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Summer's End Means Decreased Fees at Shoreline Parks

Fees have been reduced on weekends and eliminated on weekends at regional shoreline parks including Hammonasset, Rocky Neck, Sherwood Island, and Harkness.

While summer may be unofficially over, it is not too late to enjoy the shoreline’s state parks whose prices have recently declined for the off-season.

Hammonasset Beach State Beach in Madison, Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, and Sherwood Island State Park in Westport offer swimming, fishing, hiking, picnicking, a nature center, and many scenic views.

Sherwood Island is home to Connecticut’s 9-11 Living Memorial along with the Impressionist Art Trail while Hammonasset and Rocky Nature feature a beautiful boardwalk and camping for a fee.

All three now feature free parking on weekdays until late April.

From Sept. 4 until Sept. 16, the weekend charge is $9 for residents and $15 for non-residents until 4 p.m. In the evenings, there will be a $6 charge for residents and $7 charge for non-residents.

The new weekend fee schedule is identical to the summer weekday charges.

It is quite a reduction when you consider that this past summer, all three parks charged $13 for residents and $22 for non-residents on weekends until 4 p.m. with the same evening rate.

For Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, swimming is not permitted but visitors can fish, hike, picnic, and enjoy the sights of a mansion and accompanying buildings and gardens.

Harkness also will not have parking fees on weekdays and weekend fees will match the summer weekday charge.

The new weekend rate from Sept. 4 until Sept. 16 is $6 for residents and $10 for non-residents with a $6 resident and $7 non-resident fee after 4 p.m.

This past summer, Harkness charged $9 for residents and $15 for non-residents until 4 p.m. with the same evening rate.

All parks are open 8 a.m. to sunset.

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JC May 22, 2013 at 11:36 am
Owners really need to pick up their dog's waste. It is a major polluter of the Long Island Sound.Read More Whenever your dog drops one and you leave it, think of that fish, lobster, or shellfish you ate from the Sound! Enjoy eating your dog poop bacteria!
Leslie S May 22, 2013 at 08:51 am
I'm so lucky!! For 10 years my dogs have frolicked safely in the back part of Bauer - away from theRead More roads, traffic and homes - closer to the back of the HS. I have never heard any dogs bark or 'yap', never saw a dog run into the gardens and destroy the plots, never saw a dog fight or kids being assaulted and luckily avoided all the poop they are leaving behind although I do dodge the deer pellets. My timing must be stellar to avoid all the bad dogs, their dismal behavior and threats to others. Whew!!
JC May 22, 2013 at 08:47 am
The whole state is tick infested. Luckily, dogs can use a product called Frontline Top Spot or itsRead More cheaper generic equivalent, which completely protects them from ticks and fleas. On the shoreline to Middletown, you should be using it on your dog year round. I once saw a deer tick crawling on SNOW in Madison near the Country School in February. The Lyme vacine is ineffective in most canines and most canines that get Lyme, shake it off in time - unlike humans. Top Spot keeps the ticks off or dead for the humans that pet the dog. Regardless, dogs running on cut grass some distance from woods or taller grass won't encounter many if any ticks. Especially if the outer perimeter of the fence is treated in spring and fall.