Harvey’s Beach, the trails in the Great Cedars Conservation Areas and the history of the Saybrook Colony offer different ways to experience Old Saybrook. When looking for a hotel, you can first decide whether the coast, outdoor activities, history or culture will shape your stay.
Coast and Outdoor Trails
Harvey’s Beach is about 100 yards long, and visitors can fish there. If you’d like to include a coastal focus in your trip, you can plan the beach and this activity together.
Great Cedars East Conservation Area covers 110 acres and has natural trails for hiking. Great Cedars West Conservation Area has trails for mountain biking. These are two different types of activity: hiking is available in the East, and mountain biking in the West. The 110-acre figure refers to the East area.
The Historical Self-Guided Tour adds another option: it can be taken on foot or by bicycle from the train station to Saybrook Point. Both ways of getting around are available on this self-guided tour; the train station and Saybrook Point mark its endpoints.
Boat Access by Type of Transport
The type of transport also matters when planning boating activities. The Town of Old Saybrook Boat Launch on North Cove Road has a concrete ramp for boats on trailers. By contrast, the Old Saybrook Town Dock at the end of Sheffield Street offers access only for boats transported on a car roof. The two municipal locations therefore differ in the type of boat transport they accommodate.
Places of History and Culture
The General William Hart House was built in 1767. The Hart House Public Heritage Gardens are directly behind the historic house. The grounds of Cypress Cemetery were originally established as the cemetery of the Saybrook Colony in 1635. At Fort Saybrook Monument Park, information panels explain the history of the Saybrook Colony, which was also founded in 1635; the park covers 17 acres. The cemetery grounds and the park panels offer different ways to explore the history of the same early colony.
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Museum offers a varied cultural program more than 300 days a year. The venue includes a 285-seat theater. This cultural program and its named venue complement the historic sites and outdoor activities. If you’d like to include culture in your stay, you can consider the program as a focus of its own alongside the coast, trails and local history.
Seasonal Options to Consider
The Old Saybrook Farmer’s Market runs from June to October; Saybrook Point Mini Golf is a recreation option from May to October. The mini golf season therefore starts a month earlier, while the two periods overlap from June to October. Check the specific dates if these seasonal options are important to your trip planning.
For a stay, it’s easy to distinguish among the options: Harvey’s Beach combines the coast with the opportunity to fish, Great Cedars East and West offer different activities for hiking and mountain biking, and the Historical Self-Guided Tour gives you the choice of walking or cycling. Historic sites and the cultural program add other themes to these activities.
Discover more destinations: Fenwick, Middlefield, Middletown, Essex, Haddam, Cromwell
Return to the broader travel overview: Middlesex.
