High tide is the best time to visit
Grassy and Long Beach islands tricky to navigate
NORWALK — Many boaters on the Sound may not be aware Long Beach Island even exists.
At high tide, the waters of Long Island Sound swell up to cover the sandy center of the island with only the grassy ends visible. Still, the 1.5-acre strip of land was popular back in the day for swimmers and campers during summer months, according to “The Norwalk Islands,” released by the city’s Planning Commission in 1969.
While not as popular as it may have been back in the ’60s, Long Beach Island does see the occasional visitor — some longer than they may have anticipated.
More than five years ago, David Park, a Weston native who has canoed and kayaked all over New England, said boaters unfamiliar with the local waters were out on the Sound to celebrate July 4. They landed on Long Beach Island during high tide, but when the water receded, the boat was stranded, stuck there until high tide rolled back in, Park said.
Anything under the water at high tide is considered state property, Park said.
Richard Delfosse of Rex Marine Center & Norwalk Cove Marina also remembers the boat beached on Independence Day.
While people land on Long Beach Island sporadically, there’s never been any construction or structures on the island, he added.
A short boat ride away is the more often visited Grassy Island, although it, too, will never be among the more well know of the Norwalk Islands.
The best approach to Grassy Island is on the north
side, through Betts Bay, as that route bypasses shallow water and invisible rocks just beneath the water’s surface.
“Whoever goes out there needs to be familiar with the area,” Park said.
Park, the author of “Kayaking in and Around the Norwalk Islands,” chooses to approach Grassy Island from the south when he’s canoeing. He said people in powerboats or large boats should beware of a long sand bar that sticks out one side of the island. He recommended people in large boats only travel to Grassy Island during high tide.
Considered public land, Grassy Island is owned by the City of Norwalk, which assumes no responsibility for injury, damage or loss of property. Unlike Long Beach Island, Grassy Island has four designated campsites, which are regulated by the Norwalk Department of Recreation and Parks. It’s open to the public from May to Columbus Day.
Designated a carry-in and carry-out recreation area, Grassy Island has no trash facilities on it. All garbage should be removed by the individual, according to the City of Norwalk’s website.
Even though it is owned by Norwalk, only 10 acres are actually within city limits. The other four are in neighboring Westport.
Norwalk bought Grassy Island, which is composed mostly of gravel and fine sand, for recreational use in 1971, according to “The Historic Norwalk Islands” by Dick Williams. For years, starting in 1835, it had been used as a sheep pasture by the SheffieldSmith families.
In more recent times, a brush fire on the island burned a little more than an acre, Park said. Smoke was spotted, and Norwalk Fire Department’s Marine Company Engine 3 vessel responded to douse the blaze on April 18, 2016.
When Park visited Grassy Island the following May, he said the burned vegetation had fully recovered.