You can have sand between your toes – if that’s what you want – in less than a two-minute walk from a bus stop in Niantic. And if that public transit ride took awhile, you immediately pass Gumdrops & Lollipops (food and ice cream, bring cash), along with a water fountain and public restroom.

Before reaching the boardwalk and beach, you pass through the parking lot area for Hole-In-The-Wall Beach, which also doubles as an Outdoor Stormwater Classroom. I recognize that this isn’t everyone’s jam, but you know what? Sitting on a beach reading books for hours also isn’t everyone’s jam.

The Outdoor Stormwater Classroom is in the parking lot because impervious surfaces, which is what most parking lots are, are trouble. Our car-centric culture, an antiquated holdover from last century, has been a major contributor in stormwater run-off, because cars leak fluids and leave tire particles behind, and then all of that and everything else that gathers on roadways gets shunted without filtration off the surfaces when it rains. In Niantic, there are 23 acres contributing to the stormwater runoff that flows toward Hole-In-The-Wall Beach. We’re talking about oil, pesticides and fertilizers, litter, and more grossness flowing onto the beach and into LI Sound every time there was a heavy rain. We should also be dealing with these issues at the root, but mitigating the nasty results is something that all communities can absolutely do right now if they have the political will – particularly because the mitigation is visually attractive and requires not even the smallest of sacrifice from anyone.

What is different about the Hole-In-The-Wall Beach parking lot is that they use pervious pavement, for starters, filtering and decreasing stormwater runoff, and reducing the heat island effect. There’s a rain garden – something that’s becoming less rare now, but still not nearly as widespread as should be. For those who like reading signs and trying to understand how stuff works, the beach parking lot is the place to be.

Don’t think stormwater treatment matters? For three years in a row, the Hole-In-The-Wall Beach came in as the top scoring public swimming beach along Long Island: A+, A+, A+.

When you’re finished learning about making nicer beaches, walk through the tunnel below the railroad tracks – that’s the hole in the wall – and you can go see for yourself. The sand is to the right, boardwalk to the left.

It’s also not the only sand you will have access to. If you continue beyond Hole-In-The-Wall Beach via gravel path, you’ll land in McCook Point Park & Beach, which has lots of grass and large trees, but also a beach and picnic tables. And open wifi, seasonally, on the beach.

There’s still another beach option, but to get there, you take the Niantic Bay Boardwalk, one of the longest continuous stretches of public access to Connecticut’s shoreline – 1.1 miles. It’s really more if you add in the gravel path leading into McCook Point Park & Beach.

The Niantic Bay Boardwalk, including a fishing pier, is accessible to those using wheelchairs and mobility devices.

Bicycles, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades (and presumably roller skates), and non-service dogs are not permitted. The boardwalk is a bit narrow, making it hard to maneuver a bicycle, for instance, when there are other people around, which is often. I don’t know if the walk’s width was a factor in this policy, but ensuring enough room for those with mobility devices was the right, most equitable decision.

There are many, many benches on which one can sit and watch either trains zoom by or people working in Niantic Bay.

Commemorative plaques line much of the walkway, and they’re worth reading for the gems that are in the mix.

On a clear day, you can allegedly see Plum Island and the eastern end of Long Island. I wouldn’t know.

Still, there are lovely views.

Every so often the Niantic River Bascule Bridge sounds and lifts to allow boats to pass – viewable from some points on the boardwalk, with a closer view where the walk ends at Cini Memorial Park.

Toward the end of the boardwalk you’ll find Niantic Bay Beach. These are sweet spots, overlooked by those who have rigid ideas about what a beach experience should look, feel, and sound like, dismissed by those who have not developed the ability to find grandeur in the modest.

Niantic is unpretentious. This is not where to show up expecting to find Coach or Hermès. If you continue beyond the boardwalk you will find yourself at Cini Memorial Park with views of the river and marinas. There’s another public restroom here, some benches, and a sidewalk that leads toward Main Street. There is more space for movement on the boardwalk than on this sidewalk, which is next to a very busy road.

The Niantic village of East Lyme only developed in the mid-1800s after the railroad was constructed. It was the more northern, inland section of town that was “settled” first – Flanders, its other village. If you walk back to the bus stop via Route 156/Main Street instead of backtracking on the boardwalk, you may pass lawn signs denouncing wind power and a data center. Like stormwater runoff, we could be dealing with the problem literally and metaphorically upstream, but those with the most resources have shown a lack of interest in shifting their land use and energy consumption. Here we are, backed into a corner of our own making, with people worrying about viewsheds in an area that is beautiful, but also was built up without much regulation like nearly anywhere else, and only more recently than other places in town. Its population doubled in the 1960s. Projects should be designed with care, and not every location is the correct one, but we should always ask if the opposition is thoughtful concern, or if it has the vibes of someone moving to an area and expecting it to never change after they arrive to it, as if their presence is what legitimized it in the first place.

It’s impossible to spend time along the shore without thinking about how it is changing because of our choices, and what that means for our habitat.

East Lyme received a bronze certification from Sustainable CT in 2022. Having worked on a Sustainable CT subcommittee years back to help create the criteria, I have a lot of opinions about rankings and how municipalities can earn points, but I do think East Lyme has made more progress than some.

The Nature Conservancy published its 2017 “Niantic River Resilience Vision” explaining that “Many of the homes and infrastructure on the [Niantic River] are built directly adjacent to the water with few natural buffers to protect from destructive waves. Furthermore, runoff-caused erosion can undermine the structural integrity of engineered storm protection systems such as seawalls from the landwardside.”

Basically, a shoreline town not taking steps toward a sustainable future is one digging its own grave.

We’ve seen some of those steps taken in the Hole-In-The-Wall Beach model parking lot, and The Nature Conservancy spells it out as many others have: looking to the future, we need to remove pavement to allow for advancing salt marshes. Yes, those salt marshes are going to want to move as we experience sea level rise. Not if sea level rises, but when and how much. This organization calls for riparian buffers, vegetated slopes, salt marshes, eelgrass, and oyster reefs to help mitigate the impacts of hurricanes and sea level rise. It’s how to reduce flooding.

These are pleasant changes to be advising. Beach plum, shadbush, and big bluestem are all attractive, and they all help reduce beach erosion.

The Niantic River Watershed Committee has been connecting watershed residents with grant money for native plants and soil amendments to build rain gardens. It’s a thing to encourage, but only if we enjoy clean beaches.

That’s three separate beaches accessible by public transportation plus over a mile of coastal views, and the chance to learn how we can improve water conditions where we live. If you feel like you must go shopping, check out the Book Barn (three locations on one road) which has used books, is an entire experience, and is where you can find the frog and goat friends pictured above and below.

GO THERE:

Take the #3 SEAT bus and use the Niantic/Main Street stop. Walk down Baptist Lane (it looks like a driveway) that’s next to Gumdrops & Lollipops, a bright yellow building. The boardwalk is free to use and is open 24/7. There are walk-in fees for beach use, but I have yet to see anyone collecting money from pedestrians. 

Quick Stops highlights small doses of nature that are easily accessible from public transportation. Is the green space less than a two-minute relatively safe walk from the nearest bus stop? That’s a Quick Stop.