Just south of Westport, Sherwood Island State Park features a 1.5-mile-long stretch of beach – its gentle surf and shallow waters are ideal for families. Out of season (October to March), parking is free and dogs are permitted on the beach.
Sherwood Island State Park
Connecticut
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
24.75 MILES
Reopened in 2016 after extensive restoration, this fabulous gallery was architect Louis Kahn’s last commission and is the setting for the largest…
24.76 MILES
This outstanding museum was architect Louis Kahn's first commission and houses the oldest university art collection in the country; it includes Vincent…
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8.74 MILES
Inspired by Mies van der Rohe, this icon of mid-century modern architecture was the home of late Pritzker Prize–winner Philip Johnson and his art…
25.02 MILES
Each year, thousands of high-school students make pilgrimages to Yale, nursing dreams of attending the country's third-oldest university, which boasts…
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26.81 MILES
For a unique take on East Haven's shoreline, take a ride on this open-sided antique trolley – the oldest continuously running suburban trolley line in the…
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2.18 MILES
The Westport Arts Center is right on the river and has a busy schedule of changing exhibits, kids' classes and performances.
29.95 MILES
Although City Island is technically part of the Bronx, it has more in common with the small fishing villages that dot the north Atlantic seaboard. The…
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Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
25.04 MILES
Built in 1963, this extraordinary piece of architecture is the largest building in the world designed for the preservation of rare manuscripts. The…
Nearby Connecticut attractions
2.18 MILES
The Westport Arts Center is right on the river and has a busy schedule of changing exhibits, kids' classes and performances.
2. Westport Historical Society
2.33 MILES
The Westport Historical Society organizes local walks and guided tours based on a historical theme. The once-a-year Hidden Garden tour is a green-thumber…
3. Stepping Stones Museum for Children
4.3 MILES
This museum is bursting with interactive, instructive fun, from the weather cycle to gravity to the principles of conservation. The Toddler Terrain is a…
4. Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
4.4 MILES
This is one of the best surviving Second Empire–style country houses in the nation, so it's no wonder the 62-room mansion was chosen as the set for the…
5. Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
4.48 MILES
This aquarium focuses on the marine life of Long Island Sound, including sand tiger sharks, loggerhead turtles and harbor seals, with daily feedings at 11…
4.62 MILES
Relive the days when operators threw manual switches from a control tower like this restored one, dating from 1896, to control railroad traffic on the…
8.74 MILES
Inspired by Mies van der Rohe, this icon of mid-century modern architecture was the home of late Pritzker Prize–winner Philip Johnson and his art…
10.86 MILES
This 80-acre parcel was purchased in the 1990s by a consortium of well-intentioned and well-heeled New Cannanites to save the property from development…