Rocky Neck State Park - East Lyme

A constant theme you will find as you read my state park guides is "I forgot how beautiful this place is". Rocky Neck was exactly that. I have been to the park many times over the years but after a long hiatus, I was back at the park with my son with a fresh set of eyes and deeper appreciation for this gem of a park so close to home. I forgot just how lovely the trails are, quiet even on a Sunday in September. I forgot about the views of the water as you make your way closer to the pavilion. I forgot about the boardwalk and the picnic area, the sandy beaches and the boardwalk. I forgot about the bridge over the marsh and the birds and just how lovely this park is.

Hiking Trails

Rocky Neck was the first "revisit" on my newly installed State Park tour and this was my first time exploring the park with my son. I loved it as we made our way on a 3 mile loop on the hiking trails with our dog Olive with a long stop at the train tracks with the hopes of a sighting. 

 

History

Rocky Neck is open to the public and a part of the state park system thanks to conservationists who secured the land in 1931 with their personal funds until the State Legislature authorized its purchase. It's hard to imagine what would have happened if this beautiful spot was just another private mansion along the water. Instead, devout conservationist ensured that this park was available for all to enjoy all year round. 

The Pavilion Balcony

Rocky Neck State Park Signage

Environment

Rocky Neck is a favorite park for many. While I've never used the beach, I have visited the park many times for picnic dinners, hikes through the park, and a wedding in the pavilion. The park is a thriving ecosystem bound on the west by a tidal river and to the east by a broad salt marsh. Birders come to rocky neck to see the osprey in the early summer or the cranes, herons and mute swans in the fall. 

View of the sound along the trails

Activities 

Camping, Picnicking, Hiking, Fishing, Swimming

Camping

Camping is offered within the park with 160 wooded and open campsites. Note that pets aren't allowed. You can find out more about camping within the park here.

Hiking

While there aren't a lot of trails in the park, there is a fantastic 3-mile loop with about 200 feet of elevation gain in the park extending from the alternate parking area along 156 to the Pavilion and beach area. Most of the trail covers the red loop and you will go through the woods, take in the views of the sound and make your way to the pavilion before heading back towards the parking lot on a loop trail but this time, with a view of the marsh and Bride Brook. Find a trail map here. 

Dogs
Dogs are allowed on the hiking trails and north of the railroad. Dogs are not allowed in the campground and south of the train tracks which includes on the beach, boardwalk or pavilion.

Pavilion

The Ellie Mitchell Pavilion at Rocky Neck State Park is a unique and historic cobblestone structure with stone fireplaces and native wood pillars. The second floor of the Pavilion is available for wedding receptions, galas, private parties, seminars and corporate events.  

Rocky Neck State Park Pavilion

Picnic Area

Hiking trails at Rocky Neck State Park

Bridge over the marsh 

North South Lake Campground and Day Use Area - Camper Trip 2023

August marked our second time camping at the beautiful North South Lake Campground at in the Catskills of New York. I've lost track of how many time we've been up to the Catskills to date, but this part of the northeast is one of my favorites places to visit over and over again. I've written a Weekender's Guide for a summer in the Catskills which is perfect for any first timer or frequent visitor like myself. 

While there is so much to do in the area, the beauty of visiting North South Lake is you never have to leave. This campground has it all from playgrounds, volleyball nets, a large network of trails, picnic areas, a swimming beach, boat rentals, and more. If you simply want to be in the Catskills and enjoy the outdoors for a few days, this is the perfect place to do it. 

This year was a little different as we had a baby in tow in addition to our toddler. Oh, and a serious upgrade from our tent. We had just purchased a 2021 Winnebago Hike and it was our maiden voyage in our new rig. Camping with kids is logistically much more involved and having the camper truly makes the experience so much easier. It's much easier to black out the light and drown out some of the noise in our 20 foot box vs our tent. Its a soft place to sleep and a place to prep food and cook breakfast. It's a place to store gear and keep our creature comforts that make packing for trips away as a family so much easier. 

I promise to give a few review of our little camper once we have used it a few times and really have a sense of this travel trailer.

3 Days along the Costa Brava in Spain

Our trip to Barcelona was loosely planned meaning, we really didn't have much of a plan. If you read my first Spain post, you knew that we did little prep for this trip thanks to the overwhelming exhaustion and sleep deprivation that comes with raising young kids. We knew we were going to spent the first three days in Barcelona but the next three days we had a hotel a little up the cost in Santa Susanna and no real plans besides relaxing at a beach resort.

After talking to our tour guides in Barcelona who were born and raised in the area, it was clear that we had to rent a car and travel up the coast along the Costa Brava. They told us of crystal clear water, quiet fishing villages, beautiful towns, and glorious beaches where we could soak up the Spanish sunshine. That was all I needed to hear and we quickly headed to the rental counter and eventually north along the Catalan Coast. 

A Week in Spain: Part 1 - Three days in Barcelona

My taste of a Spanish summer went a little like this:

A week of eating whatever I wanted, not a care about a calorie. A week of actual rest and relaxation, the kind I haven't felt since having kids, that feeling of being my "old" self before kids, while fiercely missing my kids. It started with a few nights in the city, riding the metro, eating and walking our way through one of the best restaurant scenes, covering double digit miles a day. We tasted the city on a walking food tour, stopped for a catamaran sunset sail sipping cava, and met some locals with tango lessons at their house. We left the city behind to see the famous monastery set into the mountainside. After three nights, we traded our train tickets for our European sized rental car and realized first hand the trouble with the EV system in Europe. Our car, quickly renamed the go kart, left Barcelona behind and took us an hour up the coast to the cute little touristy beach and boardwalk town of Santa Susanna. From there, things slowed down as we sat by the beach or walked the boardwalk at night. We took little day trips to the most beautiful little Spanish fishing villages and beach towns nestled in coves along the rocky coast known as Costa Brava. Little beach shops sold snorkel gear and floats, the most quaint shops and restaurants, and gelato shops could be found around every corner. The beach is a full day affair where you can find kids diving of rocks, topless bathers evading tan lines, couples snoozing on the pebbled beaches, and families playing in the sun.

Summer weekend in Southern Maine

When I think of Maine, I think of rocky coasts, national parks, puffin and lighthouse tours, lobster everything, epic restaurants in Portland, so many craft breweries, foggy islands, whale watching tours, and moose sightings on the lake. I’ve been up to Maine a handful of times to hike Acadia, stroll through Bar Harbor, get married on a lake, cruise around Bar Harbor, and hike the Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak 

What I never really associated Maine with, was beach towns and boardwalks, amusement parks and family vacations. Of all my trips to Maine, this was the first time we made a point to stop at the beach, and do some of the touristy things like dinner in Ogunquit, a day at Wells Beach, and an overcast morning at the Old Orchard Beach boardwalk. After a few beach days on the southern seacoast of Maine, I can officially say I GET IT. Loud and clear. I get why families flock to the beach, why kids crowd the arcade and couples walk the boardwalk. It’s sort of like the Jersey Shore without Jersey: i.e. less people, more lobster.