Connecticut Coast Day Trip from NYC — Mystic, Stonington & the Shore

The Connecticut coastline is a working coastline of tidal rivers, lobster boats, oyster farms, and historic town centers whose captains' houses date to the 17th century. The towns worth visiting — Mystic, Stonington Borough, Essex, Old Saybrook — each reward small detours off I-95.

Mystic

Mystic built its identity on whaling and shipbuilding. Mystic Seaport Museum is the largest maritime museum in the country — a reconstructed 19th-century coastal village with a working shipyard and the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship in the world. The downtown area around the famous bascule drawbridge has excellent restaurants and independent shops.

Stonington Borough

Five miles east of Mystic, Stonington Borough is among the most intact historic waterfronts in New England — a single main street of 18th- and 19th-century houses, a lighthouse museum, working lobster wharves, and enough good restaurants to anchor a dinner stop.

Old Saybrook & Essex

At the western end of the shore, Old Saybrook sits where the Connecticut River meets the Sound. Essex, five miles upriver, is consistently rated one of the best small towns in America — a colonial-era town center fronting a yachting harbor, with exceptional dining at the Griswold Inn, open since 1776.

Getting There

By car, I-95 east runs the full length of the Connecticut coast. Take Exit 90 for Mystic. By train, Amtrak from Penn Station stops at New London, two miles from Mystic by rideshare, in approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.

Where to Stay

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