Lighthouse Point Park

Lighthouse Point Park is a public park and beach that opened in New Haven, Connecticut in 1925. It is located in the Morris Cove section of New Haven. The most notable feature is Five Mile Point Light: a historic lighthouse that was built in 1847. It was deactivated in 1877 when the offshore Southwest Ledge Light replaced it for navigation. In 1904, the Lighthouse Point Improvement Company acquired the old lighthouse and the surrounding 75 acres. They developed the area into an elaborate amusement park with a midway, a boardwalk, bath houses, and picnic groves. A beautiful carousel built by the Murphy Brothers Carousel Company in 1905 was purchased and erected at the park in 1916. It features 69 horses, a camel and two chariots. The City of New Haven purchased the park in 1924 and it opened to the public the following year. The New England Hurricane of 1938 caused a lot of damage to the park and all of the amusement buildings were demolished by the 1950s. The lighthouse and carousel both still remain and both have been restored. In recent years, the city has added a new playground and splash pad.

I have visited Lighthouse Point Park more times than I can count. My parents took me numerous times when I was growing up. I loved riding on the carousel; in fact, it was the first carousel that I ever rode on. My wife and I heard that the city added a new playground and splash pad in recent years, so we decided to take our two boys. They loved exploring the grounds. First they cooled off in the splash pad. Afterwards they dried off and went and played on the new pirate-themed playscape. My older son especially enjoyed pretending that he was a buccaneer firing a cannon at an enemy ship. We tried to take a ride or two on the beautiful carousel, but alas it was closed because we visited on a weekday. It's open from Memorial Day through Labor Day but only on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. Best of all, rides only cost 50¢! We all had a fun time at Lighthouse Point Park and will definitely make a point to return when the carousel is operating.

$30 parking fee for out of state cars, $25 for in-state. Have never seen such high price for a public park parking. We arrived an hour before park's closing time of 8pm, were instructed to leave by 7:45pm.

The park itself has some beautiful sight. The lighthouse stands tall in the corner. There's some beach area next to it. The park has a shed and some BBQ grills. We saw lots of people doing family picnic there. Walking along the ocean water is soothing, but the parking fee still hurts :P

Today was finally beach weather. After weeks of cloudy, rainy weather people were smiling ear to ear.

The sun was shining brightly , the gentle breeze was refreshing, the spectacular sky and the ocean were exquisite beautiful shades of blue. For almost 73 years light beams from the lighthouse at Lighthouse Point welcomed ships.

This is a beautiful location to watch the sun set. It costs $30 for out of state cars to get in, unless you are a veteran -- it is free for veterans! I don't think I would have paid $30 to just watch the sun set, but if I was spending more time there I might, but probably not. There was a wedding reception taking place while we were there.

This is a beautiful, quiet park in CT. Lots of sailboats and a beautiful view of a lighthouse. Play area for kids and a bit of a paved trail for walking near the water.

Such a staple thing to do when visiting the New Haven area. The beach is small but it's a nice walk around the park and we happened to get a look at this horseshoe crab. The lighthouse outlet part is cool to walk out on and take a nice scenic pitcher

Very tranquil park. The smell of ocean water and calming sound of the waves is so peaceful. This was my first time visiting and I was fortunate to catch a few photos after sunset. I plan to visit in the day to truly take in the scenery and amenities. Using the coin operated binoculars to see the city sky scape was dreamlike. This is a must visit if you are in the New Haven area.

My friends and I went to Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven to celebrate Memorial Day. We were the first car in line at 6AM to get there right when the park opened. Residents of New Haven get discounted parking. There is plenty of picnic space as well as outdoor grills available for use. It honestly wasn't as crowded as we anticipated for a holiday. We walked along the beach, had a cookout (we had hotdogs, macaroni salad, chicken burgers, fruit, and other snacks), and even took a ride on the carousel. It is fifty cents a ride. It was a great way to enjoy the warm weather, there's even a waterpark area and a playground perfect for families with children. I had a fantastic Memorial Day with great company here.

This was my first time ever visiting New Haven and I was curious about what the beaches of New England looked like in comparison to the ones in Florida. I thought the park was nice and lends itself to getting some really beautiful nature photographs. There was a large group of people doing some bird watching and it seems the park is well known for that.

There are lots of picnic tables scattered throughout the area as well as BBQ pits. Restrooms were closed during our visit but they do have a couple of port-o-potties around.

For me personally this is one of those parks where you go to once and there's no real reason to come back again as we were pretty much done seeing everything that the park offered in less than 2 hours but keep in mind we came in October and it was chilly.

We did not have to pay for parking.

Absolutely loved my visit here. I never knew about this park until recently when I was browsing on social media. The park is maintained well and it was not heavily crowded when we were there. The walk down the water front was so peaceful and definitely one of the most serene places I've been too.

This is my new favorite get away location.