the dyrt
Standard (tent/RV)
Cabins
Tent Cabin
RV Sites
Tent Sites
Fires Allowed
Pets Unknown
Drinking Water
About Rocky Neck State Park
Situated along the scenic Connecticut coastline making great camping near New Haven, Rocky Neck State Park is a is a small recreation area that features white sand beaches, salt marshes, and the rocky remnants of Ice Age glaciers. The park is located about 1 hour southeast of Hartford, near the town of East Lyme, with a view across the sound of Fishers Island, Gardiners Island, and Long Island. The park showcases several examples of ancient glacial terrain, including rock scouring and polishing, potholes and erratic boulders. In some places, the overlying sediment has been completely eroded away to reveal interesting outcrops of banded granitic gneiss.
The campground at Rocky Neck offers 160 drive-in campsites for tent and RV campers. Visitors can choose from open, grassy sites and wooded, shady sites. Each site is equipped with picnic tables and fire rings, but RV hookups are not available. Sites can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 35 feet; some sites are tent-only. Water faucets, restrooms, and trash/recycling receptacles are located throughout the campground; a dump station is located near the campground entrance. Dogs are not permitted in this park. Camping is available from May through September; sites are $20–$30/night; reservations accepted.
The main attraction at Rocky Neck is its wide, sandy beach, where visitors can lounge in the sun, or go for a dip in Long Island Sound. The park has several picnic areas for family and group gatherings, several miles of hiking trails for exploring the park’s salt marshes, waterways and natural features, and anglers can fish for saltwater bass, blackfish and flounder. Along the park’s western shore, the historic Ellie Mitchell Pavilion has concessions, and dining and lounging areas. The park also offers a variety of seasonal interpretive programs, guided hikes, wildlife viewing, and evening entertainment.
Operator
State
Access
Drive In
Walk In
Features
ADA Accessible
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Fires Allowed
Firewood Available
Market
Phone Service
Picnic Table
Reservable
Sanitary Dump
Sewer Hookups
Showers
Toilets
Trash Available
Water Hookups
Contact
Location
Rocky Neck State Park is located in Connecticut
13 Reviews of Rocky Neck State Park
Great facilities. Beautiful beach. Sometimes crowded.
Beach can be crowded. But it is worth it. Nice food shack. Great family place.
Wooded camping near the beach
Nice CT state park campground with clean well maintained campsites. Mix of open field and well shaded campsites with reasonable space, some sites have decent privacy, most are pretty open. Good access to shared drinking water, restrooms and dishwashing stations. Most sites are mixed use allowing RVs but no hook ups or dump stations available. Bathrooms/showers are ok but could use better cleaning and upkeep. Rocky Neck state park beach is within walking distance if your ambitious otherwise its a 2min drive from camp. We like it here and return often for the opportunity to camp and enjoy beach time during the summer.
great experience
every campsite has its own fire pit with a grill attachment and a picnic table. my site was tent only and you couldn’t pull your car up to the site so unloading and loading was a hassle. beach is a short drive on site and the showers were one site over. I had a great time
Close to the beach and affordable
We had a great stay here. There are no hook ups but the bathrooms are clean and there is a separate area for doing dishes. The beach is a bit of a walk but there is plenty to explore and do.
Great park, great beach
My family has camped at Rocky Neck every year since i was a child. Every site had a central bathhouse and they have a variety of tree covering options for each campers preferences. The campsite is only a short walk from the beach and available mountain bike and hiking trails. A great family campsite with easy to get to activities.
Large campground close to beach
On our way to through Connecticut, we needed to stop for a night. This was on Long Island Sound and had walk-up sites available. $33 per night gets you a site with bath house/restroom close by but no hook-ups. There is a public "beach" nearby which is way different than our Florida ones. We had to walk under the railroad tracks through a tunnel to get there. Interesting but still a nice feature and probably the main attraction here. There was also a concession stand, nature center, picnic area and boat ramp here at this park. Since we were getting a walk-up site they let us drive around and pick our site from a list of available ones. Most of them were on the small side accommodating tents or pop-ups. We found one in the Osprey loop which was very shaded. The bath rooms were clean and up to date. Good for a night on our way to Rhode Island.
