West Haven prides itself on being home to the longest stretch of publicly accessible shoreline in Connecticut. The city’s 3-mile tract of beach on Long Island Sound comprises 25% of the state’s public beaches, a valuable asset that is ripe for discovery.

West Haven is also home to one of the best beaches to visit in New England, according to Globe Magazine, published by The Boston Globe and Boston Globe Media. In the magazine’s 2018 Summer Travel edition, West Haven, specifically the Sandy Point Beach & Bird Sanctuary, was ranked 11th out of “The 20 best beaches to visit in New England.”

According to the magazine, Sandy Point was best for “birding, fishing, trails.” When highlighting the area, the magazine said: “A 1.7-mile recreation path ties together West Haven’s sandy beaches on Long Island Sound. On the eastern end, the sand spit known as Sandy Point is one of the prize locations on the Connecticut Coastal Birding Trail. Save the swimming for nearby Bradley Point and Morse parks and take the binoculars to Sandy Point to watch the shorebirds. A colony of sharp-tailed sparrows nests in the adjacent tidal marsh. The entire sanctuary is also a major stopover for spring and fall migrants. Surfcasters like the point at night during striper season.” Read the full article at Globe Magazine.

Sandy Point, which serves as a migratory route for some of the most endangered bird species, is supervised by trained volunteer bird monitors, known as Audubon WildLife Guards, from Audubon Connecticut. (Learn more about the WildLife Guards by scrolling down.)

Garden and Parking Lot Improvements

Through the years, various improvements by the West Haven Department of Public Works have been made to the municipal parking lot on Beach Street, including three wooden planters, a guardrail and a butterfly garden. A grant from Audubon Connecticut expanded the restoration efforts to include the planting of “bird-friendly” flowers, shrubs and trees indigenous to the Sandy Point salt marsh. A group of neighborhood volunteers affiliated with the West Haven Watershed Restoration Committee invested its time and talents to further restore the area by maintaining the new gardens. A handicapped-accessible observation deck was built in 2017 with Local Capital Improvement Program funds from the state Office of Policy and Management.

For about two years, from 2022 to 2024, the Bird Sanctuary was closed to visitors while West Haven rebuilt and elevated Beach Street to prevent the severe flooding damage that had been caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. When she served as a West Haven state representative, current Mayor Dorinda Borer was instrumental in securing much of the supplemental state funding to complete the project. The road elevation plans prepared by DTC Civil Engineers of Hamden and overseen by City Engineer Abdul Quadir included significant changes to the sanctuary and its public parking lot. The changes were necessary because the parking lot had to be raised by as much as 4-5 feet in some areas and the entire parking lot had to be rebuilt and regraded on a slight pitch. The course of action required the removal of all existing planter boxes and gardens that had been built by the city’s Public Works Department and planted by neighborhood volunteers over the years.

As a result, the new parking lot included the construction of eight planter boxes and the installation of a hillside garden close to the sanctuary entrance sign, along with new wooden guardrails throughout the parking lot. The parking lot and the planter boxes were built by Laydon Industries of New Haven, which was also responsible for the road elevation project. Each of the new gardens was designed by the Tavella Design Group of Orange to include a mix of native and cultivated “pollinator-type” perennial plants that help attract bees and butterflies and support area bird populations. To carry out the design, Laydon hired GT Landscape of Hamden to provide the plant materials and install the plants. The final result was a remarkable setting amid a spectacular backdrop with views of New Haven Harbor, Morris Cove, the New Haven Lighthouse and Long Island Sound.

The new Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary gardens have become a real focal point for West Haven, blooming throughout the season and well into autumn. Visitors remark at how beautiful they are and are impressed that they also add to the natural environment, which draws so many rare coastal birds.

Many of the original volunteers returned to work at the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary after the elevation of Beach Street — and reached out to more community volunteers to show their appreciation for West Haven’s efforts to rebuild the sanctuary. In 2025, 17 neighborhood volunteers came forward to help the city maintain the spectacular gardens by watering them as needed, weeding and tending to the plants with an annual maintenance schedule. They also help with picking up litter and keeping the parking area neat and appealing.

ABOVE: Beach Street neighborhood volunteers who have helped maintain the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary gardens in 2024-25 under the direction of West Haven Parks and Recreation Director Mark E. Paine Jr., third from left.

Beach Parking (click here for info)

Interstate 95 North (From Bridgeport)

1. Take Exit 43.
2. Turn right onto Campbell Avenue.
3. Follow beach signs about 1 ½ miles to Captain Thomas Boulevard.
4. Turn left at the traffic light, then turn right at the stop sign.
5. Follow the water along Beach Street. The Sandy Point public parking lot is about a ½ mile on the right.

Interstate 95 South (From New Haven)

1. Take Exit 42.
2. Turn right onto Route 162, Sawmill Road.
3. Follow beach signs about 2 miles to Captain Thomas Boulevard.
4. Turn left at the traffic light. Travel about 1 mile through two traffic lights, then turn right at the stop sign.
5. Follow the water along Beach Street. The Sandy Point public parking lot is about a ½ mile on the right.

West Haven receives Audubon’s first ‘Share the Shore Award’
On May 19, 2021, West Haven received Audubon Connecticut’s inaugural “Share the Shore Award” for its “incredible work” at Sandy Point on behalf of Long Island Sound’s beach- and island-nesting birds.

The city received the award during a ceremony via Zoom.

“The city of West Haven is thrilled to accept Audubon’s Share the Shore Award, and we especially want to thank those local community members who helped launch and grow this effort. In 2003, West Haven residents nominated and Audubon Connecticut recognized Sandy Point as an ‘Important Bird Area.’ Since then, we have seen volunteers, state agencies, students, Scouts, and more come together to make our community safer and healthier for people and wildlife.”

Read the full Audubon Connecticut News Release.

See the Timeline for the award-winning work led by city officials and volunteers.

Visit Audubon Connecticut for other highlights from the Share the Shore Award.

Sandy Point, West Haven. (Audubon Connecticut via City of West Haven)

Meet West Haven’s Audubon WildLife Guards
Starting in 2017, a group of eight West Haven High School students has helped monitor and protect the beach-nesting birds at Sandy Point. Thanks to a grant from Audubon Connecticut, students in the paid seven-week program record the nesting and survival of piping plovers, American oystercatchers, least terns and common terns, keeping track of other birds species along the way. If you see them on the beach, they will be happy to share what they have learned with you.

Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, the program coordinator of the Audubon Important Bird Area, manages the WildLife Guards Program, and Genevieve Nuttall is the Audubon staff member assigned to the Sandy Point effort. The guards not only keep track of nesting sites, they also help make information at Sandy Point more accessible to visitors. Although the students were aware of the area before working with Audubon, all agree the job has given them a new appreciation for birdlife and West Haven’s connection to one of its most valuable resources. Be sure to follow their weekly reports below (coming soon).

Learn more about the WildLife Guards Program at WildLife Guards and on Facebook.

Learn more about Sandy Point at Audubon Connecticut’s website and CT Waterbirds Blogspot. Also, read about the Eagle Scout project that Audubon Connecticut helped coordinate at Sandy Point.

See the West Haven WildLife Guards Weekly Reports: