the beach today
Connecticut Shoreline

Hammonasset
Beach

Shoreline Days

Connecticut's largest shoreline park: over two miles of Long Island Sound beach in Madison, with a boardwalk, the Meigs Point Nature Center, salt-marsh trails and calm, swimmable water made for families.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

West Beach

Main swimming beach with the widest sand

State park · lifeguards

Meigs Point

East end by the jetty and Nature Center

Fishing · nature center

Middle Beach

Central stretch along the boardwalk

Boardwalk · pavilions

Madison Surf Club

Madison's town beach, 10 min west

Residents · guests

Hammonasset Campground

550+ sites steps from the sand

Camping · reserve ahead

Rocky Neck State Park

Crescent Sound beach 30 min east

State park · pavilion

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Madison

10 min west

Historic Boston Post Road center, R.J. Julia bookstore and dining

Guilford

15 min west

One of New England's largest town greens and the lobster pound

Clinton

10 min east

Cedar Island Marina, the outlets and harbor charters

Branford

25 min west

The Thimble Islands and Stony Creek village

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Hammonasset Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Hammonasset, the water is 59°F, surf is running 1–2 ft and the air is 62°F but feels like 55°F. Wind is 12 mph from the SW and the UV index peaks at 3 (moderate) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 193 minutes right now. Today’s tides: High 4:50 AM, Low 11:03 AM, High 5:14 PM, Low 11:34 PM. Dogs are allowed right now. Allowed until April 2.