Lighthouse Point Park

2 Lighthouse Rd, New Haven, CT 06512, USA

Address:	2 Lighthouse Rd, New Haven, CT 06512, USA
Phone:	+1 203-946-8019
Site:	cityofnewhaven.com
Rating:	4.2
Working:	7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

Joshua Levinson

I have only recently begun to really explore and enjoy Lighthouse Point Park, and as a resident of New Haven for the last 18 or so months, I must say: I have been missing out. Whether its the wide-open area for barbecues, or the kid-friendly water area, or the absolutely stunning carousel, there really is something for everybody here. The beach itself is mostly unremarkable, though its pretty popular with people of all types. Youll see families from all kinds of backgrounds, younger folks hanging out, and everything in between. The water is great and refreshing, though there can be some intensely rocky surfaces under the water, so you might want to bring some water shoes. Theres also a rock pier which is pretty fun to walk out on (Im not sure if theres another word for it, I just looked it up and cant find anything, which Im mostly telling you now so you know that I am educated enough to want to impress you, but too stupid to do so). The park itself is rather huge and I believe they have pavilion rentals, though you could easily bring your own grill and canopy and have a great time here. The carousel is also absolutely gorgeous. I dont know what the rates are, but if I had children, I would force them to ride it and take pictures until they were crying and DCF had to get involved. But the pictures would be adorable! Please note, if you do not live in New Haven, they charge a pretty unreasonable fee for cars ($20.00 per day, I believe) which would significantly alter my perception of the park. That being said, I live in Gun Wavin New Haven and am reviewing this as a beach I dont have to pay to go to, so suck it, Out-Of-Towners!

cici cupcakes

What a BEAUTIFUL beach. I really do like this beach. However - I will never go back. It is filled with disrepectful, trashy "animals" Id call them people but - they cannot classify as that. Literally, The past 3 weekends I have gone, paid the extreme amount of $25 to attend, and spent my time cleaning trash off the beach and out of the water. Plastic bags just floating in the water, and broken glass along the shoreline. I drive out of town to come here, and it is not worth my time nor money to come to just spend my time cleaning or worrying if my children are going to step on glass. I dont mind cleaning up, but It is way to excessive, especially when there are multiple garbage cans located through out the beach, literally one ever few feet. NO NEED for the garbage. After a family left, the beach they stayed on was FILLED with beer, soda cans, chip bags and plastic bags, plastic forks. just left. The beach area the men were fishing from was DESTROYED with hooks left around and fishing line. Beer cans galore. It saddens me that a beautiful park is being ruined by trash and the LAZY people who come here. How hard is it really. Like, I found a HUGE trash bag filled buried in the beach while trying to build a sand castle with my girls. Within an hour I was able to fill up 6-7 garbage bags. I found a container with chicken bones and beer bottles left behind. JUST CLEAN UP YOUR STUFF!!!! ITS NOT HARD!! If you are too lazy to clean up dont come to the beach and ruin it for other families.

Chris Kiley

We chose Lighthouse Point Park as the venue for our wedding and though the location & venue were beautiful, on the day of our wedding, Sabrina (who is the point of contact for the park who assured us she would be there to help coordinate logistics on the day of the wedding) was a no show, and did not answer her emails (which was our only way to contact her because she provided no phone number). She was completely unreachable when we needed her. Instead of Sabrina, we got a park representative who had no idea what was going on, was completely unhelpful and provided zero assistance when we needed to change plans because it rained the day of our wedding and we had to move the ceremony inside instead of having it on the beach. The rain wasnt a big deal but the fact that we were assured that Sabrina would be there but she was completely unreachable with no explanation really made the experience stressful and chaotic. We improvised and figured it out so the ceremony was still nice despite being inside and our reception was a lot of fun but we were very upset that Sabrina was a no call no show even though she assured us that she would be there when we making the decision to choose lighthouse point park as our venue. Very unprofessional.

Calla Harrington

Reasons it wasnt a 1-2: Scenery was beautiful and it was nice for swimming Reasons I wanted to rate it 1-2: it was $30 day use for an out of state plate (6/25/17) and someone who had microphone privileges was overdoing it. They left it on so there was a buzz and they could more easily chastise folks for anything. For example, he told visitors not to go under pavilions which were unoccupied, unless they rented them. While this wasnt towards me, it was distracting and had an unwelcoming effect. Ways to make this a 5 star: the sound system seems more appropriate for emergencies; otherwise, go over to folks and talk to them about your policies rather than shouting across the entire park at them. the mission of the park and staff should be to support ppl having a safe *and* enjoyable time. Its also great that residents can go for free and I dont mind charging visitors something. However, $20 as stated online is more than enough. $30 for a day is excessive.

Tim Burns

I am 61 years old and I grew up a few blocks from the park. When I was a kid, Lighthouse was the place to hang out. It was free, well managed, clean, and always full of very happy people. But like all good things, the politicians moved in and claimed it for themselves; a new way to raise revenue. You see, they were letting, and still continue to let, Yale buy up as much private property in New Haven as they can; and take it off the tax rolls. That leaves the city scrambling for cash so they start charging to get into our own park! Now they are up to $20/day, they dont maintain the facilities. The park is incredibly filthy, and the beach is no longer cleaned and groomed. If you want to truly understand how an 85 acre park can go from pristine to a dump in less than 100 years, visit Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, CT. Youll be sad you did!!

Ken Stevenson

You wouldnt expect such a beautiful spot in East Haven. But here it is. Great spot for picnics and other sort of outings. Sandy beach on Long Island Sound. Not a whole lot of shade so if you arent a sunshine person this might not be the best day away spot for you. During Christmas and Easter the park is decorated with thousands and thousands of lights - sponsored by dozens of Connecticut (and a few out of state) businesses and all proceeds go to March of Dimes, these companies create scenic light arrangements, ranging from seasonal/religious to cartoon and fantasy. Snowmen and Santa Clause, Daffodils and Easter Bunnies...$10 per car full, 20 minute slow drive through, beautiful.

John O

I was there about 3 weeks ago with my family. I could not have been more disgusted...the place was filthy and there was loud music being played from 12 different directions. Many of the people - at least that I saw - were completely toasted and dancing wild-like. Not something I want my kids to see EVER again. I will NEVER go back there and will encourage everyone I know not to go there either....oh and lets not forget the $20.00 I was charged....thanks New Haven. Completely reminded me of why New Haven not a place for families. Talk about a disappointment.