East Lyme Beaches

East Lyme has four main public beaches on Long Island Sound: Rocky Neck State Park, run by the state, and three Town of East Lyme beaches in Niantic, McCook Point, Hole-in-the-Wall and Niantic Bay Beach at Cini Memorial Park. Rocky Neck is free for any Connecticut-registered car; the three town beaches need a town parking pass for every car from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, which costs non-residents $45 to $55 a day.

Rocky Neck State Park

The biggest of the four: a half-mile crescent of soft, stone-free sand with swimming at West Beach, a 160-site campground, five miles of trails and the Bride Brook marsh. Parking is free for Connecticut plates and $15 weekday, $22 weekend or $7 after 4 p.m. for out-of-state cars. Open 8 a.m. to sunset. No pets on the beach May 1 to October 1. Rocky Neck beach, parking and fees.

McCook Point Park & Beach

8–10 Atlantic Street, Niantic. The town bought McCook Point in 1953. It is a bluff between two white sandy beaches, where the McCook family's summer home once stood, now a lawn shaded by copper beeches with a picnic pavilion, a bandshell and an events tent. Amenities: restrooms, a playscape, a bocce court, Mobi-Chairs, outdoor showers, and free Wi-Fi at the beach in summer. Beach hours 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; the park closes at sunset. No grills on the beach and no kite flying.

Hole-in-the-Wall Beach

Baptist Lane, Niantic. Reached through a short tunnel under the railroad, with a swimming area sheltered by a stone jetty, restrooms, an outdoor shower tower and a bike repair stand. It joins McCook Point on one side and the Niantic Bay Boardwalk on the other. Beach hours 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Hole-in-the-Wall Beach.

Niantic Bay Beach at Cini Memorial Park

Route 156 by the Niantic River bridge, at the east end of the boardwalk. Roughly half a mile of beach with the boardwalk along its back edge, two beach volleyball courts, a fishing jetty, a handicap-accessible fishing pier, a picnic area and a canoe and kayak launch dock. Beach hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. No kites (there are high-voltage wires nearby), no grills and no glassware. Niantic Bay Boardwalk.

Town Beach Passes

From the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day every vehicle entering the three town beach parks needs a permit. Prices the town posts:

• Season pass (2026): resident $65, senior or handicap resident $40, non-resident $210 (each $5 more online).
• Daily parking (2025): resident $25 weekday / $40 weekend; non-resident $45 / $55; half price 2 to 5 p.m.
• Walk-in (2025): residents free with ID; non-residents 16 and older $25; under 16 free.

Beach sales are credit card only. Season passes come from the East Lyme Community Center, 41 Society Road, by mail or online, with the car's registration.

Lifeguards

The town staffs lifeguards daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning in mid-June, in the designated swim areas only. DEEP posts weekly water-quality results for Rocky Neck's swimming area from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Water quality.

Dogs

• Rocky Neck: no pets south of the railroad (beach, boardwalk, campground) May 1 to October 1.
• Town beaches: dogs only from the Tuesday after Labor Day to the Friday before Memorial Day.
• Niantic Bay Boardwalk: no dogs at any time.

Dogs.

Which Beach for Which Day?

• Free beach day with a Connecticut car: Rocky Neck.
• Walk, swim and eat in town: Hole-in-the-Wall or Niantic Bay Beach, on the boardwalk near Main Street.
• Picnic on a lawn with shade: McCook Point.
• Fishing pier or kayak launch: Cini Memorial Park.
• Camping by the beach: Rocky Neck, the only one with a campground. Camping.