Dates visited: 7/30/2021, 11/9/2021 & 7/5/2023

We finally found a beach where dogs are welcome year round! Nope, sorry, dogs aren't allowed here in the summer months anymore. As of 2026, according to the town's website, they are no longer allowed at any time from April 1st through the second Sunday in September. I left the original write-up below. This isn't a great beach, (although it does have real restrooms). The biggest thing it had going for it was that dogs were allowed. Without that, there's really not any reason to visit here, especially since there are much nicer beaches 20 minutes away in Rhode Island, some of which dogs are allowed year round.

This is a small beach, operated by the Town of Groton. There's a little picnic area, volleyball courts, and short path to the cove as well. The beach also has real rest rooms that are clean too! Once Mandy saw the water, she couldn't get in it fast enough! We stopped a second time when we passed by here on the way home from another trip. It was an unusually mild November day. Once again Mandy couldn't wait to sit on the edge of the water. We returned for a third time a couple years later to cool off after another hike in the area.

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Date visited: 11/9/2021

This is a cool place. We hiked a three mile loop trail that featured a wide variety of different landscapes. There is a neat bridge over the rail tracks. The trail actually ran along side the tracks for a bit. There is a fence that separates the railway line from the trail. The weather was fantastic when we visited, mid 60's and sunny! Nothing better than a great trail and great weather! There is also a trail that connects this park to Bluff Point State Park, another really nice spot in Groton that we visited previously.

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Date visited: 4/24/2024

This is a great place to take your dog for a walk on a nice evening. This is UConn's Groton campus, and the grounds are open to the public. There are great views of Long Island Sound here. The highlight is the "Branford House" mansion, originally built in 1902. There's a free art gallery on the 2nd floor open to the public (but not to dogs). There's a walking path near the shore, that includes various sculptures located within the large lawn area in front of the rear of the Branford House. Also on site, is Project Oceanology, as well as a marina. I'm not sure how it took four years since we started these adventures to find this place, but it was worth the wait!

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Date visited: 5/23/2021

This area of the state was about eight degrees cooler than the Hartford area, so we headed here on a warm May day. This is a nice park with many trails. We walked the outer loop. The purple blazed section was challenging with inclines and rocky stretches, so we did that side of the loop first. The rest of the trail was wide and mainly flat, alternating between wooded sections and some more open areas. There is also a pond. This is also the home of the Groton Dog Park, named "Central Bark". It was a little hot for the park, and there were no other dogs so we passed this time. I have to say, this is the largest dog park I have ever seen. The small dog side was normal sized, but the large dog side was tremendous! All in all, this is a pretty nice place.

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Date visited: 4/9/2022

The weather was crazy on this day. The sun was out when I left the Hartford area, but on our way down here, we drove through a downpour. The sun came back out and it was clear sailing...that is until we got about five minutes away from our destination and it started to pour again. Luck was on our side, because right as we pulled into the parking area, the sun came out and the rain stopped. Surprisingly, even with the downpours, the trail wasn't muddy. This was a very nice hiking area located in both Groton and Ledyard. We actually hiked two different trails here. The red loop, was mainly in Groton, and the blue loop that circled the farm enitrely in Ledyard. The red loop was more of a standard wooded trail, but it was scenic and an enjoyable walk. The blue loop had a variety of different landscapes, and was the highlight. A short section of the loop was on a road on the far side of the farm, but it didn't detract from the adventure. Photos below are from the Groton section of the trail. Check out the Ledyard page for photos from that section.

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Date visited: 4/27/2023

This isn't a farm, and there isn't any sheep, but I guess at one point this property used to be a farm where sheep grazed. What is here now, is a fun set of trails with some ups and downs and two waterfalls. This was definitely a better than average walk in the woods.

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Date visited: 7/14/2021

Saw the Minions while stopping for food, and I had to have the dogs pose in front of them. It was late in the day, and the lighting wasn't the best, but still got the photo.

Date visited: 5/22/2022

This historic state park is the site of a revolutionary war fort. On September 6, 1781, Benedict Arnold commanded British forces who captured the site and massacred 88 of the 165 soldiers stationed there. We explored the remnants of the old fort. There are plenty of photo opportunities here, including the short tunnel which is pretty cool.

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Date visited: 7/30/2021

This is a different place from Beebe Preserve in Lyme, a place we visited recently. Here we hiked a rocky loop trail around the "pond", but it looked more like a swamp than a pond. It didn't really matter since there was no real access to the "pond" anyway. The trail was actually quite nice.

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Date visited: 7/30/2021

This is a short loop trail across the street from Beebe Pond Park. It's a good trail to add on to the Beebe trail, it's only a third of a mile long.

Date visited: 9/26/2021

This trail is a half mile, almost completely on a wooden boardwalk running along side the Poquonnock River. It's very close to Bluff Point.

Date visited: 5/12/2022

While it was mostly cloudy and 82 degrees in the Hartford area, it was 62 with bright sun in Groton. The weather was perfect for a nice two mile loop trail in the woods. The trail was fun, with some rocky and rooty areas, but generally pretty easy. It made for a pleasant evening hike.

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Date visited: 4/27/2023

The All-Trails app led me to a trail head behind Gold Star Office Park that was only labeled with a very small "Avalonia Land Conservancy" sign. The main sign is actually located at the end of a cul-de-sac on Antonino Road, which might be a better starting point. We hiked a mile and a half loof that was pretty non-descript, except for some very cool rock formations and an old rusted out junked car in the middle of the woods.

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Date visited: 7/5/2023

This was a fun hike in the woods. The loop trail runs for about one and a half miles. The section that runs along side the stream is quite an adventure. It's a rocky and rooty section, where you have to really watch your step. The last third of the loop is actually on the sidewalk leading down from a magnet school. The old path at that point is overgrown. Overall, this was a good after work hike.

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Date visited: 8/5/2024

This is the tourist trap on the west side of the Mystic River, mostly along West Main and Water Street. Like most tourist traps, the streets are lined with small gift shops, restaurants, ice cream shops and art galleries. The 1988 movie "Mystic Pizza" was based on the restaurant on West Main Street, but was actually filmed elsewhere in Stonington. The restaurant here was actually re-modeled to match the set of the movie. This was combined with our walk through Mystic River Park.

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Date visited: 5/4/2025

This is the pedestrian/bike path along the north side of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, connecting New London to Groton. We started on the New London side, and walked to just past the Groton town line, before turning around and heading back. The two pictures below are from the Groton side.

Date visited: 11/27/2025

Our Thanksgiving morning adventure was a walk through the Noank section of Groton. We started at the Town Dock, and walked about four miles through a mostly residential neighborhood. There were a number of small parks and costal access points along the way. The access point at the corner of Riverview Avenue and Palmer Court features a wooden staircase that goes down to a small sandy beach area. I didn't see any "No Dogs" signs at any of the access points, so some of these spots could be good places for dogs to cool off in the summer. Unfortunately, there is very limited parking in the area. Toward the end of our walk we also visited Spicer Park. This was a very pleasant walk on a nice and sunny Thanksgiving morning.

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Date visited: 11/27/2025

We visited this park as part of our walk through Noank Village on Thanksgiving morning. There is a walkway from Mosher Avenue that leads to a partially fenced in grassy area. The park continues across Spicer Avenue with a picnic area and boat dock, as well as the town parks and recreation building.

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Date visited: 4/16/2026

This is the park across the street from Esker Point Beach. There's a large parking lot that is also used for the beach. As of 2026, dogs are no longer allowed on the beach in the summer months (which start in April in Groton for some reason), but they are still allowed in the park. The park area is small, with a boat lunch and a picnic area. We took a few photos before heading down Groton Long Point Road and East Shore Road to visit the neighborhood of Groton Long Point.

Date visited: 4/16/2026

Groton Long Point is a unique neighborhood within the town of Groton. It is a private, self-governing community that has it's own police, fire and water departments. It is governed by the Groton Long Point Association, which is responsible for maintaining the community's infrastructure and providing services to residents. It's almost like a small town within a town. The neighborhood is located on a peninsula that extends into the Long Island Sound, and it features a number of beaches, parks and recreational facilities. It's not really a tourist attraction. In fact, I get the impression that outsiders are not really welcome. We parked at Esker Point Waterfront Park, and headed down Groton Long Point Road and East Shore Road, which led to the neighborhood. There are a number of beaches, as well as a boardwalk, but dogs aren't allowed year round. We stayed off the actual beaches, but we did find a small, rocky area just off the road, where Mandy and Lexi were able to get in the water and cool off. The neighborhood is nice, but I was amused at how protective the residents are of the amenities, especially the beaches. They're simply not that great, and there are much nicer beaches in the area that are open to the public. We still enjoyed the walk, and the few people we encountered were friendly. It was an unseasonably warm day inland, and it actually reached 90 degrees, but it was only in the lower 70's here, which is why we chose this spot. We did get a nice three and a half mile walk in, and we're able to escape the heat for a few hours, but I wouldn't recommend this as a destination to visit.

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