If you want to know what it feels like to have people look at you like an outsider, get down on your hands and knees and start photographing grains of sand in December.
Why then?
Why not?
Actually, this is practical. Beachcombing might be thought of as a summertime activity, but all those sunbathers figuratively magnetically drawn to the sand are obstacles.
A paved bike/walking path leads from the campground to the westernmost segment of the beach, where the pink sand is on view.
These tiny pieces of garnet probably won’t be the most breathtaking thing you have ever seen, but they’re a sparkly reminder to slow down and look more closely at the places you think you already know well.
While looking, you might notice some of the sand is darker. That’s magnetite and/or ilmenite, both literally magnetic. Cool!
The Connecticut Garnet Trail is an interesting (to me) concept, and I love learning about more than just garnets at these sites, but that comes from my research. So far, I have encountered no signage — wayfinding, interpretative, or otherwise — at the sites I have visited. With the comprehensive trail guide, I don’t know that extensive physical signs are necessary, but one per site that notes the trail and points visitors toward where they can get more info would be awesome.
While you’re at the park, you might as well go to the other end and check out Meigs Point Nature Center, open year-round but with slightly shorter hours in colder months. If you are there when the building is closed, you can look at the garden, take a hike, or do some birdwatching.
Hammonasset Beach State Park is accessible from the Shoreline Greenway Trail in Madison.
