rd day. You mostly will have the shower to yourself if you shower before 7:30 AM or after 10:30 PM.

This is the beach from my childhood so I wanted to take my children to experience it as well! We went yesterday and had a great day. It is still as nice as I remember. The sand is the softest sand in CT and the water is pretty clean. Several indoor bathrooms and changing areas. I loved walking all around and finding some really great nooks and crannies like the breakwater, the cobblestone Pavilion, the walking trails and the picnic areas with grills. I gave four stars because I did feel there was trash in the sand and on the grass that should be taken care of promptly. It wasn't awful, but definitely throughout the beach and very obvious.

**BEACH REVIEW ONLY** I have to admit that generally I do not like going to the beach because my past beach experiences have been less than than stellar. However, after visiting Rocky Neck State Park and giving the beach another shot, I have to admit this was MY BEST beach experience. Parking was quick and easy, even though my cousin got short changed at the entrance gate, but they remedied that issue. The beach itself was clean (free of trash on the beach and in the water), there were no rocks in the sand, and most importantly, the sand was not hot on the day that I visited. Furthermore, there were lifeguards at about every 50 feet, which is reassuring for the the safety of the beach goers. Overall, I would come back to this beach in the future.

i have been to many beautiful parks, this is not one of them. though if your really board this is a good place to go. they do have a beach. i have been unable to find it. the beach is probably the best part of the park. if i could of found it, it would probably added points to my review. they do allow camping. and they do have picnic areas. i would have given them one star, but i did not want to be mean

We had a very nice time camping in this park. It had a couple of hidden gems I'm glad we found out about before we left. The beach (beautiful) and Bakers Cave, which in and of itself isn't anything much, but finding it was fun. We followed the map at the Nature Center and it took us on a nice short hike to get to the general location and then we spent about 10-15 minutes searching for the cave. Once we found it, we realized that we had totally passed by the entrance to it from the road! There's a short staircase leading right to it, but no signage whatsoever, so you have no idea what the stairs lead to, and looking up the stairs, you see nothing that resembles the opening to a cave at all. It turns out the cave opening is so small you have to get down on your hands and knees to enter. It was cobwebby and buggy, so we only went in far enough to see graffiti in there, so we figured it's just a place for kids to hang out and smoke, probably. But it was fun searching for the cave and finally finding it, and we don't know how far back it goes, so it could be pretty neat. The beach was clean, sunny, warm, great sand, birds everywhere that let you walk right up to them before they bother to move out of the way. The water was terrific, there were people swimming and sunning. And then a couple of trains went right by the beach really fast! I knew we'd walked under tracks 'cuz we went through the tunnel, but it was still surprising to see trains literally right next to you on the beach! Kids will love this beach. As for the campsite and bathrooms...bathrooms were clean, but needed a little updating, they looked kind of run down. The campsite was fine (#22) except we picked one that was right next to the beach road, so there were cars going by frequently. They stopped at night, though, so we had a quiet night, good for sleeping. But if traffic and road noise bother you while camping, look at the map carefully and find a site not near the road. I wish we'd had time to explore more of the hiking trails, the woods were beautiful. We saw people walking their dogs and enjoying the trails. One last thing--there was a lone turkey wandering the campground in the morning. I went to take a photo of it, got within 30 feet and then a squirrel got between me and the turkey. As the squirrel went closer and closer to the turkey, the turkey decided that was far enough and ran at the squirrel, gobbling! Pretty exciting. The squirrel took off and the turkey acted like nothing had happened.

The beach is ok. The campground is cheap. You get what you pay for. It has no one monitoring it so none of the rules were followed. It was noisy. All night long. People running drills, banging, playing music through the night and early in the morning. Kids were running around swearing. I mean early. No pets allowed- except for the people that bring their big dogs. It's a great place for those who have no respect for others. The campsites are well kept and the grounds are nice. The bathrooms get gross quickly.

Beach Only** Rocky Neck beach in Rocky Neck State Park is a classic destination, I've been coming here for as long as I can remember. On my most recent visit, it was my girlfriend's first time visiting a CT-beach, and not much has changed. Despite the sand bar being small and short, it was clean. The beach itself is like I remember: gently sloping, soft sandy beach. Picnic areas, train watching, and the several trail systems and salt marsh viewing platforms make this park ideal for families. Most days you'll probably see folks crabbing or fishing. The public restrooms were clean too. We stopped by before Memorial Day so there were no parking fees yet. My only gripe is that there weren't trash receptacles except for 2 dumpsters on your drive out. I understand the whole "take out what you bring in" mantra but it's not so easy for people to follow or remember and, all throughout the parking lot we noticed people leaving behind trash. :(

Enjoyed an evening walk at Rocky Neck. There were a few beach goers enjoying the quiet end of the day. A couple of families were wrapping up their day with dinner cooked on their grills. We did spy a skunk exploring the grounds and causing some excitement among the visitors. Rocky neck gets pretty busy during the day, but we would definitely go back again for an evening walk. There are so many places to explore at the park.

I have been coming to this beach for years! I have also been camping here a few times and although it's restricted there's nothing like taking a walk at midnight from your campsite to the beach- which is about a mile walk depending on your campsite. Admission is $9 dollars for state residents, $13 for out of state during the week! On the weekends the admission cost goes up. $13 for state residents and $22 for out of state. We just went this past weekend and I must say. A weekend morning around 8:30 is perfect. No one is on the beach- however, by 1:30-2:00 the beach is starting to get packed. This is around the time we leave the beach anyway because we get there so early but it's when the majority of people start rolling in. This is the perfect spot in the summer if you want to make a day of it. Further down the road is the book barn and an Italian restaurant. If you're more of a seafood kind of person when you're in the area you can always hop down 95 to Madison for Lenny and Joe's or head up to Mystic for some great seafood. Remember to always bring a trash bag because they don't have garbage cans on the beach itself. You must carry it out and throw in a dumpster- which is emptied every day. Please always clean up your area and if you notice anything that's not supposed to be there please carry it out even if it's not yours. Our wildlife depends on how we treat their habitats. Also, it was mid June and my husband and I found two jellyfish that were red in color. Definitely not something I've seen in this location. And definitely not this early! Always be safe!!!!

Camp ground was filthy and not picked up after previous camper stayed here. Bathroom doors installed incorrectly. 4 our of 4 in a bathroom didn't close. I had to pee standing up in the women's bathroom while holding the bottom with the tips of my fingers hoping no one walked in. The toilet was not even bolted to the place it was supposed to be attached too.

A nice beach in the summer but better in the winter Rocky Neck is one of the most popular beaches in Connecticut. I'm not sure about the exact statistics but Rocky Neck along with Hammonasset Park in Madison have to be the two beaches that have the highest attendance in the state. A nice gentle, protected beach where little kids, families and disabled folks can enjoy the ocean. Very few large waves, it's not for surfers or people that like some excitement but the water is usually clean and never many jelly fish or sharks. Lots of camp sites and a very cool old stone pavilion to climb around on. If you don't mind swimming in the shadow of the Millstone nuclear power plant, this is a nice place to spend a summer day. What a lot of people don't realize is that the beach, with it's great ocean views is only a small part of the park. Rocky Neck is over 700 hundreds and also has a lot of hiking trails and very different terrain from the beach and ocean. Very few people come here after the the beach officially closes so the solitude in the winter makes a stark contrast to the hordes that envelop this area in the summer. The trails wind up and down steep hills and through frozen swamps and around gigantic glacial boulders. The geology is fascinating with rock smoothed and almost polish by the recession of the glacier 15,000 years ago. A lot of the rock is grantic gneiss, which is a very cool looking rock with a banded, striking texture. Very old stuff, laid down over a billion years ago. Orienteering events are sometimes held here that take advantage of the varied terrain. Orienteering is a sport that lets the competitors use a compass and a map to find check points hidden in the woods. You frequently have to make decisions whether to stay on a path or fight through the rougher areas. Weather, water level and insect density often guide the decisions. A very cool park to visit in the summer if you don't mind crowds and noise. But like most places it's real beauty comes out only after the snows of winter start to blow. When all the people and noise go away and you can be alone with the boulders, ocean and cold winds.

They have completed the boardwalk across the entire length of the beach (making the mid-stretch easier to access) and done a lot of dune restoration work. It's nice to see improvements. Campers, please consider your neighbors: - running a generator to your RV disturbs the peaceful silence and creates air pollution for your neighbors to breathe. - playing a radio loud does the same thing! We're camping in the woods, people! I want to hear the birds, not your stupid 80's hard rock.

Worth a trip if you haven't been. Conveniently located right off I95. A chill spot. Pretty New England views w woods, rocky coastline & water. Great for groups of friends/kids for frisbee, hiking, BBQ, picnics. Not the best beach around but the hiking is good. For a more thorough & fair review see Elite Yelper Megan R's review!

Rocky neck used to rock, but not anymore. I haven't been to rocky neck for a couple of years, but because of the good memories about this place, I came back just to be surprised of how much it has changed, but not for the good. I get it's pet friendly, but no one picks up after their pets. The picnic area is full of dog poop, and you can hardly walk without stepping in some. People don't care about cleanliness rules and leave some of their trash behind. Parking was free, and that's fair, but I'd rather pay so they can have money to pay someone to clean or at least enforce the rules. This has been a disappointment, and I'm not coming back unless I hear of changes.

Had a great Time with the family & friends. It was nice and clean. The kids got to play while we grilled food on the barbecue. The only thing is they say dogs allowed on web site but when we had gotten there we were told no dogs but we could still go in just not go need the water with the dog which worked out fine I have the best time ever...

GORGEOUS. I am not sure what makes this beach so beautiful for a brisk walk, but every time I walk up to the beach, I am taken back a few steps. For a CT beach it is really pretty...not crazy rocky and blah looking, alright? The overall park has plenty of picnic tables and grills. It's a nice, quiet place to go for a walk or run around.

I have been coming to Rocky Neck singe 1963, my family had a cottage next door at Giant's Neck Beach but I spent all my time and energy at Rocky Neck. Back in the day in the early 70's , the campers had dances at night and there was a basketball court with a shed and we used to play records and dance and congregate there under a flood light. So much fun. During the day we would all meet at the main entrance of the beach under the railroad bridge and walk up to the Pavillon which was open to the public back then and we would sit, chat, play cards, drink freezing Coke and eat delicious French Fries. The Pavillon is not open to the public anymore unfortunately, we had a great great time. The bathhouses used to have showers and changing rooms, but now they are gone. I still love going to Rocky Neck and keeping all those good old memories in the fore front of mind.

10/10 for the sand, who doesn't love good soft sand!! 7/10 for the water, typical CT water, not too clean but not that awful either. A little too cold for my liking but again it's CT. Not many waves, my oldest was disappointed as she loves getting knocked around in the water by waves and here it was pretty calm 9/10 cleanliness, didn't see much trash which was surprising considering there was no garbage cans nearby 4/10 crowds, here's where my ratings drop, sadly I think everyone loves this place as much as I do. If you don't like feeling like a sardine in a can this place is not for you. It is a smaller beach therefore it's packed. Very very packed! Overall I like this beach and will go again

Gorgeous scenery. I love walking the beach and taking pictures at the beach at any season. It's so beautiful and peaceful. This is a great place to hike too. I enjoy exercise, so hiking or just taking a stroll or a power walk are some of the exercises I enjoy doing. I like to be outdoors, am an active person, appreciate the beauty of nature. I enjoy seeing nature, such as the seagulls at the beach. Whether it's snow on the beach or a gorgeous summer day, it's a great place to be.

I don't know what it is, but I went to the other end of the beach tonight and my skin and bathing suit smelled like I had been swimming in a toilet, I don't know how two sides of the same beach can differ so much.

I'm not a beach guy, but my daughter wanted to go swimming. The beach wasn't bad, I didn't see any trash or cigarette butts anywhere. There's are train tracks next to the beach with trains going by once in a while, we thought it was kinda cool. It's nice that they have outdoor showers to rinse off, and the changing rooms weren't too bad. It was $22 to get in for out of state residents.

Great hiking for families and dog friendly. It is mostly flat so if you are looking for hills and climbs this will not be for you. I only did one trail but will be going back.

I love Rocky Neck State Beach. After reading some of the other reviews, I would like to clear a few things up for people searching this destination. 1) Rocky Neck is a SMALL usually quiet little beach, with small sands and fairly quiet waters. This is NOT the place if you are looking to have a beer beach party, or to get your crazy nature hike on. This is a place to sit back, relax, and read Game of Thrones. 2) I have NEVER in my 7 years of going to this beach been disturbed or horrified by the restrooms. Yes. They are public restrooms at an outdoor recreational location, one that hosts many many kids. If you can't handle a 30 second squat over the seat, get outta here. 3)There is ample parking, none of which is too much of a walk to the beach or the restrooms. The lot is open and sunny, a couple lucky cars can find tree shade. The beach itself does not allow alcohol, however my girlfriends I have had many a boozy picnic out on the grass by the lots. There are picnic tables available, and also a small concession stand that I cannot really vouch for. (I like to eat fresh on the beach) 4) This is a beach and camping destination. Small areas for camping, small trails for biking and hiking. Quaint and quiet, not crazy loud huge campground. 5) The parking rates are reasonable, but even better is buying the CT State Park Pass, which allows veichles access to any CT State park or beach. Less than $70 for the season. 6) This beach is the most convenient, at least for me. The drive takes just about 40 minutes, from Hartford, and its a nice, easy straight shot from Rte. 9 Go get your tan on!!!

**This review is for the campground and beach only** My fiancée and I have camped all over the country in: Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Kings Canyon, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and more. We have experienced everything from beautiful and wooded campsites to sparse and desolate campsites, and this review is not based on subjective "beauty" or taste. The reason for a one-star rating is as follows. Firstly, the price is higher than anything we have ever paid: $33/night for the first night and $30/night subsequent nights for out-of-state license plates (we live in NYC). In my experience, campsites are anywhere from $10-$25. Secondly, despite the high fee, the campsite was littered with trash, plastic, old silverware and other garbage previous campers had burned and left in the fire pit. Usually, a ranger or campsite manager will come around to at least tidy up the campsites before new occupants come in, but obviously not this one. The campsite also had a distinct odor of urine. Thirdly, when night fell, there were a large number of mice making forays around and into the campsite for trash. Again, we have camped and backpacked in backcountry locations and urban locations all around the country, and we have never experienced the numbers of mice and the level of tameness that we did here. It was clear these rodents were used to pilfering food and scraps from the site, another indication of the overall lack of cleanliness of the site. We are used to squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, beavers, and other such animals around the campsite. In fact, we welcome those kinds of animals, but only when they are wild, not when they are behaving like these. There were also several skunks that came within 10-15 feet and lingered throughout the night, clearly not afraid at all of humans. Fourthly, the beach was okay. There was, again, a large amount of garbage. Having grown up and camped many places in Northern California, maybe I am spoiled, but I have never experienced as many bottles, cigarette butts, plastic wrappers, and other refuse at any other beach. Also, maybe this is normal for East Coast, but the Metro North line is literally within 20 feet of the beach, so there's a lovely, quaint train that passes by every so often. Not my idea of a picturesque and inviting beach, personally. Not as bad as Ocean Beach in SF though when it's littered with syringes, I guess. Finally, when we decided to leave after the first night of our two nights (which we paid for as walk-ins the day before at the office on site), we were told we had to call reserveamerica.com. When we did that, we were directed back to the site office. Then the first woman who told us to call reserveamerica.com then told us we had to call the campsite manager, Gary Nasiatka (860) 739-1334. We absolutely do not appreciate getting the run-around or having people pass the buck and the responsibility. When we called him and asked for a refund for a night we weren't planning to stay there, he asked why. My fiancée explained our experience, and he disregarded and disrespected her by saying, "Well, maybe you should stay in a hotel next time," and told her if we wanted a refund, we'd have to write a letter to a P.O. Box address he provided, which was infuriating. We were driving, and when we pulled over, I called him back within an hour, gave him my information, and told him I did not appreciate him treating my fiancée that way and that I would like to speak to him. He never responded. Had Gary Nasiatka (860) 739-1334 responded in a more respectful way, even just professionally given us our refund for a night we did not use--and for which we checked out plenty early--this review would be three stars.

Heading north on the motorcycle I didn't make the mileage I planned on. I hit the local Econolodge which was $130 a night, went down a notch to the Super 8 which was $109 a night and smelled like the mothballs in my grandmothers closet. I told the inn keeper I wasn't paying over $100 and thought wig three cars in the parking lot at 10pm he may drop down to a somewhat more digestible $80 a night but he wasn't having it. My next stop was the state park and I was glad to see they were open but they didn't have a vacancy. Just as I revved the bike and started to ride away they said.to hold up. After asking how long I was staying I said one night. I was told they did have some space set aside for emergencies. This was a whopping $14 a night!

This place is well worth the drive. Great for drone flying operations. Best of both worlds! Great beach and behind you is an amazing forest.

Drove up here from NYC for a nice day of hiking and to spend some time at the beach. I had only read a bit of information beforehand, but it turned out to be pretty different from what I expected. It's $22 per vehicle for non-residents of CT, which is reasonable if split among a group. Other fees are listed somewhere online. Plenty of parking on the Saturday that we went, but only a few spots with shade. The hiking trail kinda sucked. I was hoping for more of a workout since I rarely get one.. ever, but it was very flat and easy to walk. Distances are also fairly short--you can choose routes for less than a mile, and the longer ones are just a bit over. Lots of annoying bugs (though none that bite, I think), so be sure to bring bug spray. There are areas to picnic and BBQ in the field areas surrounding the parking lot. We thought it would be hard to grab a grill at lunch time on a Saturday, but it was actually not crowded at all. More people at the beach, though we easily grabbed an open spot. The water is shallow, and the lifeguards suck. "NO TUBES!" "NO FRISBEES!" "OFF THE SHOULDERS PLEASE!" You seriously are not allowed to do anything but splash around.. lame. For a period, they made everyone get out of the water. Sharks?? I'm not sure. I did spot a jellyfish though, so watch out for those. For all the rules that they have about being in the water, it's annoying that they allow people to smoke on the beach. It's disgusting finding cigarette butts lying around. Overall, a fun place to go to escape the city, as it's only about a 2 or 2.5 hour drive. Maybe not the best place for serious hikers and those who want to do more than wade around, but still a nice and relaxing getaway.

My boyfriend and I had an excellent day at the beach here. We arrived in the afternoon on a weekday. Easy drive, parking was reasonably priced compared to beaches we've visited in RI, and plenty of open spots on a weekday. Short walk to get to the beach but it was scenic. We were at the east end of the beach, which was far from any lifeguards so we had no issues with tossing a ball around. There is also a volleyball net on the sand (and the sand was soft and clean by my standards). The water was clean as well- just watch out for the occasional large rock. We actually loved how shallow the water was because we were able to walk out far away from the kids playing along the shoreline. Overall we were both very impressed with this spot. For a quick getaway and some sun, you can't beat Rocky Neck!

As a campground this place is all right. I have no complaints on the camping experience. It was enjoyable. But the beach. Or so-called beach. Which is totally meh. And then you have the bathrooms. That ladies room was the most disgusting public restroom I have ever been in. Literally. I'll spare you the horror of describing the horror. Three stars for camping. One star for the beach experience.

This state park may be more known for its beaches, but there are some excellent (non-challenging) trails here as well! While hiking with our two dogs, we stumbled on several deer near the beginning of one trail. They let us approach to within several feet of them--adorable! It's not going to be a workout hike by any means, but if you want to wander off into the woods and through some very pretty fields, this is a great local spot.

What an awesome state park! A definite fun place - with a great beach and places to hike. I have now been there twice - and while it is crowded in the summer, it is enjoyable in both the summer and fall. It is a great place to enjoy the outdoors!