Travel Diaries: Milford, CT

Hey friends! It’s that time of the year, and recently my family and I were so blessed to be able to take a vacation to Milford, CT. It’s a beautiful town on the Long Island Sound, and we had such a nice, relaxing time. I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights and photos with you.

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It took us about seven hours to get there, and we drove through most of NY, a small portion of Massachusetts, and almost all of Connecticut. New York is a beautiful state, and some of the parts we drove through I had been in before, but it was fun to see the Hudson River and the Hudson River Valley Basin.

This was my first time visiting New England, and you could just feel the history as we drove through towns like Stockbridge and New Haven. In MA, we passed through the Berkshire Mountains, which reminded us a lot of the Adirondacks (another place we love to camp). Filled with small lakes and Americana towns, this part of the ride was especially scenic. It wasn’t hard to imagine it unsettled and wild. I also hadn’t realized how hilly Connecticut is—as we got nearer to Milford, the scenery became a juxtaposition of majestic green hills and industrial cities.

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My parents rented an Airbnb for this trip, since it would have a been a little arduous to pull a trailer through all those hills. We couldn’t quite see the ocean, but it was only about a five minute walk from our little 1920’s cottage to the private beach.

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Since Milford is on the sound, there were no big crashing waves, and we could see Long Island as a blue shadow against the skyline in the distance. But it was still so beautiful, and a classic New England shore scene with rich blue water against a cottage-lined point, studded with sailboats. We did a lot of walking along the beach each day, and it was so fascinating to see the tides come in and go out.

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If you ever visit Milford, here’s the local places we found to be worth spending time at.

Silver Sands State Park

From my journal: Silver Sands [state park] is more typical ocean shoreline—tall, wavy grasses swaying against a blue sky, pink and red wild roses growing along the boardwalk, and white egrets posing in the shallow tidal pools…. It is so amazing to see the tidal differences. In the morning, there’s just a very narrow strip of beach, studded with sharp rocks and shell fragments. But by late afternoon, there’s a wide expense of smooth, wet, sun-warmed sand.…

At golden hour, we walked the boardwalk. The colors are intensified then—the vivid, deep blue of the sound, the gold-green tall grass, and the dark brown band of rocks in between.

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Silver Sands has a really nice boardwalk that we enjoyed walking in the evening (it was soooo hot during the day). The only thing I’d recommend being aware of is that the park does have a couple of public beach areas, and they were especially crowded during the day.

Audabon Preserve

If you’re into birdwatching, or even just to see another side of the area, this marsh was a fun visit. It was so weird to see marshland on the one side, and then not far away, a sandy section with cacti flowering!

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Stratford Point Lighthouse

Visit at your own risk, since it was closed with no trespassing signs when we went. So it’s a bit of a toss-up whether you’ll be able to actually go inside or not, but it was still pretty.

The Greek Spot

We mostly like to bring/make our own food on these trips, and it was nice that our little cottage had a small kitchen area with a stove, oven, and refrigerator. But we did go out to this small restaurant. And of course, even though it was a Greek restaurant, we all bought the most American thing we could find on the menu (I know, I know, we need to be more adventurous)—a hearty burger on pita bread. It was delicious, and a fun experience to sit outside and catch the breeze coming off the sound. Plus, it was just a short walk from where we stayed.

As far as shopping, there wasn’t much. But we did spend time in the center of town, where there was a small waterfall, near the town hall. Milford was established in 1639, so it’s rich in history. There is a nice harbor area. It was so hot when we went that we pretty much stayed by the beach as much as we could, though.

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From my journal: Impressions of New England, and Milford in particular —beautiful, busy (the roads/intersections are insane!), crowded (but in a picturesque way), wealthy (you should see some of the mini-mansions on the shoreline!)…. Overall, the locals are not very friendly or welcoming. This is not a tourist-catering town, but it is very pretty, with a long, shady town square. And the yards are filled with blue hydrangea’s everywhere! Roses and hydrangeas.

One special thing was getting to see the full moon over the sound on our last evening. I’ve heard about the moon path, and it’s true—the moon left a shimmery silver path over the water. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

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From my journal: The shells are really unique here—mostly small, many translucent, so when the sun is out, they really gleam and shine on the sand. Discs of copper, gold, silvery-white.

As far as sea life went, there was an abundance of tiny hermit crabs and not-so-tiny horseshoe crabs. Going to the ocean is a truly sensory experience. From the wind to the salty smell to the changing feel of the sand depending on the tides, it was so wonderful to get to see this part of God’s beautiful creation. His designing hand is so evident in even the smallest details.

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Do any of my readers live in New England? Have you ever visited? Do any of you have travel plans for the summer? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below! And stay tuned for the second part of my 2024 travel diaries; it will be a roundup at the end of the summer of our local camping trips.

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