# Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island

> From pizza in New Haven via the Connecticut River valley, Mystic and Watch Hill to the mansions of Newport and the brick lanes of Providence: around 420…

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/rf-407-connecticut-rhode-island-coast/

**At a glance:** 7-day road trip of about 257 km (159 mi) with 14 stops, from New Haven to Providence. About 2 h 51 min of driving in total. Best time to go: May–June and September. No toll roads expected for a car. From pizza in New Haven via the Connecticut River valley, Mystic and Watch Hill to the mansions of Newport and the brick lanes of Providence: around 420 kilometres of southern New England between Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | approx. 257 km (159 mi) |
| Driving | 2 h 51 min |
| Suggested days | 7 |
| Stops | 14 |
| Route | New Haven → Providence |
| States | CT, RI |
| Best time to go | May–June and September |
| Tolls and vignettes | None expected |
| Updated | October 1, 2026 |

[Download GPX file](https://camping-spirit.com/gpx/rf-407-connecticut-rhode-island-coast.gpx)

Practical guides for this route: [Driving in the US: The Rules European Visitors Most Often Get Wrong at the Wheel](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/us-driving-rules-visitors/), [Fuel, Tolls and Distances: Practical US Driving Math for Motorhome and Camper Travelers](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/us-fuel-tolls-distances/), [US national parks: entry fees, passes and reservations in plain terms](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/us-national-park-passes/)

*From pizza in New Haven via the Connecticut River valley, Mystic and Watch Hill to the mansions of Newport and the brick lanes of Providence: around 420 kilometres of southern New England between Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay.*

## The spirit of the route

Southern New England is small, dense and full of water. New Haven and Providence are less than 200 kilometres apart as the crow flies, but between them lie hundreds of coves, salt marshes, granite points and harbours where lobster boats moor next to sailing yachts. The route avoids the I-95 whenever it can: on the old Boston Post Road past white village churches and colonial houses, on a small cable ferry across the Connecticut River, on narrow roads out to lighthouses. From the sliding door you see mist over the Hammonasset marsh in the morning, and in the evening fishing boats coming into Galilee and the lights of Block Island on the horizon. In between lies American history in wood and stone: whaling ships in Mystic, Gilded Age summer palaces above the cliffs of Newport, the university towns of New Haven and Providence. The coast is fully built up and the campgrounds are in demand – book early and travel in the shoulder season, and you will see it at its best.

## Stage-by-stage plan

### Stage 1: New Haven to Hammonasset Beach State Park (approx. 45 km)

- **The drive:** New Haven is just the starting point: leave the city on the I-95 east over the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (the “Q Bridge”), then from Branford take the US-1, the old Boston Post Road. The two-lane road runs through Branford, Guilford and Madison, with traffic lights, town centres and speeds of 25–45 mph; pure driving time is under an hour, half a day with detours. If you take the I-95, you will almost always hit congestion between New Haven and Branford at rush hour. Fuel stations and supermarkets on the US-1 in Branford, Guilford and Madison.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - New Haven apizza: on Wooster Street stand the long-established pizzerias Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally’s Apizza with their coal-fired ovens; the speciality is the White Clam Pie with clams, garlic and pecorino. Queues are shortest at lunchtime or in the early evening on weekdays. Leave the motorhome in a large car park outside the city centre – the streets around Wooster Street and Yale are narrow and tightly parked.
  - Stony Creek and the Thimble Islands in Branford: a small harbour from which, in season, excursion boats cruise among the hundred or so tiny granite islands topped with summer houses. The village has only a few parking spaces; large vehicles park outside.
  - Guilford Green: one of the largest historic village greens in New England, with white wooden churches and colonial houses; on the edge of town is the Henry Whitfield State Museum, one of the oldest stone houses in New England (1639).
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison: large state campground behind Connecticut’s longest public beach, over 550 sites on open ground, just under 90 of them with electricity and water, shower blocks, several dump stations; season roughly from the weekend before Memorial Day (late May) to Columbus Day (early/mid-October), check exact dates on ctparks.com. Pets are not allowed in the campground. Reservations via ReserveAmerica (the CT State Parks booking portal); for summer weekends book months ahead. Campers resident outside Connecticut pay higher site fees.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Free camping is not possible on the Connecticut coast: beach car parks and the Hammonasset car parks close in the evening, and overnight stays outside the campground are prohibited. The service plazas on the I-95 are also intended only for breaks.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Vehicles with Connecticut plates park free in the state parks thanks to “Passport to the Parks”; vehicles with other plates pay at the entrance – considerably more on summer weekends than on weekdays, and when the beach car park is full the entrance is closed. If you camp in the park, beach use is included. The loop trail at the Meigs Point Nature Center at the eastern tip of the park leads through salt marshes with ospreys and herons.

### Stage 2: Hammonasset Beach State Park to Devil’s Hopyard State Park (approx. 70 km)

- **The drive:** Take the US-1 and the CT-154 to Essex, then the CT-9 and the CT-154 upriver to Chester. From there cross the Connecticut River either on the small Chester-Hadlyme ferry (intended for cars) or further north over the East Haddam Swing Bridge (CT-82). On the east bank continue to Gillette Castle and via East Haddam on narrow, winding country roads through forest to Devil’s Hopyard. Speeds of 30–45 mph, pure driving time around 1.5 hours; the valley is densely wooded, with views of the broad, calm river and its reed-lined banks. Fill up beforehand in Old Saybrook or Essex – there are hardly any fuel stations in the hinterland.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Essex Steam Train & Riverboat: the Valley Railroad runs a steam train from Essex through the river valley to Deep River, where you can change to the riverboat and travel the Connecticut River with a view of Gillette Castle. Seasonal timetable, very popular in autumn – book ahead. There is a large car park at the station. In Essex itself, the Connecticut River Museum covers navigation on the river.
  - Chester-Hadlyme ferry: one of the oldest continuously operating ferry crossings in the USA, a short crossing on a small boat that holds only a few cars. It shuttles back and forth continuously from 1 April to 30 November (not on Thanksgiving), with shorter operating hours at weekends; you pay on board (cash or cheque) or via app. The transport authority does not publish size and weight limits – do not plan on taking motorhomes, rigs with trailers or large vans, or ask the ferry operator beforehand; by car or bicycle it is an experience. It does not run during high water, storms or technical problems; status on ctroads.org.
  - Gillette Castle State Park: the castle-like fieldstone house of actor William Gillette, who played Sherlock Holmes on stage, sits high above the river; the interior can be visited seasonally, the grounds with hiking trails and an old miniature railway route all year round. The access road is narrow and steep, and parking for large vehicles is limited.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Devil’s Hopyard State Park in East Haddam: small, basic forest campground with 21 sites without hookups, basic toilets, no running water and no drinking water (the water in the park is not potable), no showers – for vans and short motorhomes; check lengths in advance. Season roughly April to mid-October, by reservation only via ReserveAmerica (no walk-ins), pets not allowed. If your vehicle is larger or you need showers, stay a second night at Hammonasset and do the river valley as a day loop.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** There is no dispersed camping in the hinterland either: in Connecticut’s state forests overnight stays are only permitted at designated sites. The car parks at Gillette Castle and at the ferry landing are closed at night.
- **Insider tip for campers:** In Devil’s Hopyard the Chapman Falls tumble over several steps into a gorge with potholes – within walking distance of the campground, most impressive after rain. The Goodspeed Opera House by the Swing Bridge in East Haddam is a striking wooden theatre on the river; it is worth stopping even just for a photo. Small place name, big consequences: just to the east lie Lyme and Old Lyme, after which Lyme disease is named – check yourself for ticks after every woodland walk.

### Stage 3: Devil’s Hopyard State Park to Rocky Neck State Park (approx. 55 km)

- **The drive:** Take the CT-82 and CT-156 south through Lyme, then the CT-9 or the US-1 to Old Saybrook at the mouth of the Connecticut River. From there cross the Baldwin Bridge back to the east bank and follow the CT-156, a quiet coast road, through Old Lyme to East Lyme. A short, leisurely stage, pure driving time around one hour. Supermarkets and fuel stations in Old Saybrook on the US-1 (Boston Post Road).
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Saybrook Point: at Fort Saybrook Monument Park, information boards recall the first fortified settlement at the river mouth; from the causeway into the Fenwick district you can see the two lighthouses, Lynde Point and Saybrook Breakwater, that mark the entrance to the river. The streets in Fenwick are private and narrow – explore on foot or by bike.
  - Old Saybrook: small Main Street with the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center; the actress lived for decades in the family’s summer house in Fenwick.
  - Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme: house and garden of the boarding house where, around 1900, the American Impressionists of the Old Lyme art colony lived and painted; today an art museum overlooking the Lieutenant River.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme: state campground with around 160 wooded and meadow sites behind a swimming beach on Long Island Sound, sites without electricity, shower blocks, dump station; season roughly mid-May to late September – check exact dates and lengths on ctparks.com. Pets not allowed, reservations via ReserveAmerica. From here Mystic and Stonington are easy day trips.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** There is no legal free camping between Old Saybrook and New London; the beach car parks, including at Rocky Neck, are open during the day only.
- **Insider tip for campers:** On the I-95, the Gold Star Memorial Bridge over the Thames River near New London is a bottleneck eastbound on summer Fridays and westbound on Sunday afternoons; the CT-156 and the US-1 are then the more relaxed choice. At Rocky Neck beach a boardwalk crosses the marsh to a stone pavilion from the 1930s – a fine spot for sunset.

### Stage 4: Rocky Neck State Park to Burlingame State Park (approx. 85 km)

- **The drive:** Take the I-95 or the US-1 to Mystic, continue on the US-1 to Stonington and across the Pawcatuck River to Westerly in Rhode Island. Detour to Watch Hill on the RI-1A, then the US-1 to Charlestown. The US-1 is mostly four-lane; the access roads into the harbour towns are narrow and twisting. Pure driving time around 1.5 hours, a long day with a visit to the Seaport. Fuel stations and supermarkets in Mystic and Westerly.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Mystic Seaport Museum: open-air museum of a 19th-century harbour town with a shipyard and historic ships; the centrepiece is the “Charles W. Morgan” of 1841, the last surviving wooden whaling ship in the world. Generous visitor car parks on the CT-27. In town, the US-1 bascule bridge opens regularly for sailing boats – traffic then backs up on Main Street, so large vehicles should avoid the centre.
  - Stonington Borough: old harbour town on a narrow spit of land with captains’ houses, the Old Lighthouse Museum and Connecticut’s only remaining commercial fishing fleet. The streets are very narrow – leave the motorhome before the viaduct and walk to Stonington Point.
  - Watch Hill: summer resort of Gilded Age families at the south-westernmost point of Rhode Island, with the Flying Horse Carousel, one of the oldest carousels in the USA, the Watch Hill Lighthouse and the spit of Napatree Point, where ospreys and oystercatchers nest in summer. Parking spaces are few and expensive; with a large vehicle come outside the season or early in the morning.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Burlingame State Park in Charlestown: Rhode Island’s largest state campground with around 700 sites in pine and oak forest on Watchaug Pond, without hookups, with a dump station and recently modernised shower blocks; the Main Camp area is for tents only. Season start and end vary from year to year – check on riparks.ri.gov. Reservations via the RI State Parks booking system (ReserveAmerica). Alternative: Charlestown Breachway (see stage 5).
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Rhode Island has no public land for dispersed camping. Overnight stays in beach car parks, in Watch Hill and at the roadside are prohibited; the state beach car parks close in the evening.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Rhode Island’s beaches are largely public, but the state beach car parks (such as Misquamicut near Westerly) cost more for vehicles with out-of-state plates. In Watch Hill a walk out to Napatree Point is more rewarding than a beach day. If you want to eat at Mystic Pizza: the name from the 1988 film is a real restaurant on Main Street – walk there.

### Stage 5: Burlingame State Park to Point Judith (approx. 40 km)

- **The drive:** Head east on the US-1, with detours to the breachways and salt ponds of Charlestown and South Kingstown, then take the RI-108 down to Point Judith and the fishing harbour of Galilee. A short stage on a wide road, pure driving time around 45 minutes; the turn-offs to the beaches are narrow and busy on summer weekends. Supermarkets in Wakefield, fuel stations on the US-1.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and Ninigret Pond: salt pond behind the barrier beach with trails to viewpoints, waterfowl and ospreys. In autumn thousands of migratory birds pass through.
  - Point Judith Lighthouse: octagonal granite tower at the entrance to Narragansett Bay, grounds accessible during the day; next to it the surf, where surfers wait for waves.
  - Block Island: the ferries to Block Island leave from Galilee; the conventional ferry takes just under an hour, the fast ferry about half an hour. There is no campground on the island, vehicles need a prior reservation and the crossing is expensive – leave the motorhome in one of the privately run, paid day car parks along the road to the ferry landing in Galilee and cycle to the Mohegan Bluffs, the Southeast Lighthouse and the North Lighthouse.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Fishermen’s Memorial State Park in Narragansett, a few minutes from Galilee harbour: Rhode Island’s state campground with hookups: 147 sites for motorhomes and caravans plus 35 tent sites, with electricity, water and sewer in two areas, electricity and water in one, and no hookups in one; shower blocks, dump station. Season from April into the autumn, very popular: book early via the RI State Parks booking system. Alternative: Charlestown Breachway State Campground right on the barrier beach between Ninigret Pond and the sea, for fully self-contained vehicles only (own toilet and tanks), no dump station on site.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The private car parks in Galilee are day car parks for ferry passengers and not intended for sleeping in your vehicle; the state beach car parks close in the evening. On the East Beach barrier beach, too, overnight stays are only permitted in the small camping area, which requires a reservation.
- **Insider tip for campers:** In Galilee the fishing boats come in during the late afternoon; the snack bars at the harbour sell clam cakes and chowder in the Rhode Island style with a clear broth. If you want to go to Block Island, plan a sunny day with little wind: in stormy weather the fast ferries are the first to be cancelled.

### Stage 6: Point Judith to Newport (approx. 55 km)

- **The drive:** Follow Ocean Road along the coast to Narragansett Pier, then take the RI-1A and the RI-138 over the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge to Conanicut Island (Jamestown) and over the tolled Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge to Newport. The Pell Bridge is high and unpleasant for tall vehicles in crosswinds; in storms it may be restricted for motorhomes and trailers. In Newport drive the Ocean Drive around the southern tip of the island. Pure driving time 1–1.5 hours. Fuel stations in Narragansett and Middletown.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Narragansett Pier: the stone arch of “The Towers” is what remains of a Gilded Age casino; Ocean Road runs past rocky shores and the beach, where surfers and anglers stand.
  - Beavertail State Park on Jamestown: lighthouse on the southern tip of the island, rock slabs on the open sea and a view across the entrance to Narragansett Bay; open during the day, parking also for large vehicles.
  - Newport mansions and Ocean Drive: the summer houses of the Vanderbilts and other industrialist families on Bellevue Avenue – including The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms – can be visited through the Preservation Society of Newport County. The Ocean Drive runs for around 16 kilometres past rocky coves, Brenton Point State Park and villas. The Cliff Walk, a cliff path of around 5.5 kilometres between Easton’s Beach and Bailey’s Beach, runs behind the gardens; the cliffs keep collapsing, so individual sections are sometimes closed for years and bypassed via parallel streets – check the City of Newport’s website before you go. The southern part is rocky and uneven.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Melville Ponds Campground in Portsmouth, around 15 kilometres north of Newport: campground in the Melville Recreation Area in woodland by small ponds, with around 120 motorhome and tent sites, some of them with hookups; check the season (roughly spring to autumn), facilities and reservations with the operator. There is no public campground in Newport itself.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** In Newport, sleeping in your vehicle on streets and in public car parks is not permitted; on Ocean Drive and Bellevue Avenue parking and length restrictions also apply. Brenton Point and Fort Adams are open during the day only.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Newport’s town centre is hard work in a motorhome: narrow one-way streets, hardly any parking. Better to take the bike from the campground or ride in on a RIPTA bus; for the Ocean Drive come early in the morning. The Pell Bridge is billed electronically per axle: cheaper with E-ZPass than by plate-based invoice, and discount programmes are only available with transponders from the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority; motorhomes with more axles and rigs with trailers pay correspondingly more. Fort Adams State Park offers views of the harbour and the sailing yachts.

### Stage 7: Newport to Providence (approx. 60 km)

- **The drive:** Head north on the RI-114 across Aquidneck Island, over the Mount Hope Bridge to Bristol and on along the RI-114 through Warren and Barrington to East Providence; finally take the I-195 across the Seekonk River into Providence. The Mount Hope Bridge is toll-free. Two-lane local roads with traffic lights, pure driving time around 1.5 hours. Around Providence, traffic regularly backs up on the I-95 and the I-195 at rush hour. Fuel stations and supermarkets everywhere.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Bristol: the centre line of Hope Street is painted red, white and blue, because the town has celebrated Independence Day with a parade every year since 1785 – by its own account the oldest continuous celebration of its kind. Also here are the Herreshoff Marine Museum (the yard built America’s Cup yachts) and the Blithewold mansion with its garden on the bay.
  - Colt State Park and East Bay Bike Path: the park in Bristol, with meadows and stone walls, lies right on Narragansett Bay; this is where the East Bay Bike Path begins, running around 23 kilometres along an old railway line to Providence – one way to reach the city without the motorhome.
  - Providence: Benefit Street on College Hill with houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, Brown University and the RISD Museum, the Italian quarter of Federal Hill. On selected evenings between spring and autumn, WaterFire lights braziers on the rivers of the city centre; dates on waterfire.org.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** George Washington Memorial State Campground in Glocester, around 35 kilometres north-west of Providence: state campground on Bowdish Reservoir with around 70 gravel sites without hookups for motorhomes, hike-in tent sites and a few cabins, dump station for registered campers; reservations via the RI State Parks booking system. Colt State Park in Bristol is a day-use park only, with no camping.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** In Providence and its suburbs, sleeping in your vehicle on the street is not permitted; there is no legal free camping option in the metropolitan area.
- **Insider tip for campers:** For a visit to Providence, leave the motorhome in a car park without a height barrier on the edge of town, or park in Bristol and cycle along the East Bay Bike Path. If you want to continue to Cape Cod, you will find the next leg in the CampingSpirit guide to Cape Cod and the Berkshires; the autumn colours of the New England hinterland are covered in the CampingSpirit guide to the Indian summer.

## Camping practice & local rules

### Wild camping & overnight parking

- Connecticut and Rhode Island have no public land for dispersed camping on the coast. Overnight stays are only permitted at designated campgrounds; state parks, beach car parks and town centres are patrolled, and wrongly parked vehicles are towed.
- Connecticut’s state forests have designated tent and motorhome sites; wild camping is not permitted. Rest areas and service plazas on the I-95 are for breaks, not overnight stays; supermarket and department store car parks only with the explicit permission of the store.
- Reservations: Connecticut via ReserveAmerica (the CT State Parks booking portal, information on ctparks.com), Rhode Island via the RI State Parks booking system (riparks.ri.gov, ReserveAmerica). Hammonasset, Fishermen’s Memorial and Charlestown Breachway are booked up early in summer.
- Fees for out-of-state visitors: in both states, vehicles with plates from other states (including rental cars and motorhomes with out-of-state plates) pay higher parking fees at state parks and state beaches; in Connecticut only vehicles with CT plates park free. Site fees for campers not resident in the state concerned are also higher. Check current rates on the park authorities’ websites.
- Beach car parks: on summer weekends the car parks at Hammonasset, Misquamicut, Scarborough and Watch Hill are often full by mid-morning, and the entrance is then closed. Come early or travel on weekdays.
- Ticks: Lyme disease is named after the town of Lyme on this route; ticks are widespread in woodland, marsh and long grass. Apps: iOverlander, Campendium, The Dyrt, ReserveAmerica; Park4Night is hardly used here.

### Waste disposal & supplies

- Dump stations: at Hammonasset, Rocky Neck, Burlingame, Fishermen’s Memorial and George Washington; also at private campgrounds. Charlestown Breachway has no dump station; registered campers may empty their tanks once free of charge at Burlingame or Fishermen’s Memorial. For non-guests dumping costs money and is sometimes not permitted.
- Drinking water: at the campground taps; the tap water is drinkable. Devil’s Hopyard has no running water and no drinking water – fill your fresh-water tank beforehand.
- Empty grey water and chemical toilets only at dump stations; draining into salt marshes, ponds or the bay is strictly prohibited.
- Propane: fuel stations, DIY stores and rental stations fill US cylinders; European cylinders are generally not filled.
- Electricity: Hammonasset (some sites), Fishermen’s Memorial (some sites) and Melville Ponds (some sites) have hookups; Burlingame, Rocky Neck, Devil’s Hopyard and George Washington do not. Generators only during permitted hours.
- Shopping: large supermarkets in Branford, Old Saybrook, Mystic, Westerly, Wakefield, Middletown and Providence.

### Vehicle size & traffic rules

- Speed limits: on the I-95 in Connecticut and Rhode Island mostly 55–65 mph, on the US-1 and the state routes 25–50 mph; in town centres 25 mph often applies and is enforced.
- Mobile phone at the wheel: in Connecticut and Rhode Island hands-free only.
- Tolls: roads in Connecticut are toll-free. In Rhode Island the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge is tolled, charged per axle, cheaper with E-ZPass than by plate-based invoice, and a trailer increases the axle count; the Mount Hope Bridge and Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge are toll-free. With rental vehicles, clarify the toll arrangements in advance.
- Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway: if you are coming from New York, avoid these parkways – trailers and commercial vehicles are banned, and the old stone bridges are low. Motorhomes take the I-95.
- I-95 congestion: the New Haven – Providence stretch is one of the busiest corridors on the East Coast; the Q Bridge in New Haven, the Gold Star Bridge in New London and the Providence area are especially congested. Avoid driving eastbound on Friday afternoons and westbound on Sunday afternoons where possible, and use the US-1 as an alternative.
- Weather: hurricane season from 1 June to 30 November, peaking August to October; in autumn and winter nor’easters bring storm surges and heavy rain. When warnings are issued, coastal campgrounds such as Charlestown Breachway are evacuated. Emergency: 911.

## CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist

- E-ZPass transponder or confirmed toll arrangements from the rental company: for the Pell Bridge and for arrivals via New York and Massachusetts.
- Bicycles: in Newport, Watch Hill, Stonington, on Block Island and on the East Bay Bike Path they are the best way to get around – the motorhome stays put.
- Tick tweezers and repellent with DEET or picaridin: ticks are widespread in the woods around Lyme and in the salt marshes.
- Comfortable shoes with good grip for the southern, rocky part of the Cliff Walk and the rock slabs at Beavertail.
- A grey-water hose of sufficient length and fresh-water containers: there is no dumping at Charlestown Breachway and no water at Devil’s Hopyard.
- Binoculars for ospreys in the salt marshes of Hammonasset and Ninigret and for the sailing yachts on Narragansett Bay.

_As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go._

## Sources

- [CT DEEP / CT State Parks – Hammonasset Beach State Park](https://ctparks.com/node/57)
- [CT DEEP / CT State Parks – Camping (Campingplätze, Saisondaten, Gebühren)](https://ctparks.com/camping)
- [CT DOT – Chester-Hadlyme Ferry](https://portal.ct.gov/dot/travel-gateway/public-transportation/ct-ferries/chester-hadlyme-ferry)
- [Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority – Newport Pell Bridge Toll Rates](https://www.ritba.org/tolls)
- [RI DEM / RI State Parks – Camping Area Descriptions & Specific Requirements](https://riparks.ri.gov/campgrounds/camping-area-descriptions-specific-requirements)
- [RI State Parks – Three state campgrounds open April 10 (Pressemitteilung)](https://riparks.ri.gov/press-releases/tents-fun-three-state-campgrounds-open-april-10)
- [Block Island Ferry – Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.blockislandferry.com/faqs/)
- [The Boston Globe – Newport Cliff Walk repair plan awaits CRMC permission](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/15/metro/newport-cliff-walk-repair-plan-crmc-permission-ri/)
- [Roadtrippers – Melville Ponds Campground](https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/ri/attractions/melville-ponds-campground)

## Which stops are on the route from New Haven to Providence?

1. **New Haven** (CT)
2. **Hammonasset Beach State Park** (Madison, CT): Connecticut's largest shoreline state park, with a long sand beach, salt marsh, a boardwalk, a nature center and a short coastal trail. Arrive early on summer weekends, when the entrance can back up and the park fills.
3. **Essex** (CT)
4. **Gillette Castle State Park** (East Haddam, CT): A fieldstone mansion built like a medieval castle on a hill above the Connecticut River, once the home of an actor. Tour the quirky interior, then walk the grounds for river views; the ferry crossing nearby makes a fun detour.
5. **Old Saybrook** (CT)
6. **Mystic** (CT)
7. **Stonington** (CT)
8. **Watch Hill** (Westerly, RI): A small seaside village at Rhode Island's southwestern corner, with a harbor, shops, an old carousel and a nearby lighthouse and beach. Parking is limited in summer, so arrive early or visit in the shoulder season.
9. **Burlingame State Park** (RI)
10. **Point Judith** (RI)
11. **Narragansett** (RI)
12. **Newport** (RI)
13. **Bristol** (RI)
14. **Providence** (RI)

## When is the best time for the route from New Haven to Providence?

The most pleasant months are usually May–June and September. Still fine, with some compromises, in July–August and October. Cold, short days in December–February. July and August are the busiest months: book campsites early. (Estimate from long-term temperature averages, terrain and pass seasons)

## FAQs

**How long is Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island?**
7-day road trip of about 257 km (159 mi) with 14 stops, from New Haven to Providence. About 2 h 51 min of driving in total.

**How many days do you need for Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island?**
We suggest 7 days: about 2 h 51 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.

**Where does Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island start and end?**
It starts in New Haven and ends in Providence.

**Which states does Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island pass through?**
Connecticut and Rhode Island.

**Where can you camp along Steam trains, whalers and summer palaces – by camper along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island?**
OpenStreetMap lists 83 campsites and motorhome stopovers within 19 mi of the stops on this route. For example: Witch Meadow Lake Campground, Ross Hill Park Family Campground and Frosty Hollow Shelter Camping Area.