The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says admission to state parks and beaches that are open for the Labor Day holiday weekend will be free.
“At the direction of Governor Malloy we are waiving admission fees for the holiday weekend – starting Friday – and opening our gates to park visitors free of charge,” said DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty. “We know there are still many residents of our state waiting for the power to come back on and still working to recover from the storm. But, we hope that as many people as possible will take advantage of the Governor’s offer and get outside to enjoy a relaxing day at one of our parks over the holiday.”
“With the hard work of DEEP park staff, I am pleased to note that close to 50 state parks and several of our campgrounds have already reopened,” Commissioner Esty said. “In addition, we are also reopening eight state park beaches today as a result of good results we received from water quality tests.”
The free admission to state parks and beaches applies only through Labor Day and does not apply to state park campgrounds, where normal camping fees will be charged. At some parks that are open, some services may not be available and some areas will be marked as off limits due to storm damage
A complete list of state parks, state park beaches and state park campgrounds that are open is available at: www.ct.gov/Irene. The list is updated several times a day as power comes on, damage is cleared and parks are deemed safe to reopen.
Among the state parks currently open across Connecticut, are Hammonasset Beach, Peoples State Forest, Squantz Pond, Stratton Brook, and Fort Trumbull State Park.
Rocky Neck State Park and the beach there is expected to open tomorrow at noon. The campground will open at 1 p.m. The campground at Hammonasset will also open at that time.
Other campgrounds that are open include Devil’s Hopyard, Hopeville Pond, Kettletown and River Camping Sites at River Highlands, Gillette, Hurd, and Selden Neck Island State Parks.
Advance recommendations for camping this weekend are necessary for most locations. Reservation can be made online at www.reserveamerica.com
Eight of the 23 state park beach swim areas are also open. They are Gay City, Burr Pond, Hammonasset Beach, Lake Waramaug, Mt. Tom, Pattaconk, Squantz Pond, Stratton Brook
With additional water quality test results expected tomorrow, it is possible additional beaches will be open for the weekend.
DEEP reminds state park beach-goers to be aware that with summer winding down and many lifeguards going back to school there may be a reduced number of lifeguards at some locations this weekend.
