Norwalk Seaport Association



If you are looking for something fun to do this summer, head on over to Norwalk, Connecticut! For the entire months of June, July, August, and September, the Norwalk Seaport Association will be offering several boat rides on the waters of Norwalk that go to Sheffield Island, which features a historic lighthouse. In this blog post, I will be talking about all the boat rides that they offer and the events they have coming up, and hopefully what I say will convince you to go on any of the exciting cruises they offer.

One of the first boat rides that they offer is a special one on June 30, which is a bird watching tour through Norwalk Harbor. The boat leaves the dock at 7:30 AM, and from there it will take you on a two-and-a-half-hour cruise of the Norwalk Islands. On this tour, you will see a variety of different types of birds, as well as nest sites and nesting colonies of birds like ospreys, egrets, American oystercatchers, herons, terns, gulls, cormorants, and many others. This tour is led by James Leone, who is a birding enthusiast who has been birding for more than six years, and has identified 330 species of birds in Connecticut, 300 of which were in Fairfield County alone. One of the highlights of the tour is when you get the opportunity to spot birds at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge on Sheffield Island, as due to the shape of the boat, you can get close to the shoreline, and you will also see several habitats that support wading and nesting birds such as great black-backed gulls.

The most famous boat ride that the Norwalk Seaport Association offers during the summer is the one that goes to Sheffield Island, which I have gone on before. It is a three-hour tour that begins with a narrated tour of the Norwalk harbor and its three historic lighthouses, ending with a one hour stop at the Sheffield Island Lighthouse. Sheffield Island not only has a lighthouse, but it also has beaches and wildlife refuge. While at Sheffield Island, guests can tour the lighthouse, observe wildlife in their natural habitat in the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, hunt for shells along the beach, have a picnic lunch, play on the lawns around the lighthouse, and do many other things. If you want to tour the lighthouse, you should know that the tower section is currently closed at this time, but they recently installed an antique telescope that can give you great views of the city and the Long Island Sound. Currently, they only offer tours on weekends, with two each day, one that goes from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM, and one that goes from 2:00 PM-5:00 PM. However, beginning on June 27, they will start doing tours at the same times on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

They also offer sunset cruises that go from Wednesdays to Sundays and will last until September 2. The boat will leave at 6:30 PM and will take you on a round trip that lasts two hours. On this tour, the captain’s mate will tell stories about merchants and sailors that have used the waterway for centuries, such as how Native Americans and English settlers enjoyed the bounty of Long Island Sound, and how captains of industry used this area to develop trade routes that went as far as the West Indies. This tour will also give guests a close-up look of several of the islands of Norwalk and the homes built on them. It also goes past three historic lighthouses, which are Peck Ledge, Green Ledge, and the Sheffield Island Lighthouse. The webpage for this cruise describes the Sheffield Island Lighthouse as a perfect example of Victorian stone masonry, and Peck Ledge and Green Ledge are described as being spark plug lighthouses, of which only 33 remain in the United States. While you are on this cruise, you can bring your own food and drink, and alcoholic beverages are allowed, but you must bring plastic cups and openers. 

There will also be a special cruise that not only goes to Sheffield Island, but also to the Greens Ledge Lighthouse. These tours will be on July 13 and August 10 and will go from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. Greens Ledge was first proposed in 1889 to help mariners through the West entrance to Norwalk Harbor and was completed in 1902. It also towers nearly 100 feet above the Long Island Sound, and its light still shines to this day, and it also underwent a massive renovation project and reopened to the public in 2022.

On every Tuesday from July 9 to August 27, there is an event called the Seaport Association Sheffield Island Clambake. This goes from 6:00 PM-9:30 PM, allows guests to eat in the Timber Frame pavilion on the Lighthouse lawn, with tours of the lighthouse included in the cost. Dinner on the island is provided Chef Clyde Ripka, who is in charge of Ripka’s Beach Café at Calf Pasture Beach. Options for main courses there include a BBQ chicken off the grill, a grilled teriyaki salmon, a 14-ounce grilled rosemary marinated ribeye steak, a BBQ pork “steak,” and a vegetarian meal that is either a BBQ faux chicken or a veggie burger, or you can get a 1.5-pound lobster. Sides include mixed field greens or Caesar salad, steamed herbed clams and mussels, herb roasted potatoes, classic coleslaw, grilled vegetables with lemon and thyme, and biscuit strawberry shortcakes. There are also some ala carte additions, which are a dozen Copps Island oysters, a dozen top neck clams, and a dozen chilled jumbo cocktail shrimp, all of which are served with cocktail sauce and horseradish.

The final special cruise that the Seaport Association is offering this summer is on July 27 and July 28 and is Pirate’s Weekend. This event will be taking place at the Sheffield Island Lighthouse, will start at 10:00 AM, and will be a three hour round trip. On the page for this event, it is described as pirates invading Sheffield Island Lighthouse, and children will also get a glimpse of what pirate life was like. Once at Sheffield Island, guests can see pirate re-enactors who will entertain them with gunfire and sword fighting demonstrations, sea chanteys, storytelling, and other activities.  

Overall, this is a fun experience that will also tell you about the history of Norwalk, so get your tickets and go on a boat ride through history!


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