Wonderful in the off season when locals can enjoy. Would probably be a good idea to let only so many out of state cars so we can enjoy a local park in the summer too. read more

Camped here. Clean bathrooms, big pitches. You can hire a fire pit and wood from the campsite shop, the owner is very nice. Walk down to the beach in the morning. It's only 15 mins from my house but I always feel like I've been on vacation after a couple of nights here! read more

Absolutely beautiful place to go!!! Five minutes from where I live in Clinton. Currently it's free to get in but after Memorial that you have to pay unless if you're a little resident and get a pass it's free. There's so much to explore it isn't Nature Center, and Campground. You could go bike riding, walking etc. I don't think I would go swimming in that water though I'm from Long Island New York South Shore girl I like my ocean so that water is just not my kind of water it's very you Rocky and full of shells underneath. But we went and climbed out on the huge rocks there and the big Rock Island @ Meigs point. We when on Sunday April 23rd it was gorgeous. So many people were just there hanging out having lunch trying to catch a few Rays even though it was a bit chilly period just a good day to get out. We didn't go to all the different beaches in the area. Honestly it's only been like the 3rd time I've been there in the five years I've lived here my boyfriend was up visiting and I figured I take him in there for a ride. On Long Island where he's from and where I grew up we have Hecksher State Park so I wanted to show him & compare it to that. I'll definitely go back as the weather gets nicer. We have the free pass to get in. Definitely will do some walking and bike riding safer than doing it in the neighborhood Industries even know where I live it's completely safe anyway but the view and the scenery is just gorgeous read more

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Over the years, the water quality of the sound has deteriorated significantly. The last time I went swimming here in 2015, I exited the water for the last time. I had a sticky film all over my body that smelled like a sewer. I couldn't wait to get home to take a shower. I can see why few people swim here anymore. The water is truly DISGUSTING! The mosquitos will eat you alive too. Personally, I think the water should be off limits to anyone for swimming. Especially children who don't know any better. The water has been cited many times, over the years, for HORRIBLE pollution. One time, HIV+ needles were found floated around, back in the 1980s. At other times, raw sewage. Why this beach is still open is a mystery! There are many speed traps set up by the local Police on the way to this beach. It is probably done to recoup the lost money from the masses who stay away due to the filthy conditions. If you care about your health, happiness, and your quality time, please choose another place to go. read more

Where to start? Most of the campsites are in full sun and on tiny crammed together postage stamp spots. Picnic tables are in various states of disrepair. Forget asking for a better one. It won't happen. We actually had a shaded site .. thank you for Reserve America and the ability to reserve several months in advance. I think that was the only positive aspect of our visit. We reserved for two weeks and ended up leaving before our stay was up. The bathrooms were barely maintained and it was not unusual to have several toilet stalls without paper. The showers were difficult to use as you had to lean heavily against the shower wall to get under the water and could not adjust the temperature. It was actually way too hot and scalded more often than not. Not good when you've returned from the beach with a sunburn and wanted a cooler rinse than was available. The toilets never flushed completely and made one wonder how much water was being saved when you had to flush two or three times before paper would go down. Forget soap .. although there was a hot air hand blow dryer. Also located at the restrooms was a dishwashing station .. nice idea, but most of the time the sinks were clogged and unusable. Although the park has a great huge parking area for beachgoers .. many that stayed in the campground attempted to park at the campstore lot for the day. Since it's obvious that nobody can read and that authorities do not enforce the 15 min parking rule .. it made it extremely difficult for us to park to purchase ice or firewood. We certainly were not gonna carry these heavy items all the way back to our site without a vehicle. Speaking of unenforced rules .. no one stopped a man and his son from flying a kite right at the walkway to the camp beach. The wind was brisk and the kite hit several people trying to access. Our biggest peeve was the lack of enforcement of the noise policy. There was a set of 4 campsites that hooted, hollered, played bongos, guitars, buckets, pieces of wood, tin buckets, new years eve horns ... you name it. Got the picture? Most were drunk and disorderly beginning around 4pm and the "band" usually started up just before dark. These weren't young adults either .. I am ashamed to say the average age had to be about 50. They had no respect for other campers .. we were several sites away, but that did not diminish the noise. We could not hear our own radio (sometimes our own voices) without adding to the chaos. Complaints were made by numerous registered campers. We complained EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK. Nothing was done to alleviate the noise or to remove the offenders. One of my fellow campers tried to ask them to lower the levels and was told by one of the two troopers that was also camping with them that they would arrest him if he didn't go away. I was informed on my visit that they could make as much noise as they wanted .. as loud as they wanted .. until 10:00 pm. Unfortunately, they didn't know how to tell time either as they continued on past midnight on a couple of nights. This was also the same group that took over the volleyball court one day with beers in their hands. Oblivious to the children riding past on their bikes. Definitely have to mention one fellow from the group who had the nerve to tell a little girl on her bike with training wheels to ride somewhere else because she was keeping him awake at 9 am. The campground offers movie nights, but not on a regular basis. They posted movies for nights that were going to obviously rain and none at all when the weather was due to be beautiful. Posted also was the note that movies would be cancelled even if it hinted at rain. Hence, not a single movie was played during the nearly two weeks we were there. No .. We won't be going back. read more

Gorgeous view, plenty of parking, clean concession stands and restrooms. People weren't drunk and stupid, you'll see families and younger couples just hanging out. I will definitely return again. We had a good time. read more

This is a beautiful, well maintained, clean beach. Even the bathrooms are kept clean. Lots of space to spread out and have some privacy. Plenty of parking. An easy drive from the Springfield area (much closer than the Cape.) For a day at the beach, this is the place to visit. But bring cash because parking costs $$! read more

Did not enjoy my stay at this camp. No noise can be made at this site if you're looking for a good time out camping. People are too strict in this place. read more

Best beach on the shoreline! Easy access from the 95, gets busy at peak times.

An easy day at the beach. Good people watching. Lifeguards. Bathrooms, shower, changing rooms, outdoor spigot for washing feet. Saw some neat birds. Plenty of shells. Small waves, water not deep. We went for a nice walk to Meigs Point. Beach food and snacks if you want. Plenty of nearby parking. Short drive to Madison Center for window shopping, lunch, books (RJ Julia) read more

I didn't enjoy my time at this camp. After 8pm you couldn't make any noise and the park rangers didn't act or approach me professionally. If you want pay to be babied, this is the place for you. read more

I went camping here recently with family. This beach is alright given how close it is to my house, but I always prefer to drive a little bit farther to go to nicer beaches, like Rocky Neck in East Lyme, or RI. The beach was absolutely beautiful at night when we snuck out onto it, and it was empty. The campground was alright, props to the bathrooms that didn't run out of toilet paper all weekend. In addition to a few skunks running around, there were a lot of older people and families with children camping that didn't appreciate us staying up late and having fun, and no one was nice about telling us to quiet down. My recommendation is to bring ear plugs whenever you go camping, so that everyone can enjoy themselves. I certainly do! Oh, and wear your shoes, because one person stepped on a diabetic finger stick NEEDLE at our campground. GROSS!! read more

Camping- this review is only for the camping site. Pro- Reservations and check-in were easy and the staff was friendly. We were able to book a site the day before we arrived and only needed room for a tent. Con- The bathrooms were ok (not great) and there was no privacy between sites, it was just big open spaces. Most campers were families with RVs, but they seemed to be having fun. The beach was beautiful and great for a long walk. read more

What a gem this park is for CT. On a long spit of sand the beach is lovely, south facing, and seems to stretch for miles! even on a busy day with thousands of others there is still plenty of space and the people are oooh sooo nice. The covered patios are also very well constructed and I am betting that this place is so spacious for the locals during the week. Come and enjoy a wonderful afternoon at the beach. Whether sun bathing or bundled up reading a book, this place is nice! read more

I have been to this beach twice. I love that there are multiple areas of beach and ample parking. The nature sanctuary is really cute (but closed on Monday's). The waves are big enough for my six year old to boogie board, but not so big that I was nervous. You can walk out a great distance and still have your head above water. The water is not clear though, but that is common for Connecticut beaches read more

Great place to go. If you live in CT it's free and the facilities are nice. This is a great state park to go to the beach.

Perfect early April hike! Not crowded and no one was collecting fees! Great walk/bike path, as well as trails along the beach, cool rock areas to sit or climb and listen to the waves crash. And pat a few beach puppies along the way. Nature center and marsh for interest points. View on live cam mom n dad osprey hamging out in their nest. Just a relaxing, scenic and interesting day. Check out cute town of Madison or nearby towns before or after. read more

Perfect for night walks on the beach, beach days with the kiddos, or just a nice relaxing picnic! I love coming here for walks and will often go for runs when the kids go to school before I have work. It's so much nicer to go for a run in a beautiful place like this rather than staring at all of the other sweaty people in a gym LOL. It's so relaxing and perfect for all of us townies - and a great vacation spot for the out of state people. Try camping here, its so much fun, the lots are great and people are extremely respective of quiet hours, so you can stay up all night telling ghost stories if you want to, or you can go to sleep! I love Hammonasset so much. read more

This review is for the beach, as we haven't had an opportunity to check out the rest of the park. We visited in mid-July, on what was likely one of the biggest beach weekends of the year, and while there were plenty of positive things about Hammonasset, the negatives were hard to overlook. Parking was surprisingly easy, and relatively inexpensive-- $13 for Connecticut residents. As others have mentioned, the beach is huge, so there are plenty of options in terms of where to set up shop. On this trip, we headed for Middle Beach. It was very crowded (like I said, one of the biggest beach weekends of the year), which isn't really my speed. We had to walk quite a while along the boardwalk to find a spot that wasn't totally overrun. The beach itself is shallow compared to most others I've been to-- the distance between the dunes and fenced off area and the water couldn't have been more than forty or fifty feet in most of the areas we saw. The water was really murky, and full of plastic, which isn't surprising given the fact that visitors evidently have no problem leaving their trash all over the sand. It was really disheartening to see the number of empty plastic bags and bottles all over the place. We didn't see many trash receptacles near the beach, but still-- how hard is it to take your garbage with you? The restrooms are well-maintained and quite clean, which was nice. Although our overall experience was sub-par, I would like to give Hammonasset a second shot, and we probably will at some point. read more

Came on a Friday in early August. It's packed. I guess I shouldn't expect any less with only 2- miles or beach. Enjoyed a couple of good sips of blue moon though. With that said, I may never come again. #Duces read more

If you can't make it another 50 miles to the beautiful RI beaches go here. Campsites are primitive "no hook-ups". If you are not a CT resident bring plenty of cash they charge $22 for just beach parking!!!! read more

Today was my first time at this beach and I have to say that we had a good time. We had a picnic in the west beach area in the shade. The area was very close to the beach, right next to the beach access pathway. The picnic area was good. The bathrooms are portable trailer type which translates to small and stinky. The beach area itself was pretty. I did go in the water and it wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. The beach was pretty clean, but the picnic area could have been a little cleaner. Bottom line is hamonassett is nice, but I prefer Seaside in Bridgeport over this beach. read more

A beautiful large beach perfect for camping and spending time with family and friends. Don't forget to bring your towel to lay down on and be careful of animal poop. During the off season the beach does not get cleaned as often. During the off season its free to go to and not crowded. read more

We spent a few hours here enjoying the beach on our New England road trip this summer. Nice beach - VERY clean and the water wasn't freezing. Lots of bathroom stalls for changing. We would've liked a place to rent chairs since we weren't equipped with those and didn't want to buy them for a few hours' use. Concession stands would also have been nice. read more

Good Beach......Loads of Parking... Great place to bike or take in nature!

Nice trails and plenty of parking. Quiet beach where you can go rock hunting for some great variety of beach rocks . Close to the Clinton Outlets for some shopping before or after. read more

Nice, lots of amenities, visitor/nature center. Nice views. Special areas for different activities. Dedicated motorcycle parking areas. Pavilions. read more

Great beach . If 13 is too expensive go with the season pass which is a great deal. This beech is AWSOME . It's so big you can always find a good spot to relax read more

Hammonasset is very clean and beautiful. It is perfect for the child I was babysitting and perfect for me to relax.

Love love this beach. Spend time here every year during labor day weekend. Clean, great facilities and always ample parking. Can't wait to head there this year too. read more

This park is wonderful. It is big enough to not be too crowded. It was a great day for the family (with small kids). There is also great food nearby so you can really enjoy the day. I am excited to go camping here as the camp sites looked great. read more

I guess we're just not used to paying to go to the beach. $13 per car. Wasn't horribly crowded the day we went and found plenty of parking and room to sit. Bathrooms/changing areas were clean. Super coarse sand and one of us walked out with a small piece of glass in their foot. There seemed to be plenty of campers set up. Probably not headed back anytime soon, I'll stick with my regular beach spot. read more

Enjoyed visiting this park on our first trip to Madison, CT. It was easy to access, and we appreciated the ease of getting around. Only reason I did not give it 5 stars, is that I think out-of-state visitors should be able to purchase a multi-day pass to enter the state parks at a discounted rate from the daily rate, if planning to come for a limited part of the day, or for multiple days. Other than that, it was a nice place to hang out!! Enjoy! read more

Beautiful beach, especially off season! Great place to go for a long walk on a Sunday am in the winter.

We have been camping here for years. This time however I was disgusted by the harassment by the staff and state police towards campers. In the past the quiet time has been 10 this time loud speaker broadcasts come on at 730 announcing all campers must be on their site??? Seriously? Since when are night strolls illegal? This apparently did not apply to fishermen and movie nights! The parking was deplorable! Camp office gave me directions where to park my car as only 2 cars per site. When family group camping that's a challenge. The lot they directed me to is actually the green way and I received a large ticket. When speaking to the lot staff this is an ongoing issue of incompetence with camp staff! The staff seems to be going down hill and never new answers to questions. Our experience this time was very negative and it saddens me as we come year after year. read more

Wanted to charge us $22 to park (at the end of the day no less) because we had an out of state license plate. Um, no thanks!

My favorite beach in Connecticut... I love the clean sand and the fact that you can walk or bike miles and miles on the newly made pathways... They have a camping as well... read more

This place is gigantic!! The biggest beach I have ever seen. Its nice to go for a day, even in the colder months to go for a walk. I need to go more often, haven't been there much in a few years but plan on going more this summer, if this winter ever ends! lol read more

Love camping here! Great spots for tenting, RV's and very nice cabins too. Safe, and kid-friendly. Most campers are open to socializing.

This place is a disaster since the state made it free to enter. The crowds are loud obnoxious smokers that leave garbage everywhere. The sands are no longer clean but full of debris from the water. It used to be my favourite beach in New England. read more