Skip to content
Rocky Neck State Park, Niantic, CT

Photo: Idawriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsFamily FavoriteOutdoor Adventure

Rocky Neck State Park

Swim off a white sand beach on Long Island Sound, walk the boardwalk and salt marsh trails, and see Connecticut's largest Depression-era building.

244 W Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357 · Niantic, CT

About Rocky Neck State Park

Rocky Neck covers 710 acres on Long Island Sound in East Lyme, set between a tidal river and a broad salt marsh. The stone-free white sand beach and boardwalk are the main draw, and about five miles of trails cross the marsh and woods. The Ellie Mitchell Pavilion, built by WPA workers in 1936 and more than 350 feet long, is the largest Depression-era structure in the state. Parking is free for Connecticut cars; out-of-state cars pay $15 on weekdays and $22 on weekends and holidays. The park has a campground and cabins too.

  • #state park
  • #beach
  • #camping
  • #hiking
  • #salt marsh

What's around here?

The closest stops to Rocky Neck State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Florence Griswold Museum

    Under $25

    Historic art museum on the Connecticut River celebrating American Impressionism and the Lyme Art Colony.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    4.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing

    Harkness Memorial State Park

    Under $25

    Coastal state park on Long Island Sound centered on Eolia, a former summer mansion with formal gardens.

    6.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing

    Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce

    No admission fee

    The chamber of commerce for Old Saybrook, Connecticut, with its office at the head of Main Street and a printed tourist guide to the area.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    6.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Ocean Beach Park

    Check prices

    A coastal beach park in New London, Connecticut, noted in travel publications for its shoreline.

    7.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Connecticut College Arboretum

    No admission fee

    Free-to-enter grounds of Connecticut College, with about 750 acres of plant collections and natural areas in southeastern Connecticut.

    8.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bluff Point State Park

    No admission fee

    An undeveloped Long Island Sound peninsula offering coastal trails, wildlife viewing, fishing, and paddling.

    11 mi awayMore like this

Near Rocky Neck State Park

More of the same kind

Keep exploring