Connecticut Water Trails Program

Connecticut Coastal Paddling

Middlesex County

Clinton

Clinton Harbor

Site Location: Off the coast of Clinton, Connecticut

Basic Information:

Type: Bay

Water Type: Saltwater

Season:

Site Contact Information:

Site Coordinates:

Longitude 72.311906 ºW  Latitude 41.153546 ºN

Location Map:

USGS Quadrangle: Clinton

Navigational Charts:

Use ChartKit Region 3, pages 6 and 32; Maptech Waterproof Charts 1 and 17; and Maptech electronic and NOAA paper charts 12374 (1:20,000), 12372 (1:40,000), and 12354 (1:80,000). Use tide tables for Bridgeport. High tide at Duck Island (Westbrook) is 26 minutes earlier; low tide is 35 minutes earlier. Multiply height of tide at Bridgeport by 0.7 for height of tide at Duck Island. Mean tidal range is 4.5 feet. 

Driving Directions:

Directions Map: Google Map

Paddle Length:

Put In: Clinton Town Marina Boat Launch

Google Map

Longitude 72.535245 ºW Latitude 41.26878 ºN

Or

Put In: Cedar Island Marina, Cedar Island Ave, Clinton Connecticut

Google Map

Longitude:  72.315558 ºW Latitude: 41.16970 ºN

Take Out: Either One Of The Above Put-In's

On The Water:

You can leave the  boat launch and head west to explore the Hammonasset River and the cove or head east and explore Clinton Harbor, Indian River, Hammock River, Hammock Point, or Stone Island.

What You’ll See: Hammonasset River, Indian River, or Hammock River.

Cautions:

Environment: Harbor

Additional Info:

Duck Island Roads

(Between Cedar Island and Wheeler Rock)

Longitude: 72.512288 ºW Latitude: 41.260596 ºN

Site History:

The town was, however, named after a politician-Dewitt Clinton, mayor of New York City and later governor of New York state. Clinton was noted for his work on seeing the Erie Canal through fruition.

In its early days, Clinton-the town-was graced with the presence of two outstanding citizens; both were men of the cloth. The Reverend Abraham Pierson held classes in the local parsonage of the Collegiate School during 1701, classes that turned out to be the first in the long and distinguished history of Yale University.

Clinton's other outstanding man of the cloth was the Reverend Jared Eliot, a preacher said to have delivered more than 4,000 sermons, never missing a Sunday in nearly 40 years. Beyond his sermons, Eliot achieved fame as one of New England's leading physicians and as the discoverer of a way to convert black sand, found on many coastal beaches, into usable iron. This breakthrough earned Eliot membership in the Royal Society of London.

Like many coastal Connecticut towns during the 19th century, Clinton had a sizable shipbuilding industry. At one time there were three shipyards along the Indian River (which is now mostly marsh) in the center of town. One local resident even became famous as a captain; Charles W. Morgan led the ship that bears his name on many a voyage around the globe in search of the great leviathan. Today, his vessel, the Charles W. Morgan, is the last remaining wooden whaling ship in the world and is the centerpiece of the wooden boat collection at the Mystic Seaport museum.

Clinton is now a quiet New England town, although it has a curious distinction as headquarters of a major cosmetics firm. Chesebrough-Pond's operation began years ago when they started making Pond's Extract from witch hazel cut in the surrounding woods. More recently, Clinton's woods have become home to an upscale outlet mall called Clinton Crossing, featuring name-brand factory stores and off-5th-Avenue "outlets."

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