BEACHES  (back to top)

Weed Beach and Pear Tree Point
Darien
Both beaches require a sticker for your car, available to Darien residents and taxpayers. It costs $35 for the season, with proof of residency required, including a registration for a motor vehicle to a Darien address. If you’re renting a house in Darien, beach stickers cost $100 for the season, with a copy of the lease required for the purchase. Also, nonresidents may purchase a day pass at the beach gates for $40 per car.

Visit or call the Parks and Recreation offices at town hall, room 110, 656-7325.
For more info and online applications go to ci.darien.ct.us/parkrec.

Norwalk Beaches
(excluding Rowayton)
Free to Norwalk residents, beach stickers are obtained at the Norwalk Recreation and Parks office. You must bring proof of residency, including a registration for a motor vehicle to a Norwalk address. Nonresidents may purchase a day pass at the beach gates for $15 per car on weekdays, $20 on the weekends and $5 after 5 p.m. on any day.

Norwalk City Hall, 854-7807.
For more information go to http://norwalkct.org.

Bayley Beach
Rowayton
Part of Neville Bayley Park, Bayley Beach is owned and maintained by Norwalk’s Sixth Taxing District for use by its residents and property owners. Beach stickers for residents cost $10 for the season. To park a car, people without a valid beach pass are charged a daily rate of $15 on weekdays; $20 on weekends and holidays. Pedestrians and cyclists are charged $10.

Go to rowaytonct.com/bayleybeach to download the application (where you will also find rules about proof of residency and instructions on how to mail it to Rowayton’s district clerk).
 

 
Westport Beaches
Westport
Compo Beach in Westport has boardwalks, locker rooms, a food concession, picnic areas, playground, playing fields and a marina, making it the main summer attraction in the town.

For smaller stretches of sand, try Burying Hill Beach off Beachside Avenue, Old Mill Beach on Hillandale, and the little-known (and sparsely blanketed) Canal Beach on the Saugatuck. Westport residents need parking permits ($30 for the season), but those without them can pay daily fees of $15 per vehicle on weekdays and $30 on weekends.

Fairfield Beaches
Fairfield
Fairfield has some five miles of beaches, spanning the popular Jennings Beach off South Benson and Penfield Beach off Fairfield Beach Road, where there’s a pavilion and concession stand, picnic tables and grills — all the ingredients for a great summer get-together.

Sasco Beach at the end of Sasco Hill Road and Southport Beach off Pequot Avenue are small, not crowded and quiet. Parking passes for residents without stickers are $8 per vehicle on weekdays; $10 on weekends. Call Independence Hall, 255-7381, for a beach sticker.
 

 
Island Beach
Greenwich
For pint-size nieces and nephews who need a scaled-down sail-and-swim outing
Looking for a doable adventure that won’t tax little ones who still need an afternoon nap? Toddlers through tweens love the easy, breezy ferry ride to Island Beach, which runs every hour on weekdays and every half-hour on weekends ($2, adult resident; $10, nonresident over age 5, purchased at the Arch Street ferry dock). Explore the sandy beach – great shelling! – and either pack a lunch or buy snacks at the concession stand to eat at picnic tables. Additional beach amenities include a playground, restrooms, showers and lifeguards.

If you live on the east side of town, consider climbing on board the train (making sure it’s a local), riding one or two stops, getting off in Greenwich and walking the short distance to the ferry. It’s a real thrill for the smallest fry, and later in the day on the way back to the train station, you can grab a pizza-to-go from Pizza Planet on Railroad Avenue. Voilá! Dinner, too.

greenwichct.org/ParksAndRec/prBeaches.asp

Waveny Pool
New Canaan
Season passes may be purchased by New Canaan residents at the Recreation Department office at Waveny House. Proof of residency (a driver’s license or utility bill) is required.  There is a sliding scale of fees from $350 for a family to $50 for a senior citizen. Non–New Canaan resident guests may come with pass holders, paying $10 per adult ($5 per person under seventeen).

For more information go to newcanaan.info/recdept_facilities_wavenyswim.html.

Greenwich Point
Old Greenwich
For teenagers visiting from the Midwest who want fun in the sun and a tour of the town.

The rule of thumb when traveling with teens: plan to refuel every two hours. This means that your town tour will take in mostly eateries, but feel free to gesture at landmarks as you drive by them. Pack all beach essentials, including a cooler, and head for Alpen Pantry on Arcadia Road in Old Greenwich. Pick up some cold drinks and an assortment of gourmet sandwiches on black bread, such as the Forester (ham and spicy onion cheese spread) and the Russian (corned beef and red cabbage with mustard-horseradish sauce). Stash them in the cooler, then take off for Greenwich Point. Rent kayaks or the easy-to-handle Laser Pico sailboats from Greenwich Community Sailing. Enjoy lunch at one of the many picnic tables scattered throughout the park, then hit the beach for a bit of sunbathing. Hungry again? Treat your landlubber guests to lobster rolls at the Beach House Café. Then it’s on to Just Books Too for a novel or two for the next day’s beach-read and an iced chai and cupcake from the Arcadia Coffee Company next door. Now what’s for dinner?

 

 SAILING  (back to top)

 
Longshore Sailing School
Westport
You don’t have to live in town to rent from this Westport institution, with its impressive fleet of sailboats that range from the kid-friendly Escape Mango (at $14 per hour) to the seventeen-foot Vanguard Nomad ($60 per hour), a fast but stable monohull that can accommodate the family. The Hobie Wave ($44 per hour) is the most popular of the catamarans. Easy to sail, it promises a wet and wild ride when the wind starts to whip. While Longshore’s expert staff prefers that you call ahead to reserve, boats are generally available for walk-ins. Either way, your craft will be set up, equipped with life jackets and launched, with tips for its operation divulged. Although all rental boats are monitored from the shore, you will be asked to sign a waiver since once you set sail you’re pretty much on your own.

True to its name, Longshore also offers sailing instruction, with summer camps for kids as young as nine and weekend programs for adults.

Log on to the website for a class schedule and more information (longshoresailingschool.com) or call 226-4646.

 
Junior Sailing Program
Darien
This all-volunteer organization open to Darien residents and operating at Weed Beach is tremendously successful at teaching kids to sail, a boon for parents who don’t belong to a yacht club or otherwise own a boat. And while sailing can seem like a cushy sport, the program exposes kids to both its pleasures and hard work, making students fully responsible for rigging, derigging, stacking and maintaining their boats (whether owned or rented). “Character building” is how registrar Peggy O’Halloran describes the transformation she sees among young sailors. “It instills in them competency and confidence,” she adds. “The kids don’t tolerate goofballs. They make each other accountable.”

Summer programs offer four levels of instruction to children ages eight to fourteen, with frequent regattas, thrilling for both young sailors and their parent-spectators.

For more information go to sail.darien.org or call Peggy at 656-0616.

 
Longshore Sailing School.
Westport

The privately operated school in Westport, located on the shore at Longshore, rents sailboats for all levels, catamarans, kayaks and canoes from $14 an hour and up.

Visit longshoresailingschool.com or call 226-4646.
 

 
SoundWaters
Stamford
The SoundWaters organization, based in Cove Island Park in Stamford, protects Long Island Sound, so the weeklong summer camps offered to children combine sailing with environmental stewardship. The Small Boat Sailing Camp, for grades four to six, has kids sailing Optimist dinghies on Holly Pond; the Schooner Sailing Camp puts kids aboard the eighty-foot schooner SoundWaters for fishing, taking a turn at the helm and enjoying an overnight campout on a local island.

Want to make a big splash? Book a private three-hour sail on SoundWaters. It’s operated by a licensed captain and crew, so you’re free to enjoy the sunset, the company of up to forty-eight friends and whatever food and drink you bring aboard.

Call 323-1978 for pricing and availability; for more information log on to soundwaters.org.
 

 
American Marine Training
Bridgeport
226 Sampson St., Bridgeport
203-335-0556

Community Sailing of Fairfield
Southport
Harbor Road, Southport,
203-254-0676


Darien Junior Sailing Program
Darien, Weed Beach
203-665-6757


Greenwich Community Sailing
Old Greenwich, Greenwich Point Park
203-698-0599
website


Norwalk Sailing School
Norwalk
50 Calf Pasture Beach Rd.
203-852-1857

Offshore Sailing School
Stamford, Washington Blvd.
800-221-4326

Schooner Inc.
New Haven
Family sailing packages.
60 South Water Street, New Haven.
203-865-1737; website
 

 
Sound Sailing Center
Norwalk
54 Beach Rd.
203-838-1110
website

 

 

KAYAKING, CANOEING AND ROWING  (back to top)

A day with a paddle in hand satisfies nearly everyone, offering bird-watching along Five-Mile River, a chance to shell and sunbathe on the Sound’s close-in islands — even the opportunity to ogle the coastal mansions around Bell Island and Tokeneke. The best part? No matter where you go, you’ll get an awesome workout.
 

Below Deck
Rowayton
They’re trim. They’re taut. They never appear to sit down. They’re exhausting. Your best move is a pre-emptive strike, tiring them out before they have a chance to do you in. A day spent kayaking the Five Mile River and Long Island Sound is just the ticket. Venture out before breakfast to mingle with the locals at Brendan’s on Rowayton Avenue in a historic building backing up onto the river. Order yogurt parfaits for the fitness group and, unapologetically, a fried egg sandwich for yourself. Just down the street, go to the backside of the Rowayton Market to find Below Deck, a kayak rental shop run by the equally fit, kindred-spirit-to-your-sister-in-law Kim Beaumont. An expert kayaker and guide, Kim can arrange to have your group led out onto the Sound to ogle Darien’s mega-mansions or to a nearby island, if everyone’s up to it. Otherwise, the river makes for a pretty paddle up and back. Call ahead and Kim can also arrange for a motorboat to take your group tubing. Order lunch from the Rowayton Market to eat at the outdoor tables. Most afternoons, Kim cranks up reggae music, and everyone’s invited to dance till they — God willing — drop.

Below Deck, 157 Rowayton Avenue, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (opening at 8 a.m. on weekends). Rental prices vary, but start at $35 for two hours in a single kayak. coastalprovisions.com; 203-247-0578
 

Rowing
Norwalk and Westport
You may have seen crews navigating our local rivers in a thrilling display of athleticism and grace. A sport that builds endurance and team skills — not to mention an awesome upper body — rowing has a huge following in these parts, thanks in part to three top-notch training facilities.

 
The Maritime Rowing Club
Water Sport Center, Norwalk
Accepts absolute novices into its Learn-to-Row courses. With basic training under your belt, you can join the club as a junior, adult or senior to take advantage of team programs and competition. The boathouse address is 11 Goldstein Place, Norwalk (854-5492; maritimerowing.com).

The Norwalk River Rowing Association
Norwalk
Produces high-level teams that compete in national events. But NRRA also offers beginning-level classes and camps, as well as a new program that encourages adults to join or form teams.

The boathouse is at 1 Moody’s Lane, Norwalk. Log on to norwalkriverrowing.org to access contact names and numbers for the group’s various programs.

 
The Saugatuck Rowing Club
Westport
Learn-to-Row summer courses are open to nonmembers. A wide variety of programs is offered to juniors ages twelve to eighteen, along with one-week and two-week summer camps. Membership in Saugatuck allows you access to the clubhouse and dock as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center and the club’s Riverview restaurant.

Saugatuck Rowing Club is at 521 Riverside Avenue, Westport (221-7475; saugatuckrowing.com).

Kayak Adventures
Norwalk
This one-woman organization is a great resource for guided tours, instruction and weekend-long events throughout the summer. For beginners Michele Sorenson offers what she calls a Quick-Start Kayak Class or a Beginner’s Tour, both three and a half hours for $80 (semiprivates are also available). Kayakers with some experience might want to take a Forward-Stroke Clinic. And everyone is welcome to join her three-hour Full Moon Paddle ($50 a picnic) or to try kayak camping on one of the Norwalk islands ($175). Michele has no fixed location, launching her programs at various Sound and river points depending on conditions.

For more information visit kayak-adventure.net or call 888-454-0300.

The Small Boat Shop
Norwalk
This shop sells a huge variety of vessels including dinghies, rowboats, canoes, kayaks and sailboats. It also organizes awesome six-hour, four-hour and two-hour kayak tours throughout the summer, including its famous Norwalk Island Tour, with stops at the beaches along Cockenoe, Shea and Chimon Islands — kayaks and basic instruction provided (prices vary). Sea-kayaking instruction is also offered, as are canoe demos and kayak rentals.

The Small Boat Shop is at 144 Water Street, Norwalk (854-5223; thesmallboatshop.com).

 
Whitewater Rafting & Kayaking
West Cornwall
There’s good rafting all along the Housatonic River, but locals recommend Clarke Outdoors in Cornwall. This outfit has it all, renting canoes, rafts, kayaks and the hybrid sit-yak. Call in advance to reserve your vessel of choice, though you could get lucky on day-of rentals. For kayaking, Clarke hauls you and your stuff upriver in a van, then fetches you some ten miles down the Housatonic. For whitewater rafting at Bulls Bridge Gorge, you must be at least 16 years old (and spirited). Price varies according to vessel, starting at $30 per person; $47-$52 for tandem vessels; instruction and guided tours available. For white water rafting, $85 includes all equipment (reservation recommended).

Located at 163 Rt. 7, about 15 miles north of the village of Kent, 860-672-6365; website
 

Tubing
New Hartford
Enjoy a relaxed, leisurely float along most of a two-and-a-half-mile ride downriver, and then get your heart pumping through three sets of rapids. No reason to get too worried, though — lifeguards are on duty where the water is turbulent. Farmington River Tubing dispenses the big green-and-yellow tubes for this fun, family-friendly outing. Visit its website so that you are fully prepared for a couple of hours on the river. $20 per person; $18 on weekdays (cash only); additional trips run $10 each.

Follow signs to Satan’s Kingdom State Recreation Area off Rt. 44; the outfitter is located in the parking lot. 860-693-6465; website

 
Black Duck Boat Works
New Milford
Guided canoeing and kayaking trips
860-350-5170

Connecticut Coastal Kayaking
Old Lyme
Classes for beginners, from the lower Connecticut River and Long Island Sound to the Thimble Islands.
860-391-3837; website

Down River Sports and Canoes
Haddam
One to three-day trips and lessons.
860-345-8355

Huck Finn Adventures
Collinsville
Flatwater canoe trips on the Farmington River
860-693-0385; website


Main Stream Canoe
New Hartford
Canoe and kayak day trips, moonlight trips
860-693-6791, website


Mountain Workshop
West Redding
Canoeing, kayaking, hiking, climbing, caving, tubing; day or week-long trips, youth programs
203-544-0555; website


North American Whitewater Expeditions
Madison
Whitewater rafting on the Housatonic
1-800-RAPIDS-9; website

Sea Kayaking Company
Wallingford
Day and half-day trips, moonlight paddling;
203-265-4147

 

WAKEBOARDING, WINDSURFING, AND KITEBOARDING  (back to top)

Just as kids have ditched their snow skis for snowboards, so are youth jettisoning water skis for new ways to catch the wind and a thrill. Of course, windsurfing has been popular for decades; now the West Coast’s passion for wake- and kiteboards is at full tilt. (Fine print: These sports are not for the timid, and the Sound’s refreshing — read chilling — water temperatures usually necessitate a wet suit.)

Sailboard Rentals
These seasonal operations rent boards:

Darien Windsurfing, Weed Beach. Call for information and board availability (655-6757).
Gone With the Wind Surfing, Weed Beach, Darien. Classes and windsurfing races held throughout July and August (852-1857).
Norwalk Sailing School, Calf Pasture Beach. Rents equipment and offers one-on-one instruction (852-1857, www.norwalksailingschool.org).

Kiteboarding
To date, Orbit Marine Sports Center in Bridgeport is the only local source for instructors teaching this gonzo sport that was invented in Hawaii, or so legend has it. The kite’s advantage over windsurfing is that its compact, ultralight gear is easily toted around and, once on the Sound, you rip across the water, even with the kind of gentle wind that would stall a windsurfer. Depending on availability of instructors for this specialized sport, Orbit offers three levels of instruction, starting with a three-hour ground school teaching kite safety and technique ($160) and progressing to a three-hour Ripp session ($320), where experienced kiters learn jumping techniques.

Orbit Marine Sports Center is at 3273 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport (800-395-3483; orbitmarine.com).

Got your own kiteboard? Weather permitting, Norwalk’s Calf Pasture Beach is a hot spot for kiteboarders — winds gust around its point, plus the public is welcome, paying a nominal fee for parking.

Wakeboarding
Like waterskiing but on a board, this sport requires both a motorboat and the derring-do to jump, cut and — not that we’ve tried it — rip backflips in its wake. In our area you can hire a motorboat and driver at Below Deck in Rowayton (bring your own board and call ahead, 852-0011 ext. 12). Boat drivers will also pull tubes (which are provided) and can be hired for fishing excursions.

To buy a board, go to Outdoor Traders in Greenwich (55 Arch Street, 862-9696; outdoortraders.com).

 

FISHING  (back to top)

Westport Outfitters
Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk
Eric Johnson, the new owner of Westport Outfitters, is passionate about getting people onto the Sound, rod in hand. He cites a New Canaan mom who wanted to  introduce her son to fishing but had no idea how to go about it. Johnson customized a package to introduce the boy to several freshwater river spots, followed by two hours of fishing from the shore along the Sound. Westport Outfitters also offers everything needed by boating and fishing enthusiasts, whether they’re tying their first fly or looking to buy a boat. On Saturdays in the summer, there are free, in-store casting clinics. Johnson books fishing charters, custom-designed for any skill level and in pursuit of every fish the Sound has to offer. Westport Outfitters also runs workshops and can schedule private instruction if you prefer to fish with a guide (who is willing to divulge the best spots along the coastline). And the 3,000-square-foot tackle shop is an angler’s paradise, with all the basics, as well as garments, gear, books, maps and more.

Westport Outfitters is at 44 Calf Pasture Beach Road (831-8036; westportoutfitters.com).

Orvis
Darien
Fishermen (and women) love to talk. At the Orvis shop in Darien you can always get an earful on where to go, how to cast and — always — the one that got away. Specializing in fly-fishing, Orvis sells everything from a single Hot Butt fly to guided trips to New Zealand (at orvis.com). Year-round the Darien store offers free seminars on topics ranging from the irresistible (Local Freshwater Fishing Spots…Revealed!) to the fascinatingly specific (Tying Productive Nymphs). On summer weekends one-day, on-water courses are also offered, a great first step for beginners, with gear, instruction and transportation provided.

For more information call 662-0844 or stop by the store at 432 Boston Post Road.

The Compleat Angler
Darien
In business for more than twenty years, the Compleat Angler is another area “fly-fishing central.” Stop in most Saturdays for free, in-store fly-fishing lessons for newbies, and any day of the week to ask about local fishing hot spots. “The fish tend to move around a little bit, so a hot spot one day might yield nothing the next,” says the shop’s Scott Bennett, who can sell anglers a map and tide chart but will also give tips on where the fish are biting, depending on the weather, water temperature and moon cycle. The Compleat Angler not only advises about freshwater fishing spots (along the Mianus, Five-Mile and Saugatuck Rivers) but can also counsel on how to kayak to Sheffield Island, rod on board.

Stop in at 72 Heights Road, check out store events online at www.compleat-angler.com or call 655-9400.

 
Sport Fishing
Waterford
Set out to sea. The industrious Sunbeam Fleet at Captain John’s Sport Fishing Center offers open-party fishing trips for bluefish and bass, scheduled every Thursday through Sunday throughout the summer after June 24. No reservations are required, but check out its website for departure times. Charters are available, as are lighthouse cruises. Open-party excursions cost $35 for adults; $20 for children 12 and under — bait is included, rod rental is $5.

15 First Street, 860-443-7259; website

Offshore Fishing
Mystic
Captain Mark Anderson and his brother, Scott, love fish, all fish, from stripers and bluefish to shark and tuna. And they will take you out on Long Island Sound, from Block Island to Montauk, to teach you the skills. (The brothers also have a Learn-to-Fish program in the calmer waters of the Mystic River.) On a three-hour trip on the Sound, for up to four at a time, kids are instructed close to the shore in the use of light tackle. The aggressive feeding shad and porgies virtually assure a successful first fishing trip. $350 for three hours for the kids’ camp; $495 for a half-day (five hours); $595 for full-day trips for up to five people.

The boat is docked at the Noank Shipyard on the Mystic River. 860-573-3614; website
 

 
Wreck Diving
Bridgeport
You don’t have to venture into the mysterious waters of the Caribbean to explore sunken ships. Not far from the shore in up to 85 feet of water in Westport and Southport lay the wrecks of two 19th-century schooners, and Orbit Marine will guide you through them. Just don’t expect to find any doubloons. Also nearby are a more recently sunk tug and barge. Orbit also offers scuba dives that will take you on a wondrous underwater tour of sea sponges, coral, sea anemones, urchins, and all types of fish. Dives leave from Captain’s Cove Marina in Bridgeport $60 for a two-tank dive; $40 for equipment rental. Dives are on Wednesdays and weekends.

3273 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport. 203-333-3483; website