In essence, Clinton Harbor is a Long Island Sound nature preserve peppered with marinas. There are, in fact, at least seven marinas in Clinton, including the Town Dock, although most are small and several are located on shallow rivers where access can be uncertain at low tide. It’s just part of the adventure, and well worth the trip.

Transient-friendly Port Clinton Marina is one of seven marinas serving Clinton Harbor.

Veteran cruisers versed in the charms of Clinton know that the entrance to this idyllic world takes you through a narrow, shoal-lined channel. From Long Island Sound, the Kelsey Breakwater extends like an arrow pointing to two- and three-story starter castles along the shoreline. Swerve around scruffy Cedar Island (most of it part of Hammonasset State Park) and you’ll enter a sheltered thicket of boats. Welcome to Clinton Harbor!

TWIN RIVERS

The harbor is actually the terminus of the Hammonasset and Indian rivers, and you can explore these delicate ribbons of water a couple of ways. One is to pick your way upriver and grab a slip or drop the hook. Another is to rent a kayak at the Indian River Marina and paddle down the willow-lined waterway into busy Clinton Harbor, then up the marsh-fringed Hammonasset. Along the way you’ll be treated to a stunning landscape that inspired America’s first impressionist painters.

You can also try your hand at stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) at Harborside Marina and Yacht Sales. Harborside now features a paddleworks shop, which offers daily “intro to SUP” classes, as well as private lessons, SUP yoga and SUPFit Bootcamp, six days a week. Drop-ins are encouraged.

MORE THAN A MARINA

Cedar Island Marina is an exciting option for Clinton transients. Indeed, it’s more like a country club than a marina, and, according to dockmaster Kris Shapiro, they have plenty of transient space all season.

It doesn’t get more authentic than the Lobster Landing.

In addition to shower and laundry facilities, the marina features a new fitness center, a large pool with shuffleboard, a clubhouse with kids’ programs, a picnic area, a bocce court, a hot tub, a snack bar, and a restaurant called Rocky’s Aqua. On certain summer weekends, it even hosts live bands around the pool.

If you’re seeking sustenance, adjacent to the Town Dock is Lobster Landing. Owned by Enea and Cathie Bacci, this has to be one of the last (and best) authentic lobster roll shacks in Connecticut, if not the whole Eastern Seaboard. Sixteen bucks gets you a toasted roll brimming with chunks of lobster drizzled with butter. Peek into the tiny, weather-beaten shed and you might find a white-bearded Enea in a rubber apron, busily cracking hot lobsters.

MAIN STREET MUSINGS

There is no “downtown” Clinton in the boutique and bistro sense, but there’s plenty of American history. Pre-Colonial and Colonial homes, like the “1630 House” used as the Tourist Information Center, line the road. What eventually became Yale College was established here in 1701, and remained until money was endowed in 1719 to build a permanent campus in New Haven. Benjamin Franklin, as emerging postmaster general, placed a milestone on the “Post Road”—now Main Street—in the 1750s, and during the War of 1812, residents of Clinton thwarted British raids on the harbor. One of the cannons used in that defense remains on the small triangular Muster Field as reminder.

Downtown, you can grab breakfast with the locals at the Coffee Break—a throwback to the days when neighbors gathered to talk over cheap-yet-tasty “breakfast specials.” Once an hour, conversation stalls as the dozens of musical clocks covering the walls begin to chime, resulting in a cacophony that regulars seem to ignore. Plastic flamingos, cuckoo clocks, and a “tropical” bathroom complete with chirping faux birds up the quirk factor.

FARTHER AFIELD

You’ll need to take a taxi or shuttle to more distant area attractions, such as Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, a high-end discount center that draws budget-and fashion-conscious shoppers from all over the world. The shuttle also runs to Chamard Vineyards—a bit of France on the Connecticut shoreline where you can sample French-inspired wines ($15 or $25 for a Six Vintage tasting) produced from locally grown grapes in an elegant stone barn. Afterward, enjoy a bite at open-kitchen Chamard Bistro, which offers the “Best Pomme Frites in Connecticut,” according to regulars.

At sunset, you can hang with the locals as they fish and crab off the docks. It’s a placid summer activity that is sadly becoming a relic of simpler times. For all of its progressive thinking, Clinton is refreshingly steeped in the past.