New Haven — Lighthouse Point was one of our first rides, and it's still a favorite. You'll get to see some interesting parts of New Haven, like the Wooster Square, take a swim with a picnic (we're great on picnicking) at New Haven's only public beach, and finish with a ride on a beautifully restored carousel. Start at the New Haven green, on the corner of Church and Elm streets. You can park your car at any spot around the Green. Go east on Elm over the railroad tracks; bear right onto Olive Street. Continue on Olive about 1/2 mile until you come to Water Street; turn left. Go under the turnpike and over the drawbridge onto what is now Forbes Avenue. After 6 blocks, start up the hill, which spirals right, then left, and peaks at the junction with Woodward Avenue, the first stop light (it may not be marked). Turn right; cross over I-95 and go straight on Woodward Avenue. After about a mile you'll come to Rayham Road (spelled Raynham at the upper end), the street after the caution light. Stop and take a look. Sitting at the top of the hill, you'll see a large Victorian mansion, just the width of Raynham Road. It's the Townshend mansion, owned and occupied by the same family since 1840. In 1-1/2 miles, Woodward and the water meet at Nathan Hale Park. Woodward Avenue turns inland here and ends as it runs into Townsend Avenue. Turn right and within 1/2 mile, you come to Morris Cove, where you'll have a fine view of New Haven Harbor. Turn right onto Morris Cove Avenue at the end of the cove. Turn left in 1/2 block when it ends at Bristol Place. Turn right at the intersection with Lighthouse and right again on Cove Street, then left on Cora Street, back to Lighthouse Avenue and the entrance to Lighthouse Point Park. Turn right into the park. It's 1/2 mile to the beach proper, a lovely beach with a bathhouse and an old-fashioned carousel full of lovingly restored wooden horses. Closed on Mondays only. Lighthouse Point also has the rare distinction of being one of the rest stops for monarch butterflies during their annual migration to central Mexico. During the last week of September and first week of October, the butterflies alight in the trees near the carousel to rest before flying (or is it fluttering?) on to Mexico.

From the park you return to Lighthouse Road, and within 1/2 mile, you will find the Pardee Morris House on the right, built in 1685 and open to the public from May 1 to November 1 on Saturdays and Sundays only from 11:30 to 4:00 p.m.

From the Morris House, continue downhill to Townsend Avenue. Cross Townsend onto the very short Morris Causeway to Dean Street; turn left. Continue to Burr Street; turn right and go to Fort Hale Road, the first street on the left past the airport terminal (which has a nifty restaurant overlooking the runways). Turn left and ride uphill to Townsend Avenue where you turn right. Soon you will cross Main Street and I-95. Turn left at the next street, Forbes Avenue. Ride past Woodward, downhill, reversing your outbound track, going over the drawbridge to a right-hand turn at East Street, the first after crossing the bridge. Turn left at the next light, onto Chapel Street. At Wooster Place turn right and make a circuit of Wooster Park, with a left on Greene and a left on Academy. Midway down Academy, turn right onto Court, a short pedestrian / bicycle only street between Academy and Olive. Continue across Olive, over the railroad, past State and Orange, using the sidewalk since the street is one way in the opposite direction, to Church Street and the New Haven Green.

TAKEN FROM

Short Bike Rides in Connecticut (Fifth Edition), written by Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith

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