West Haven Beaches

How many ways can I say DISGUSTINGLY DIRTY?! For some unknown reason. we saw people walking up from the beach as if they’d been laying out on it… just plain ewwwwww!!! Nasty. you couldn’t pay me ALL the money in the world to lay on this beach, never mind swim in the water!!! GROSSSSSSSSS!

West Haven Beaches in my opinion have much to offer, some might disagree seeing that it is Long Island Sound rather than the Atlantic Ocean. For my money, they have some of the nicest beaches in the vicinity of the Greater New Haven Area. In particular, Veterans Memorial Park stands out as a fitting tribute to our men and women who have sacrificed their lives in service for our country and as a beautifully well manicured park along West Haven’s beach lined coast. This little spot is worthy of a visit during the day or night; it is well lit during the evening hours which provides a quiet dignified serene majestic feel to this wonderful West Haven resource.

To many drugs and drug deals in plain open, I found a gram bag that someone dropped on the beach, some of the litter I know isn’t our fault cause it also comes in from L. I but it’s dirty none the less, it’s trashy, but the upside to it is its a beach and the view is awesome, I like that I can see L. I from west haven

My BF and I just LOVE it down here. He’s from West Haven and grew up across the street from this beach (on Ocean Ave). The boardwalk is like no other beaches around here. You will always find a lot of activity down here. Dogs, people, music, bocci, skateboarders, bicyclists, joggers, walkers, people-​watchers, you name it-​everyone loves it down here, especially on summer evenings. My Yorkie «Spike» also gives it a paws up for going for walks here! Woof!

Nice Boardwalk a few places to eat

Juggaloes. Cyber punks with wooden swords. Mad Jnco’s and blunt wraps. DSK forever…

This is NOT a swimming pool, or a lake, or even an ocean, educate yourself. Some teenage girl from Brooklyn giving her «opinion» on the West Haven Beaches? really now… Don’t listen to those lies. Most of the outrageous negative things on here are fabricated lies that are… folklore.

The beach and surrounding areas haven’t changed much.
Parking is slightly different with the paid meters located on the street now.
Lucky to have access to a wonderful view just a short drive from home and work. Park and enjoy the boardwalk and people watch.
Is it Summer yet???

West Haven beaches are flat and perfect for volleyball. The City of West Haven installed poles for four courts. I usually play in Milford at Walnut beach but after hurricane irene walnut beach was left unlevel and dirty. West Haven beach handled the storm better and continues to offer great volleyball. The sand is darker therefore it gets extremely hot hence my 4 star rating. If you have little ones or you plan to play vball for an extended amount of time I suggest purchasing sand socks.

I’m used to lake swimming, so the salt water was a shocker! I didn’t see any reasons to not swim here if you can handle the salt on your lips. We didn’t see any crabs at all. Plenty of little fish though. There did seem to be a lot of flies though.
The thing is, the beach feels small. Maybe the road is too close to the water. Or the rocks or the curves of the land just make it seem un-​oceany. It probably won’t make anyone’s list of most favorite beaches, but if you’re in the West Haven area, it sure makes for a nice outing.

long coast, but small beach.

Um, yeah. Don’t swim in here. Don’t do it! I’m very impressed with the improvements to the West Haven waterfront since my childhood, but if you think the water is safe to swim in, let me remind you that it still smells weird, and that there’s a reason it was called Waste Haven all those years. If the dead horseshoe crabs everywhere aren’t enough to deter you, don’t act all surprised when you have to go to the doctor sometime in the week following your bathing adventure and get a prescription for some sort of «personal» ointment.
Now that being said, I am immensely impressed with the changes in West Haven Beach (es) since I was a little kiddo and its shores were teeming with pregnant flip-​flopped teen mothers smoking cigarettes. Yes, those spectacular specimens are still around — I’d have it no other way, really — but, now there is much more diversity in the type of people who frequent the beach, due in part to what must be city improvements.
The boardwalk is cleaned up and improved, and while it verges on gentrification (yuck), it’s nice to know that families feel safe coming down here in the evening. And hey, there were still a bunch of people doing the electric slide on the patio spot near the public restrooms, so I mean, it’s still West Haven. I only wish I could say it had been senior citizens indulging in group-​dance, but it wasn’t — though I hear the seniors are a force to be reckoned with.
There is also a beautiful Veterans Memorial near Savin Rock, which is very nice, as well as a ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial declaring homage to «that fateful day» (so dramatic!). Flowers and green space now abound, where as in my childhood, there were only used condoms and the predominant smell of… was it meth? ;) Congratulations, West Haven, your beaches are now accessible to a wider variety of people, and that is a true achievement. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nostalgic for the days when our moms would let us roam the beach at night, and when as teens we got «spoken to» for having alcohol on the beach by a police officer with a glow stick in his mouth (lucky us, he just poured it out and went along his way). HOWEVER, I am simultaneously excited to smell cleaner air along the beach (though not quite clean) and to be able to walk around and not have to watch my back. The 21^st century is a strange beast.

I go kayaking out here on occasion but I would never swim in that water. I see all sorts of brown lumpy things floating around in New Haven harbor. Nice view but definitely not water I would swim in.

I used to live in the large Apartment building at the end of cambell Ave by the beach. The times I walked the boardwalk was great. Watching the elderly dance during the summer when they have a DJ on the boardwak is priceless and so is watching the guys play boche. You have everything around in walking distance and I agree that it is one of the best places to people watch. West Haven also has a number of events which are great to attend. By the way, my picture was taken right by the boardwalk.

You wont see me swimming in the water here any time soon, but I do love the beaches. I used to go rollerblading here on occasion, and this was my late night make-​out spot for nearly a decade. For the record, all the girls were willing participants… as hard as that may be to believe. Especially since I just admitted to using rollerblades.

So, it’s not Bermuda, but I live near the West Haven beach and love it! I’ve done everything there, ahem, almost everything. Heck, I even got married at Bradley Point.
You can walk along the boardwalk, bike, rollerblade, swim, walk your dog, play bocce, horseshoes, visit the veteran’s memorial, explore during low tide, fish, walk out on the pier, watch fireworks on the 4^th… the list goes on and on. My husband and I usually drop our kayaks in the water here and always have a great time.

Honestly, is there anything the West Haven waterfront doesn’t offer?
A «boardwalk» (well, a paved walk along the water) with well-​marked mileage, a grassy park with a bandstand, dancing for senior citizens, a small children’s playtoy, tons of benches, a well-​secured bocce court, a veterans’ memorial, beach volleyball, a skate park, piers, sandy beaches, rocky outcroppings, lots of opportunities for fried seafood, parking spaces for non-​residents of West Haven. .. you can even swim if you dare and some people do.
This is one of my absolute favorite places for people watching in the New Haven area. There’s always lots of families, and people with incongruous, well-​socialized dogs.
We never thought it right to jog or ride bikes here, because it’s so busy. But on a weekday during the regular at work hours you wouldn’t get in anyone’s way.
We recently walked here after dark in winter. There were a few joggers and dog walkers and it was lovely.