The 14 best free attractions in Groton

While visiting son and family in took the time to go bike riding and was not disappointed. Beautiful view, nature trail for all to enjoy walking, jogging biking you name it it was spectacular and a fresh breath of clean air!!!🤩 I definitely recommend evn for our 4 legged friends.

A pleasant, easy walk on mostly-flat ground leads you to a hidden gem of a beach. Remarkably clean and well-kept, the walk and beach are a treasure trove of natural wonders. There are no lifeguards or concessions, so be prepared and remember to bring water, snacks and sunscreen (but pack out whatever you pack in!). There is a composting toilet on site.

Had a really good time with family, hiking in the woods and down by the rocks. Beautiful views over the water and really well kept grounds. If I had to pick an area of improvement, there was only one bench along the way for us to take a rest on. With kids rests are helpful, so that would have been nice to have more benches. One last thing was that the one little bathroom on our hike was pretty nasty. It was a pit toilet which we would expect to be sorta smelly and somewhat gross but it was exceptionally disgusting. Not enough to put a damper on our lovely hike, but it could have been better. I highly recommend this park for a good hike though!

Been many times horseback riding and biking. Only issue for me now is out of staters have to pay via phone. Used to be free. I am Florida resident but camp in CT for summer. We still pay taxes here in summer. Not fair. One reason we left CT. Park is nice with access to ocean.

Beautiful to admire the view. Nice area to fish or hike. Has a boat launch.

I love this place There's a beach, a lake and tons of rocks to climb on. It's so much fun and I will definitely go back.

I love Bluff Point, it is one of my favorite places to hike/walk in general. Its very beginner friendly as it has a long stretch of paved road and then very wide and even path. Its a simple loop that's straightforward to follow with little opportunity to get lost. Being right along the water it has some gorgeous views, including an overlook at the apex of the loop. The hills are minimal as well, and if you stick to the main path there's no scrambling. There's also a nice picnic area by the parking lot. I go here as often as possible, its great in every season!

This is one of 12 " Historic State Parks " in beautiful and lovely Connecticut ; and , it has a superb view of the River and Sound from Memorial Day until Labor Day . A lot of people like to take pictures here .

Absolutely five stars! The original earthworks are still there, as well as a tunnel the American militia used in vain to retreat. The museum has many artifacts from warriors in this battle, as well as an accurate model of the battle. The Tower, stretching high into the sky, was quite the climb, but the view was incredibly beautiful and worth every step! Even if our legs felt like Jell-O afterwards!😂😂

The grounds are very walkable and parking is pretty easy to find along the access way to the monument. Most of the preserved grounds are out in the open air with no protection from inclement weather. There are several interpreted markers posted on the original location of Fort Griswold. The grounds can be viewed from above by climbing steps inside the memorial marker next to the little museum on the property. All in all it makes one appreciate the dedication and commitment of the early settlers from New England who resisted English rule.

Easy to walk. The phone audio tour was easy to use and very informative. It was so cool to see a piece of history that you can explore and have a personal experience to tie to the events that happened there that shaped our nation. My boys will not easily forget the cost of freedom.

A historical place of interest indeed. But even if you are not interested in history , it’s a scenic spot with a breathtaking view from the top of the tall Groton monument with 166 steps, standing since 1830. A vast battlefield beside Thames river will also make you fall in love. There’s a museum adjacent to the monument and both are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day (Wed to Sun 9 AM to 5 PM).

This trip was planned after watching some childhood memories videos. First off, it was very well kept, and it was a beautiful day. Using a map provided at the Monument house, we set out. Along the path, we found info for an automated message describing what we were looking at.

A brave but futile defense of this vital port during the Revolutionary War. The vastly outnumbered Colonists did their best but were overwhelmed by the British led by notorious traitor Benedict Arnold. He did not get the generalship he wanted so the British gave him a generalship. He was actually in charge of the two separate attacks on this fort and Fort Trumbull across the river.

Nice park with easy trails. It would probably take a few trips to walk every trail in the park. I did not see any trail markers. It had not rained in about a week so the trails were dry. I could see some spots that would be fairly muddy if it had rained recently. Parking looks like it will be a problem on nice weekend afternoons.

A wonderful, and we'll maintained state park. The trails are well varied, with many side-trails and are truly multi-use. The stone walls are impressive. Parking is finite, but rarely filled in the off-season. Well worth visiting.

Great place to go mountain biking. Bluff point is easy to get to also. Easy hiking in the woods and nice views of the water. Plenty of benches and places to rest by the water. Lots of small connecting trails to discover. Has a paved road that makes for a nice ride after the bumpy trails.

Walk the many acres and trails. Lots of space and a feeling of safety. Bring out what you take in. Trails and paths are clear and bikes are welcome. Motors are not. Bring your bags for your pets poo. See a pond, deer, and many other wildlife. It's a delightful location for a stroll

Beautiful hidden gem with a pretty extensive network of trails! Lots of birds and impressive stone walls. I wish I’d learned about this when I lived closer, I’ll have to come back to explore more in a warmer season!

As a local wedding photographer, I love taking my couples to Haley Farm State Park for engagement sessions! This park isn’t just beautiful and accessible, it’s also well maintained. I definitely recommend paying it a visit for a walk, fall foliage viewing, or anything else you enjoy doing in a tranquil place.

Beautiful trail that extends to Bluff point state park. Lovely easy hike or bike ride.

It's been a while. Beautiful views. A bit windy but that was to be expected.

Some stops aren’t planned... they just call to you. Eastern Point Beach was one of those. After a stretch of driving, I pulled in for a break and was greeted by a view that made me stop and breathe. Out on the water, ships stood at anchor, boaters cut across the blue, and sailboats drifted like pages turning in the wind. There’s something about the way the ocean moves that untangles your thoughts without you even asking. Tucked along the shore is the Stephen Zbiersky House... a beautifully renovated gem available to rent. My curiosity must have shown, because a kind gentleman wandered over, wondering what I was up to. When I told him I was an author and had questions about the house, he didn’t just answer... he opened the door. Literally. He gave me its history, let me peek inside, and even allowed me to photograph a newspaper article so I could read more later. He told me I could arrange a full tour through the county, or simply rent it for myself. What a wonderful, unexpected gift. And then there was Hobbs Island... a story that sounds like something out of a novel. A man once built a house right on the rocks, but his wife hated it. It was sold, and now it’s a children’s playhouse owned by a local family who runs their boats out there for the kids to enjoy. Pure, unpolished charm. Eastern Point Beach isn’t just a spot to stretch your legs... It’s a place where history brushes up against the present, where strangers become storytellers, and where the horizon feels close enough to touch.

It's definitely worth getting a season pass. It has a nice playground and the beach is nice and clean. Even when it's busy, it doesn't feel overcrowded. It's a smaller beach, but they have lifeguards and a picnic area. There's even a few small grills sprinkled around the property. It's very scenic and laid back!

Beautiful beach/park with a small playground. After Labor Day they stop charging to get in but during the busy summer months be prepared to pay! I can’t recommend more viewing a sunrise/sunset at Eastern Point Beach, and sometimes you’re lucky enough to see a submarine coming or going! My only complaint is that during the summer, the staff can be a bit rude.

Nice little beach. A little rocky, but still nice, volleyball courts nearby. Clean.

Nice, clean beach. I can reccomed.

Spectacular views at sunset! Plenty to do and see and good clam fritters! They have concessions with all kinds of food and also ice cream is available. There is an entry fee but well worth it if you plan on staying for an hour or 2. There I'd also a white sand beach area for swimming. A must see in CT if your already near Mystic Aquarium!!!

We went out of our way for an off-leash water spot to play with our dogs. The parking lot was packed. Despite finding a parking spot, we actually stayed off the beach. The review said kid and dog-off leash okay. We saw lots of kids, but all the dogs on the beach had on leashes. We found a private spot to play fetch. It wasn't much fun. See the big rocks on the waters edge. We left quickly. MANAGE your expectations.

Great place to enjoy outdoor music on Thursday evenings in the summer. There are picnic tables under the trees or you can sit on the beach. There's parking across the street ($10/car, $5/motorcycle during the Thursday events), as well as restrooms available. A shuttle is available at Fitch High School if you don't want to pay to park.

Absolutely an awesome experience! Our pup had so much fun in the sand and the water!!!! This beach was recommended to us by many different people. I am very glad we listened! Sand, calm water, peaceful relaxing time with family!

This was so peaceful and beautiful me and my kids had such an amazing time. We found some beautiful shells and we saw a horseshoe crab. There is a weird sign saying the spot we were at is a scientific research area stay out!! Lol that was kinda freaky

Very nice beach and park. Restrooms available. Picnic tables.

Nice little beach, picnic area, volleyball

The perfect remedy for an otherwise rainy day!

Clean, safe half rubber half sand playground. They removed a few toys in 2024 & have yet to replace. There is a walking track around the field. Bathrooms are hit & miss if unlocked & stocked. No place for food or drinks unfortunately.

Nice playground. All equipment was in good condition except for one small tube that was taped off. Portable toilet available, picked up some garbage, but otherwise, grounds were well tended.

Both kids and adult sports leagues play at the park so it's usually busy afterschool and weekends. The walking track is great and the public restrooms are open year-round. There's a great inclusion playground there too!

Yes we come here quite often to walk the path to get our steps in its a nice quiet path it's always clean the people that are always there are respectful that's just a really good place to go plenty of fields nice playground for the children

Cute local park that has a great little playground, a track and field, as well as, restroom facilities and parking.

It's a great place to walk. Also great for people with children to take their kids.

Great place to bring young children. The picnic area is nice and well maintained.

Broken and missing equipment, every time we visit this park something has been removed and replaced with a bucket or boards or a cone... This park used to be nice but It would be nice if the city would actually maintain the park. Currently this is the list of broken and missing things. A wobbly spinning pole : replacement bucket The shake floor thing : replacement wood steps Spinning chair : replacement cone A missing swing A broken baby rocker thing The monkey bars in the smaller kids area have tape over Sharp metal that is poking out that used to have chains going across it. A couple of random broken things on the small play area Some of these things have been broken for over a year.

Great park for ages 2 and up. Love it for my 3 and 5 yr old. Has stuff that doesn't seem to get fixed very often. Hopefully they'll fix it over the winter. Also has great shaded areas to watch the kids from. 👏

𝙰𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚜. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍

This is a great playground, with a section for little babies and a section for older children. Plenty of swings. The turf is black so it gets pretty hot, the bottoms of my feet were pretty warm when I stood in one place for too long. There are benches around the edge of the playground and a pavilion with benches in the middle.

Great park. Multiple attractions for multiple ages

A fun place for kids as long you are supervising them. A few parents sit in their vehicle and just let their kids run wild. Have seen a few fist fights provoked by said kids. But don't let others bad parenting stop you from letting your kids enjoy the playground.

It's a good park with a lot of space and things to do. Having swings and slides and other activities is great. I wish there were more obstacles and refurbishment of parts of the park that has become defunct.. It would also be great to put in EV charging for people like me who would utilize it during the time we spend there. EV charging here makes more sense then at city hall or another municipal building.

Not the worst park but Groton is a short drive away and much better.

Good skatepark, it has a lot of different obsticals to ride on, most of the things are way too close to eachother it's hard to get good consistent lines. Definitaly doesn't seem like it was made by someone who skates, still a fun place.

Rugged skatepark that will test your abilities. It is ancient by skatepark standards but has some elements that skate really well like the pyramid, Euro gap and quarter pipes. You should probably ride bigger, softer wheels as there are some places where concrete transitions to asphalt and then back again.

My son Jack says this “I love the drop ins ramps everything is great and everyone was nice”

Possibly the best skate/bmx park in CT

Nice spot. Kids commented that the surface was grippy enough to climb without slipping, but nice and smooth for skating.

Nice flowing concrete layout with a full range of sized verts. Usually not too busy so there's plenty of room for you to skate (or bike, or rollerblade, or scoot if that's what you're into). Huge bowl at one end that's almost too big for the park but if you got the balls it's there waiting for you. In the summertime it can be pretty busy with the usual weekend family visitors with their toddler in full pads unknowingly cutting everyone off. It's come a long way since its beginning and has overtime been fine tuned and adjusted to its full potential. IDK if there's a helmet rule but it's probably a good idea regardless of its requirement or lack thereof. With that I'll end my spiel and let you go out and form your own opinion. Be safe n have fun 🛹

Nice park, love it on concert evenings. Needs restrooms over on the food truck side during concerts. Thank you

Beautiful field nice to see so many games going on same time my son had fun in his game

Small play ground for kids their "workout area" is rusted basketball court us nice tennis court is nice but don't drink out of the water fountain not always the cleanest but it's a good spot to watch baseball/softball

It's a nice place but most of the play area toys are broken.. time to get the place in better shape for the kiddos

Large open spaces for kids to run and play. Two smaller playgrounds good enough to get some energy out.

Fun venue for ball games, summer concerts, farmers markets, etc!

Well kept park. Nice for kids that have energy.

This place is for Lovers 😍, Painters 🎨, photographers 📸, and families on warm holidays 🧑‍🤝‍🧑🧑‍🤝‍🧑👬... inches from the great bluff point ...this beautiful boardwalk area is an incredible hidden 💎 in South Eastern CT.

So great for littles! It says it is for kids ages 2-5. There are two swings I did not get a picture of. One with leg holes and one regular swing. Also another plus, no wood chips or sand to throw. There are some holes in the flooring, but it’s really not a big deal at all. This playground was perfect for this two under two mama.

Nice short riverside boardwalk with a few benches. Boardwalk leads to a small pavilion and parking lot near shops and The Barn restaurant

Nice short walk with beautiful scenery. Joins to the entrance of bluff point if you are looking for a longer trek. Summer meal programs run at the park located at the end of the boardwalk. Wonderful place to bring kids.

My son got married along this river walk in early September. It was a small, intimate affair, shared live across the country and into Poland via the internet for family who were unable to be there physically. I'll treasure the location and event the rest of my life.

It's a nice walk along the river that ends at the entrance to bluff point, opposite side comes out next to the green barn

Short but great little boardwalk from Rt. 12 down to road leading to Bluff Point. Great for walking or running.

HUGE park spaces, separated, for large and small dogs. There would be water in season, but it was disabled by the town due to unsafe water source. Park is about a half mile hike from the lot on the trails that continue in the park space well beyond the dog park itself. The park wasn't too bad, for iciness, but the trails were hazardous. Bags in the park and trash just outside. This was one of the most crowded parks during our trip with lots of dogs looking to play and fairly friendly owners.

Thank You to whomever found my keys yesterday on the purple trail. You are awesome. This place is awesome. Also ran into Bill who gave me a ride to New London and back again to pick up my spare set. Good people paying it forward.

This is such a gem of a dog park. All the trails, the wildlife, the water… it doesn’t get any better than this. The fact that dogs are allowed off leash throughout the park as log as they have good recall is absolutely fantastic. My dogs live for this park.

Great dog park enclosure! A real gem set back in the woods. Forget your poop bags? They've got you covered! Come here and pick up your dogs poop in a free poop bag! Then take your dogs out for a walk on the awesome trails! The perimeter of the large enclosure (for large breeds) is almost 0.25 miles (1/4 mile), so it's a cool place to do laps with your dogs off leash if you are looking for leash free exercise. I have included the Garmin route I recorded earlier today! Peace!

Nice place for a walk & there is a fenced area for LG dogs & seperate area for SM dogs. However, others still bring their pets when in heat which causes issues amoung some dogs. Someone got bit last week by a dog there. Cars occasionally get broken into because you can't monitor parking area from trails or dog park. Don't leave anything in site in the car, leave in trunk before you even get to the parking area.

My dog Harley and I love to walk here. I let him pick our route. Guaranteed we're making a pit stop by the lake for a dip

A beautiful park with multiple trails and a fenced in dog park. I wish that they offered a running water source in the summer for the dogs and that dog owners would clean up after their dogs, there is no excuse when waste bags and trash bins are provided at the park.

This was my library since I was young, and I have nothing but good things to say. Groton Public Library has countless activities for children of all ages, including craft times and storytimes. They have a group known as the Junior Friends for kids who want to help the Library in ways like making crafts to give out, running bake sales, helping out with movie showings, and just other events such as that. The children's section has a wide variety of books of all types, computers to use, and a Lego play area for small kids. I cannot recommend this library enough to bring your kids, as it was one of my favorite places to be when I was younger. I no longer live in the area, but I always return each year to help with their yearly Trunk-or-Treat known as Bumper and Books. The staff are all wonderful people, some of whom I know personally. Miss Kim was a wonderful children's librarian to have, and I'm eternally grateful for her kindness. Nothing but love for this library

2006-present When me and my family lived here this was the spot to have your little ones. There was always programs for everyone going on here. We always loved all of the librarians who operated this library. Great times and memories here. Long evenings and weekends with group gatherings and reading sessions for fun.

Wonderful library! We just moved from overseas to the area and this is beyond my expectation: lots of resources, summer reading events for children, play and activity area, super friendly staff and amazing teen volunteers! Love Groton library! Let’s never stop learning!

I really love this library, including the quiet study areas and spaces. However, I noticed that the LED ceiling lights sap my energy. Unfortunately, there is no getting away from these anywhere. Flourescent lighting is bad enough. LED lights are another level of toxic lighting. It's really sad how unhealthy community places have become.

Great staff. Lots of seating and community engagement. Wi-Fi available. Family Search affiliate library, which is important if you are doing research and need to access old town land, probate, and vital records all in one place.

love this place. always fun to go with my friends and play on games in the teenscape room. all the staff is nice and i recommend to go here. one of the best places in puquonock plains

It's a nice library w all the expected amenities. Update: my review was received and library staff thanked me on this app the same day! I feel obligated to say more. So, the children's area is always clean and is very pleasant. There are many activities, cozy reading areas and tons of books. Every time I've asked for help looking for something I get personal help by a friendly librarian who seems happy to help. There is also a pretty new renewal system which I love, and due dates are sent right to my inbox a few days before so I can plan ahead. I don't have a lot of experience with this place outside the children's section, so I can't comment in the teen room or adult areas, but I'm sure they're just as nice. Definitely a nice place to bring the kids and play games or read!

As a former bubblehead this small park holds a profound place in my heart.

Great little Memorial/historic sitr to stop by and check out if in the area. Beautiful views of the bridge.

My grandpa was a WWII SUBVET and I miss him dearly. Loved this little place

Very interesting and an impressive memorial. All information on every sub lost in WW2 in one small area. Amazing.

I was here once again for the pearl Harbor memorial ceremony ceremony held by submarine veterans. This memorial at World War II needs to needs to be seen by everyone if you're in the area please stop

A nice place to see the sail of a WWII sub. A memorial wall for all US subs lost during the war.

Somber memorial to the 3505 US sailors who are "still on patrol". The conning tower of the USS Flasher, commissioned in 1943 and sank the highest tonnage adorns the site with honor.