Connecticut pleasures: Exploring Great Island, Old Lyme and Essex

Far south past Griswold Point on the Connecticut River, Long Island is a smudge on the horizon, or "hull down" as mariners might say. The big river seems to have come to a dead stop, as if unable to decide whether to venture out into the sound. Oceangoing liners can't navigate the Connecticut because the mouth is so deeply silted that no amount of dredging can clear the way. As a result, this stretch of water — a mile or so wide — remains relatively untouched by the world beyond.

For day trippers from Long Island, this particular region — which includes the nearby towns of Old Lyme and Essex, a few miles north on the Western shore of the river — is the perfect place to explore. Over eons, the river and tide have sculpted a string of salt marsh islands that stretch along the eastern bank for about 15 miles. They form one of the most famous bird sanctuaries in the United States, named for its most famous birder, Roger Tory Peterson, who lived near here until his death in 1996. Joe Attwater, the conservation and education coordinator of the Roger Tory Peterson Sanctuary Center, estimates that nearly 200 bird species visit at various times of the year. The river, he says, is one of the most critical migratory routes in the Northeast because these pristine islands beckon below.   

Great Island: A birders' paradise

On a hot, still day in early July, the undisputed star of this estuarine treasure are the ospreys. On Great Island, the largest and southernmost of that string, ospreys are everywhere — so many, in fact, that "citizen" observers who provide census counts to the state Audubon Society chapter can't locate them all. Some of the newer arrivals have been forced to roost in the marsh grass because the dozens of nesting platforms scattered around here have been occupied by migrating ospreys for generations. On this sultry morning, the birds circle and dive above those, as their high-pitched piping calls bring fledglings to the rim of nests. Unable to fly right now, the chicks will all be gone in a couple of months — en route to Brazil, 4,000 miles away.

The Connecticut Audubon Society's "Osprey Nation" report — which tracks the bird's populations — says there were 688 active nests in the state in 2023. That's triple the number 10 years earlier, when ospreys were still recovering from the effects of DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, an insecticide banned in 1972. Many of those nests are right here and on the islands to the north.

To get out to Great Island, you can rent a kayak at Black Hall Outfitters in Old Lyme about 3 miles south of Exit 70 on Interstate Highway 95 — or of course bring your own. (The public boat launch is a quarter-mile north.) A one-person pedal-drive kayak runs $75 for two hours; the tandem kayak (2-person) is $60 for two hours. You'll probably need half that time just to paddle down the Black Hall River if the tide is against you. The effort is not wasted: This is truly one of those last great wild places on the Eastern Seaboard. Attwater, says that years ago, "Katharine Hepburn [who lived across the river in Fenwick] called the Connecticut River 'the world's most beautifully landscaped cesspool.'" But no longer, he says. The river is probably as clean now as it's been in 200 years. As such, this is a bird — and birders' — paradise.

Think "Connecticut" and  a place like Great Island probably doesn't come to mind.  To many travelers, Connecticut is like flyover country — the state you have to get through to get to someplace else. Other than obvious exceptions like Mystic, famous for its seaport and aquarium or the Mohegan Sun casino, there are no real tourist "destinations" here, no spectacular beaches or purple mountains majesty. Instead, this is the state of alluring byways, of hidden treasures down country roads, of hamlets that are as well preserved as any in New England — and of natural wonders, like Great Island.

Old Lyme: Rich in art history

Getting here from Long Island is relatively easy, but not inexpensive. Round-trip fares with a car on the cross-sound ferries to either New London (from Orient Point) or Bridgeport (Port Jefferson) run about $140, and take about 75-80 minutes each way. Then, of course, there's I-95 — easily as bad as the Long Island Expressway most days, if not worse. (It does clear up east of New Haven — alas, only sporadically in the summer.) Ferry is the best option if you come for just the day. 

Once you get off at Exit 70, the pace slackens or, like that imposing river just off to the west, almost comes to a halt. No one's in a hurry around here, because there's no place to rush to. The Essex-Old Lyme nexus is all about history and art — and especially nature.

Not far from this wild and largely untouched estuary, there's a world-class art museum, the Florence Griswold, or Flo Gris — the cradle of American Impressionism — about three miles north of Black Hall Outfitters. Essex and Old Lyme are also among the best-preserved villages in the state, both elegant beauties with their own distinct culture and history. Old Lyme was once a thriving art colony. Essex — home of the Connecticut River Museum — was the site of one of the major actions of the War of 1812, when 27 American "privateers" were burned at anchor by the British. Both towns have locally famous inns that are destinations in their own right: The Griswold in Essex, which dates from 1776, and has operated continuously since (standard rooms start at $245 per night) and the Old Lyme Inn ($239 per night), which includes the SideDoor Jazz Club ("World class Jazz! Every Friday and Saturday Night!")

There are some excellent restaurants here, too, notably the Black Seal on Main Street in Essex, and (better still) excellent, reasonably priced burger joints, like the Hallmark Drive In on Shore Road and the Hangry Goose in Old Lyme.

And for ambitious kayakers — where to begin? The eastern and to a lesser extent Western shores of the Connecticut River are largely undeveloped from Old Lyme to Middletown — some 20 miles north — but directly across from Essex are some of its wildest stretches, including Lord Cove Preserve and Nott Island, where bald eagles are regularly spotted throughout the year (like osprey sightings, spring and summer is best).

To call this a "world apart" seems just about right, which is why it became a magnet for American Impressionists like Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf and many others over 100 years ago. The first artist, Henry Ward Ranger, arrived in 1899, then others followed when the daughter of a prosperous ship captain who had fallen on hard times opened the doors of her Georgian mansion to renters. They all came bearing easels and paint.

Before she became the patron saint of American Impressionism, "Miss Florence [Griswold] sold pansies and roses off her front porch" to make ends meet, says Tammi Flynn, the museum's director of communications. "Then, around 1890, because it was a respectable thing for a lady of society to do, she opened her home to borders." Starting in 1899 until her death in 1937, Griswold rented rooms to a steady stream of artists arriving from New York and Boston, many returning year after year. Hassam, the best known, came in 1903, and over the next 30 years, 200 or so followed — John Ferguson Weir,, Milton Avery, Frederick Church, Matilda Brown, Bessie Potter Vonnoh. Together they formed the Old Lyme Art Colony, and much of what they painted was right here — a field, or cattle, the Lieutenant River, or the old Bowe bridge that crossed it (only the stanchions remain).

The museum complex now sits on the banks of the Lieutenant, a tributary of the Connecticut. There are gardens, paths, restored barns and open fields — the whole museum complex itself a carefully curated time capsule — while the central gallery is the stark-white modernist Krieble, where hundreds of works by many of those early renters now hang. (This summer's exhibition at the Krieble: "Impressionism 150: From Paris to Connecticut and Beyond," marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of French Impressionism, runs until Sept. 8.)

But the star attraction — the "soul" of the museum, says Flynn — is "Miss Florence's'" 1817 Georgian-style house, a colonnaded, immaculately preserved antique facing the street where she lived her entire life. The Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, another Old Lyme draw, is right next door. Following her death, the house and property were bought by a local judge who let them languish. Then in 1941, they were bought by a foundation named for Griswold.

The museum opened in 1947, but the house wouldn't be restored for nearly another 60 years (2006). The Flo Gris now rightfully calls this a landmark of American art, and that's easy to see why — the entire downstairs is decorated with 38 so-called "in situ" panels painted over the years by members of the Colony.

You can spend the better part of a day here, and for that reason the museum also makes certain there's decent food here. Cafe Flo, the museum restaurant, serves mostly light fare, salads and sandwiches starting at about $15 — but directly next door is an Old Lyme favorite, the Hangry Goose, with burgers and wraps starting at about $14. Another local favorite, Hallmark Diner, a few miles south on Route 156/Shore Road, costs about the same (with at least two added benefits: the exemplary fries, and an adjoining ice cream stand).

Essex: Quaint village with a nautical legacy

Getting to Essex from Old Lyme is a 15-minute drive across the I-95 bridge, then north on Route 9, where Exit 3 drops you right into the heart of the town's Main Street — and more culinary choices. There are at least three major ones in town, with the Griswold (36 Main) easily the best known. There are outdoor and indoor dining options at the Gris, but indoor is a trip in itself, with the nautically themed taproom and main dining room. The meat-heavy "Gris'' dinner entrees are pricey — $33 and up.

Noah's at 63 Main Street is another first-class restaurant that caters to Essex's seasonable yachting community. With locals, one of the most popular places is the Black Seal Seafood Grille at the head of Main Street, with lunchtime entrees starting at $19, while the Black Seal Burger, another favorite, is $17. And right across the street, the also-popular Olive Oyl's Cuisine sells mostly sandwiches and light fare ($10-20). 

Essex is best experienced on foot, and any walking tour should begin at the top of Main Street, then head east to the Connecticut River Museum, overlooking the harbor, with exhibits that cover three centuries of local maritime history. The museum also sponsors (free and popular) music concerts, "Thursdays on the Dock," through August (Thursday, 5:30-7:30).   

Main Street is  itself a vivid half-mile stroll through both Essex and American maritime history. Melissa Josefiak, director of the Essex Historical Society, explains that from the 1750s "through to the 1820s or so is really shipbuilding's heyday" in Essex. The town's ships regularly traded with ports in the West Indies and "were complicit in the trade of enslaved Africans." By walking from one end of Main Street to the other, "you're seeing many of the houses that came up at this time. There was also a [block-long] rope walk here, and a number of block and tackle shops, and sail lofts and spar makers. "Between 1750 and 1900 over 600 vessels were built here," she says.

This robust shipbuilding industry swooned during the mid-19th century, due in part to a singular local and national disaster — the so-called "Great Attack" at 4 a.m. on April 8, 1814. That's when 136 Royal Marines came ashore under the command of one Richard Coote, who promised not to burn the town if there were no resistance. There was none — the reason Essex is still pristine — and his Marines instead burned the 27 Essex-made privateers in the harbor. Those had been built to maraud British shipping in Long Island Sound during the War of 1812. The town still marks "The Burning of the Ships" with a parade down Main the second Saturday every May.

Any visit to Essex must properly end at the foot of Main Street. The museum runs "eco-tours" on its boat, River Quest, from the dock Thursday through Saturday, while the Onrust — a replica of 17th century Dutch explorer Adriaen Block's second ship, Unrest — has sunset cruises Wednesday through Sunday ($35).

The best time for any river boat trip is probably September, or early October, when the "murmuration of the tree swallows" takes place above Goose Island, a mile south of the museum. That's when a half-million birds gather into a swirling, soaring vortex. Roger Tory Peterson, who lived nearby from 1954 until his death in 1996, wrote, "In all my long lifetime of birding I have never witnessed a spectacle more dramatic than the twisting tornadoes of tree swallows [that] I saw plunging from the sky after sundown."

If you are lucky, neither will you.