Meigs Point Nature Center

Meigs Point Nature Center is a free nature center at the east end of Hammonasset Beach State Park, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (April to October) and Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (November to March). Inside are about 4,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits, a saltwater touch tank and live turtles, snakes, crabs and fish. Admission to the center is free, and Connecticut cars park free (out-of-state parking fees apply in season).

Hours and Admission

The center keeps two schedules. From April through October it's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From November through March it's open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's closed on Mondays all year. Admission is free.

You still enter the state park to get there. Cars with Connecticut plates park free. Out-of-state cars pay the park's daily parking fee in season, which our parking page lists. The park itself is open 8 a.m. to sunset; see Hours & Fees.

What's Inside

DEEP describes the center as about 4,000 square feet of hands-on learning. The exhibits cover the park's plants, animals and geology, with a display on the many bird species that use the park.

• Live animals: native turtles, snakes, amphibians, crabs and fish. The center says most of its animals can't be released because of past injuries or other reasons, and staff care for them. Its summer turtle program shows six native turtle species.
• A saltwater touch tank in season. You can pick up and hold crabs, snails and shellfish from Long Island Sound. The animals rotate through the summer and go back to the Sound.
• Bird, plant and geology displays, plus a rear deck that looks out over the salt marsh. Friends of Hammonasset added two viewing stations to that deck in 2024.

Programs and Canoe Trips

In summer the center runs daily programs for families. Its program list includes an early-morning nature walk with a different topic each day, turtle and snake presentations, a touch-tank program, and a seine net program that crosses the road to the Meigs Point beach to see what turns up in a drag net. Weekly afternoon sessions have included a nature mystery program on Wednesdays, an aquatic program on Thursdays and a crafts workshop on Fridays.

Guided canoe trips run on the Hammonasset River: a two-hour round trip with canoes, life vests and paddling lessons included, or bring your own boat. The fee is $5 a person, you sign up in advance, and children 16 and under need an adult. The summer schedule has listed Wednesday and Saturday trips.

The rest of the year brings evening and seasonal events: astronomy nights with local astronomy clubs' telescopes, owl walks after dark, winter walks looking for seals and other visitors, and sunset beachcombing. Check the center's events page for this season's dates.

How to Find It

From the park entrance on Route 1, drive in to the traffic circle. Bear left, go about halfway around, and follow the signs toward Meigs Point. The nature center is on the left, across from the Meigs Point bathhouse, with parking near the building. Meigs Point is the far east end of the park, so it's the last stop on the main road. Our park map page shows how the park is laid out.

You can also walk or bike there on the paved path and boardwalk that run along the shore from the west end of the park.

Trails That Start Near the Center

• Meigs Point Trail (1.4 miles, easy, out and back). It follows the rocky, sandy shore around Meigs Point, with the Sound on one side and protected marsh on the other. DEEP suggests low tide, when the beach is wider and tide pools show.
• Willard's Island Nature Trail (1.1 miles, easy loop). It heads inland through the salt marsh, away from the beach crowds. DEEP calls it a birdwatching hotspot for ospreys, herons and yellow warblers.
• Moraine Trail and Cedar Island Trail. DEEP names both as places to see the Sound and the salt marsh, without giving lengths.

Birds, Ospreys and the Gardens

The park's salt marsh, woods and estuary draw so many birds that the National Audubon Society named the area a Globally Significant Bird Area, according to DEEP. A live osprey camera, linked from DEEP's page, streams an osprey nest in the park.

Around the building are the Meigs Point Gardens: ten themed gardens, including a butterfly garden, a pond garden, a rain garden and a Three Sisters garden. Volunteers restored them starting in 2015, and they aim for at least 80% native plants.

The Singing Beach at Meigs Point

Across the road from the center, DEEP points visitors to the large boulders at Meigs Point when the tide comes in. Listen closely and you can hear thousands of small shells clinking together in the waves. DEEP calls it the park's singing beach. Our tides page shows how to time it.

A Short History

The first nature center at Hammonasset opened in 1952, when the camp manager's teenage daughter turned the first room of the old farmhouse where her family lived into an amateur nature center. Meigs Point Nature Center opened as a summer facility in 1972. In 2005, with help from Friends of Hammonasset, the building was winterized and began opening year-round. DEEP runs the center, and Friends of Hammonasset pays for many of its programs.

School Groups and Birthday Parties

Schools, camps and community groups can book educational programs through the center's educators. DEEP requires a bus permit for groups arriving by bus. The center also hosts birthday parties; details are on the nature center's website. The center's staff spend much of the day outdoors, so if you call, leave a message.