Hammonasset Beach State Park — Attraction in Madison

This is not a very hospitable campground. Why don’t they like fun?

There are NO FIRE PITS HERE. You cannot have a fire at your campsite unless you have a raised fire pit. You can rent one (just a galvanized bucket and cinder blocks)with a $20 deposit and $12.50 per night. But hurry to set up your camp before picking up your fire pit because check in is at 1 and the camp store closes at 3pm. We arrived around 2:30, unpacked the car and set up then went to get our fire pit and they were closed. No store hours posted anywhere. I went by the front desk to see what was going on and she said sorry they are already closed. When we checked in and they told us about the fire pit situation I mentioned that my plan was to cook meals over the fire. It would have been nice if someone mentioned closing time then. They told me there was a store up the road that would have what we needed. 1.5 hours, 3 stores, 1 toddler meltdown and a very hangry mom later we still had no way of cooking. It was a very dismal start. I’m sure this is listed somewhere in the fine print but I either didn’t see it or thought they must be mentioning the pretty standard camping rule of no fires outside of established pits. By the way the wood at the camp store is absolutely horrible. Bring a fire starter or you won’t be able to get it lit.

There are also no trees at all in many of the sites. Don’t plan on hanging a hammock or tarp from a tree if you have one, that’s not allowed.

Staff is constantly driving around scrutinizing your campsite but are never friendly. Each area has a campground host but we never once saw ours either to say hello or even just outside hanging out. It was strange. We camp about 40 days per year and always make a point of meeting the hosts. We’re ours on vacation?

It’s an extremely large place so you really need a bike to get around. But be sure to watch the sun because after sunset you aren’t allowed to ride bikes or go to the playground.

The feeling I get here is that they must have had bad experiences with people abusing sites and have implemented many rules to ensure that doesn’t happen again. The fire pit thing alone was enough for us to not return. The other stuff was sort of just the icing on the cake.

The beach was nice and we found other campers friendly, bathrooms were clean. We just didn’t feel welcome.

Oh and there’s no junior ranger program. My 3 and 5 year olds love getting their patches which is one reason we chose a state park. We already have Vermont and Maine patches and thought we would go for the rest of the New England states. Thanks for nothing,...

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐚 This is hands down the best beach I’ve been to in Connecticut so far. The sand is soft, the waves are gentle and perfect for kids to splash and play. Everything is always so clean and well maintained. Whether you’re there for a quick swim, a full-day picnic, or just a peaceful walk, Hammonasset always delivers.

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𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐒: The sand is soft and comfortable to walk or play on, with no rocky or rough patches to worry about. The waves are calm and gentle, making it an ideal spot for families with little ones. Everything from the shoreline to the bathrooms is impressively clean and well-kept, which is a rare treat for a public beach. The views, especially at sunset, are stunning and offer such a peaceful, grounding end to the day.

The bathrooms are surprisingly nice, and the vending machine is a great option for grabbing a quick ice cream (huge win for kids and adults alike). The water was warm during our visit on June 20th, which made swimming extra enjoyable. We love accessing the beach via the third exit off the roundabout this spot tends to be quieter and more relaxed. The whole vibe is very family-friendly, with ample parking and fewer crowds during off-peak hours. If you’re looking for a perfect sunset spot without the chaos, this is it.

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𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒: Occasionally, you’ll run into beachgoers blasting music at full volume, which really disrupts the peaceful atmosphere. It’s baffling that with headphones existing, some still feel entitled to drown out the natural sound of the waves. Fingers crossed for a no-music policy in the future it’s the only real downside to an otherwise perfect visit.

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𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒: Try going on Fridays around 5 PM, it’s peaceful, crowd-free, and the sunset is absolutely spectacular. Use the third exit at the roundabout for a quieter beach experience. Don’t skip the vending machine if you’re craving a sweet treat just keep in mind they may be cash only. And bring a small plastic bag with you there are limited garbage bins, so packing out your trash helps keep this beautiful...

This is Cts best beach yea there's plenty of private small beaches In Milford that r great. Silver sands where Charles island is is definitely one of my favorites bc they have a huge boardwalk with two Piers u can visit and fish off of and during low tide a Sandbar gets exposed and it's a 3 quarter mile walk to Charles island and if u goggle the history it has every lore u can think of from buried treasure to haunted buildings that burned 3x. That's all in Milford but here in madison an awesome destination for tourists to visit as our supreme swimming camping fishing boardwalk games clean sand well manicured beaches and we get 2 to. 4 ft waves and it's number one on my list so please call a month or two ahead for camping and RV sites very close to the ocean feet away and great places to eat all withing a mile of the beach fresh seafood places in one area probably all 4 are excellent they have a shack called I believe captain clams and they have great fried fresh seafood lobster rolls out of this world go explore Madison they also have new haven pizza called Grand 🍕 I eat there twice a week once for pizza and once for there meals unbelievable steak and cheese bread it's huge like a calzone stuffed with steak cheese garlic and what ever else u want on it. This week we had meatball mash potato pizza it was so good we went back and got another one well I gave 3 reviews in one hope u enjoy what I write and if it's close to how I explained come back and give me a good review rating it helps me a lot thank u enjoy ur summer. And cove visit the best campgrounds in the area a mile from this beach. It's called Riverdale family farm and 🏕️ full hook ups. Great place...