Conneticut River

Essex, CT is a resort town on the banks of the Connecticut River that is often described as one of best places to visit (or live) in the United States. The Essex area, including Old Saybrook, Chester, and Old Lyme, is known for its exclusive inns, top restaurants, and cultural activities. The town is well-known for its beautiful landscapes, majestic trees and gardens, and fascinating architecture. You can view a bit of history in the factory homes of Ivoryton, churches and factories, and streets lined with Federal, Victorian, and Cape Cod houses. Even the town hall dates back to 1892.

The Essex Yacht Club is the better choice to pick up mooring in Essex: $40 Essex YC versus $47.50 per night at Chandlery/Brewers; Essex YC showers, facilities, and rest rooms are immaculate.(rev7/08) Chandlery/Brewers now includes swimming pool at Dauntless as part of the mooring rental package.

Trolley runs every 1/2 hour throughout day at Essex- route map posted at Black Seal restaurant. If you request it, it will drop off and pick up at Supermarket (also Tite-Aid, Bank America, Subway in shopping center).

Essex has many cultural, historical and educational attractions as well, from the Essex Steam Train to the Ivoryton Playhouse to the Connecticut River Museum, Connecticut Audubon Ecotravel, the Bushy Hill Nature Center, and Sailing Masters of 1812 (whose members are attired in the traditional garb of a Navy midshipman of the time period). Essex is famous for hosting a multitude of parades, from Groundhog Day (with Essex Ed), to the "Burning of the Ships Parade" (celebrating the 1814 British raid that left 29 ships burning in the harbor).

The Griswold Inn main building, the first three-story frame structure in Connecticut, has been in continuous operation as a hostelry since its construction in 1776. In over two centuries, the inn has been under the direction of only five families. Guestrooms have colonial decor and many of the wooden floors slant with the settling of time

Essex, CT: The first submarine
In the 1770s, David Bushnell, a Yale student, built the first "submarine", the American Turtle, which was lost in a battle with the British. See what it looked like at the Connecticut River Museum. The shipbuilding tradition of this attractive town, where racing yachts are still built today, includes the Oliver Cromwell warship, launched in 1775.