Rocky Neck State Park Intro

Rocky Neck State Park
East Lyme

Here we are… at Connecticut’s “other” big beach state park. Hammonnasett’s kid brother. Everything here is smaller… or lacking. Hammonnasett got a brand new updated nature center right around when Rocky Neck’s was shuttered. The beach here is much smaller. The parking lot is tiny in comparison. But you know what? There are a lot of cool things here.

Rocky Neck has camping and tons of pretty picnic spots. The historic stone Ellie Mitchell Pavilion dominates the park’s western shoreline. In the 1930’s, relief agencies constructed the curved masonry building of native materials and crafted supporting pillars with wood cut from each of the state parks and forests. I think it’s the largest WPA structure in the state.

The park is a true “neck;” bounded on the west by a tidal river and to the east by a broad salt marsh, Rocky Neck was known to both Indians and colonists as a place of abundant fish and wildlife. I’m sure that aspect is greatly diminished these days, but it’s still quite nice.