Connecticut Lighthouses:
New Haven and
Old Saybrook Regions
New Haven, Old Saybrook, and Guilford
Photo Gallery CT New Haven and Old Saybrook Area Lights
Connecticut’s rocky shoreline and its many treacherous ledges and islands in Fisher’s Island Sound and Long Island Sound, constantly kept mariners on the alert, claiming the lives of many during New England’s fierce storms.
Lighthouses were built here to guide shipping traffic from the fishing and whaling industries into the busy commercial port of New Haven, and around a dangerous rock formation about a mile offshore entering New Haven Harbor called Southwest Ledge. They were also built to guide ships coming through Long Island Sound where the Connecticut River empties into the sound at Old Saybrook often shrouded in fog, and around dangerous Faulkner’s Island.
Note: For stories of famous lighthouse events and folklore, check out the Lighthouse Stories section of this website. There you'll also find info on my book “New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues, and Other Tales” with over 40 stories and lots of accompanying images. Produced by publisher Schiffer Books. In the book you'll find detailed accounts of Connecticut's haunted lighthouses, the steamship Lexington fire which became the worst maritime disaster in Connecticut's history, and of one of the most colorful, dedicated, and talented lighthouse keepers in Connecticut, Oliver Brooks of Faulkner Island Lighthouse. |
 |
Connecticut Lighthouses in the New Haven Region You Can Drive Or Hike To
Note: The lighthouses mentioned below that you can drive to may also be viewed from various boat tours offered, see Boat Tours below.
Click any lighthouse link below to find out information about each lighthouse including historic snapshots, directions, more photos, and links for places to visit.
Connecticut Lighthouses in the New Haven and Old Saybrook Regions - Best Viewed by Boat
Of all of Connecticut's 20 lighthouses, fifteen Lighthouses are best viewed closely by boat, or ferry, leaving only five Lighthouses easily accessible to visit for close views by land.
Click any lighthouse link below to find out information about each lighthouse including historic snapshots, directions, more photos, and links for places to visit.
|
|
|
Places to Visit: Connecticut's New Haven and Old Saybrook Regions
In New Haven, the Peabody Museum of Natural History offers thousands of exhibits about our earth from dinosaur fossils to saber-toothed tigers.
Lighthouse Point Park, where you can walk up to Five Mile Point lighthouse, and get a distant view of Southwest Ledge light, is one of the many parks New Haven has to offer.
For family fun in Middlebury, visit the Quassy Amusement Park.
Guilford offers five differing museums for visitors to explore while they're in town. One of them, the Henry Whitfield State Museum, provides visitors a glimpse into Connecticut's oldest historic stone house.
For those who enjoy hiking, the WestWoods and Timberlands Trails system offers nearly 40 miles of trails through caves, waterfalls, marshland, and naturally carved rock formations.
Old Saybrook is one of the oldest towns in Connecticut. To get around town, you can take the Old Saybrook trolley. Fort Saybrook Monument Park is the first military fortification in Connecticut.
Boat Tours: Connecticut's New Haven
and Old Saybrook Regions
Boat cruises mentioned below offer many types of cruises. While some may offer specific lighthouse cruises, some will pass by specific lighthouses as part of charters, narrated wildlife and historic tours, ferrying passengers, whale watching, fishing tours and other types of excursions. Contact info is provided to help you plan your special trips to New England’s shorelines. Enjoy!
Connecticut River Expeditions
Essex, CT.
Lighthouses: Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Lynde Point Lighthouse
Liberty Belle Cruises
PO Box 9661
New Haven, CT 0653
Connecticut: (203) 562-4163
Departures are off Long Wharf Pier (exit 46, I-95).
Lighthouses: Five Mile Point Lighthouse, Southwest Ledge Lighthouse
Sound Navigation
Sound Navigation offers a variety of informative lighthouse tours underway on Long Island Sound, which includes the southwestern portion of Connecticut's coastline and the north shore of Long Island Sound. They also provide special sunset cruises and private charters. You'll enjoy up-close and personal views with Captain Barry of the many "Castles of Long Island Sound" from the deck of the Seaport Express.
Phone (203) 219-3688
Email Captain Barry: info@soundnavigation.com
Lighthouses:
- Great Captain's Island Light, Greenwich, CT
- Stamford Ledge Light, Stamford, CT
- Huntington Harbor Light, Huntington, NY
- Green's Ledge Light, Norwalk, CT
- Peck Ledge Light, Norwalk, CT
- Sheffield Island Light, Norwalk, CT
- Eaton's Neck Light, Northport, NY
- Penfield Reef Light, Fairfield, CT
- Black Rock Harbor Light, Bridgeport, CT
- Tongue Point Light, Bridgeport, CT
- Stratford Shoal (Middleground) Light, Stratford, CT
- Stratford Point Light, Stratford, CT
- Faulkner Island Light, Guilford, CT
Faulkner’s Light Brigade
In the early fall, there is an annual open house for the public to explore the grounds and lighthouse.
47 Driveway
Guilford, CT 06437
(203) 453-8400
Lighthouses: Faulkner Island Light
Additional Resources
For All You Connecticut Visitors