Date visited: 3/12/2021

This was another impressive place. You can tell a lot of time and effort is expended maintaining these grounds. There's a whole bunch of trails here, with many helpful signs that point you in the right direction. There is a pond here too, with some very agressive swans. Everytime we would stop to take a photo near the edge of the lake, the swans would swim over and puff themselves up to make themselves look big. I finally found a spot on the bridge to take the dog's photo where the swans couldn't get us! The only downside is the place is a bit noisy. The I-95 Darien rest area is on the other side of the lake.

More Images

Date visited: 2/12/2022

There are a series of trails here, some are wide, some are narrow. The path laid out in the All-Trails app was hard to follow, as the loop follows a few different blazed trails. Other than some new benches, there's nothing too remarkable here.

More Images

Date visited: 3/16/2023

This beach features an off-leash dog area that's available in the winter months, from November 1st to March 31st. But beware, the dogs aren't allowed anywhere else on the beach except this small rocky area at the far end. The town of Darien pays an Animal Control Officer to sit in his truck and watch the beach to make sure that dog's don't cross the invisible line into the nice part of the beach (Tax payer money at work!). We didn't realize this as first, as I thought the dogs were only allowed off-leash in that small rocky area, but I could walk them on the rest of the beach. The sign does say "Winter Dog Walking" after all. The off-leash section isn't big enough to actually take the dogs for a walk. He did not give me a ticket even though he has been instructed to give tickets out without warnings for the evil dog owners who violate this rule. We stayed in our designated area for about 15 minutes or so. There was only one other dog here, and I had to warn the dog's owner when she crossed into the forbidden zone. Thankfully, she was able to get back in time before the officer could get to her! On our way out, I passed the officer and mentioned that the signs weren't very clear. He then proceeded to check that my dogs had their license tags. I guess he was just looking for a reason to give me a ticket at that point. Thankfully, both dogs have their licenses on their collars! It's nice that the town has an off-leash dog area on the beach, but there are better winter time off-leash beaches in the nearby towns of Fairfield, Westport and Norwalk. We actually headed to the Norwalk beach after this. There's no real reason to visit this one in Darien, as the others are all much nicer anyway.

More Images