Sheffield Island Lighthouse Cruises

Like a lot of other dork type middle age dudes I’m a sucker for a good lighthouse. Actually I’ve been to a few clinkers which says that I’m apparently I’m also a sucker for a bad lighthouse as well but there’s no need to worry about that at Sheffield because it’s all good here.
So if you want to come you’ve got two legal options.
1. Show up via kayak (or I suppose boat then taking a short swim) during hours when they are running tours and you will be met on the shore by a volunteer who will ask you to pay a few dollars for the privilege of taking the lighthouse tour/​hanging out on the island.
2. Or, you come via the regularly scheduled boat that runs from the dock on North Water Street in Norwalk from late May until the end of September. There are various public & private decks for parking all around the area so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a close space.
I don’t remember what the price is for option #1 but for option #2 the below currently apply:
Adults: $ 22.00 — Children 12 & Under: $ 12.00
Senior /​NSA Member $ 20.00
Active Military with ID $ 10.00
Children 3 & Under: $ 5.00
Family 4 Pack (2 Adults, 2 Children) $ 55.00
A few random facts:
Boats depart weekends only every year over Memorial Day weekend and eventually go daily from July until Labor Day and then back to weekends only until the end of September. Check
for the current schedule and for special events such as their clambakes.
Once you get to the island you get to take a brief tour of the lighthouse which was built in 1868 (downstairs only for now as the upstairs tower portion is being worked on and hopefully tours will be allowed there in the not to distant future once they get the stairs in better shape along with figuring out a way to dissipate the heat which we were told was well over 100 degrees the day we were there in August) and you can also walk through the nature trail via the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge.
If you are going to walk on the nature trail or along the beach that fronts Sheffield Island Harbor just know that things are «wild» and that you will get eaten alive by flies, mosquitoes and I wouldn’t be shocked if the trees had lots of ticks.
The lighthouse was relit in 2011 for the first time in 91 years.
Why Sheffield Island? The island was named after Revolutionary War veteran Captain Robert Sheffield who bought the island in 1804. He married Temperance Doty, a Mayflower descendant and such started the current lineage of the island’s name.
The 47 acre island is private property that is primarily owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the Norwalk Seaport Association depending upon the website owning only three or four of those acres. You will be reminded a few times of where you can and cannot walk.
Speaking of an area you can’t walk by it would be the dilapidated house on the right near the dock. That house is still owned by the Stabell family who sold the island to the Norwalk Seaport Association in 1986 for 700K. I forget the exact story we were told but it’s something along the lines of the «home» (more of a dilapidated shack) cannot be renovated because of Fish and Wildlife Service rules and if they raze the structure they lose the land so the shack stands as is.
The island itself is around a mile and half from the dock in Norwalk and the boat is kept at a country club pace in both directions which equals about 40 minutes to make the trip in each direction. This is fine as one of the crew did a fairly good job or telling everyone about some of the various islands & lighthouses & birds in the area and about the local shellfish industry.
Past that it’s just sit back and relax on some of their picnic benches and have a picnic or don’t do a damn thing except the enjoy the beautiful view. Either way it’s awesome.

My boyfriend and I took the Norwalk Sheffield Island Ferry last August (2014). It was a bit of a cloudy day but still beautiful and warm. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us all about the history of Norwalk, conservation efforts, and lots of anecdotes I had never heard. We left around 3 PM and returned around 6 PM. I would say bring food with you if you are going on the 11 AM trip, but we were fine because it was late afternoon. There are picnic tables where you could sit and eat anything you had brought.
We went on a tour of the lighthouse (probably about 15 – 20 minutes, it’s pretty small) and then spent the rest of the time walking around the island, taking photos and exploring.
I would definitely recommend wearing sneakers and bringing bug spray! The staff was great and it was a fun and relaxing trip. Really great activity for a summer day.

I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon visiting Sheffield Island with my husband and parents. After eating brunch and meandering around SONO, we took the 3pm ferry.
The trip over to the island was lovely– the Captain and his First Mate were so friendly and informative. Their lovely tour was worth the $ 22 alone, not including the ferry ride as well as the lighthouse tour you receive once on the island. I would recommend packing a picnic/​some drinks etc. They do have a small concession stand in which you can buy drinks/​bags of chips/​cookies and hotdogs. For such a small operation, I was impressed at how reasonable the snacks were– we bought a hotdog, bag of Oreo Cookies and a bottled water for $ 5. As it was a very hot/​sunny day, it was nice that they have large tented areas with picnic tables to cool out under.
The lighthouse tour was very interesting and interactive– it managed to entertain us adults as well as some of the younger children on the tour. Unfortunately, the stairs to the top of the lighthouse need to be repaired so we were unable to go to the top. We were told they should be getting fixed soon so that visitors will be able to go up to the light.
All-​in-​all, the entire experience went way beyond our expectations! We had a lot of fun exploring the island and can’t wait to come back prepared with a picnic for our next trip!

I went out with 25 other senior citizens and we had a great picnic there. While it is not wheel chair accessible, those who are relatively stable and can do steps with railings, should be able to manage this. The 1^st mate, Mark, gave us a great history of the area and the crew out on the island were very helpful toting coolers, etc. There is a lighthouse and they do give a talk about it. No one went up to the top… Not sure it is allowed. There is plenty of time to picnic under tents (bring your own everything). The office is very helpful when you are purchasing tickets. Allow yourself extra time to find parking around South Norwalk or in the small parking lot bc ferry runs on schedule and you don’t want to miss it! Thank you Captain Alan and Crew (Danny, Nick and Dylan)

Not worth the 22 $ fee. Nothing to do in the island. Just go there and see a small light house. You will get close to two hours in the island. I suggest u go with family to have a picnic here. Food is not served in the island make sure u bring something. Picnic tables and tents are available in the island. Nature trail in island is very very small. Won’t even last for 8mins.

FERRY SCHEDULE
MONDAY — FRIDAY:
(begins 06÷23÷14)
Ferry does not operate during NSA Oyster Festival (September 5, 6 & 7)
Depart Dock — 11 AM
Arrive Island — 11:45 AM
Leave Island — 1:15 PM
Return To Dock — 2 PM
Depart Dock — 3 PM
Arrive Island — 3:45 PM
Leave Island — 5:15 PM
Return To Dock — 6 PM
Arrive at dock 15 min before departure
Adults: $ 22.00
Children 12 & Under: $ 12.00
Family (2 Adults, 2 Children) $ 55.00
I put in only M-​F details as I personally can’t take the weekend masses. Going during the week leaves tolerable experience on the island with lighthouse tours, picnic table hordes, and almost an experience of ones own island if going the route of the ferry. Like other reviews, I concur, kayaking is the way to go here but, again, not on the weekend due to high traffic of motor boats!

For $ 23 round trip, it’s well worth it. You get a 40 minute boat ride each way, tour of things on the way. The guide was great. You spend about 1 ½ hours on the island. Some people went swimming, others hung out at the picnic tables and other just walked along the island. I am told there are deer and racoons on the island. Lord knows how they get there, I guess they swim over. I didn’t get in the rocky water, especially after seeing some sort of sea animal washed up and 3 jelly fish on the rocks — you don’t have to tell me twice to say out (but keep in mind I am a little on the scary cat side)
The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars was the 2.5 gazillion mosquitos flying around. I didn’t know I had to bring bug spray or wear winter clothes when its 90 degrees out. AND the lighthouse stairs are under repair so we couldn’t go up, darn.

Some
time
on the
water
A absolutely great way to spend the day. You can either take the boat from Norwalk or just save the money and kayak out to the island which is a beautiful chunk of land just a few miles off the coast of Norwalk. The real attraction of the island is the old lighthouse that is maintained by the Norwalk Seaport Association. It was built in 1868, and the 10 rooms are still filled with period furniture and artifacts. The area is great for kayaking and there are many other small uninhabited island are in the area to visit and on a clear day the skyline of NYC looms in the distance.