Southern Connecticut Waterfront Properties

Located between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York, to the south, Long Island Sound stretches for 110 miles, and is bordered by 600 miles of coastline. In fact, all of Connecticut's shoreline lies along Long Island Sound, a unique body of water that provides a number of water-based recreational opportunities, a rich habitat for diverse marine species and an economic boon to communities along the Sound.

Shorefront homes are available in the Southern Connecticut communities of Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield (lower Fairfield County), in a variety of home styles, lot sizes and price ranges. Some shorefront condos are also available in Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk and Fairfield, with prices starting in the $500,000 range. Homes here combine the best of waterfront living with the convenience of easy accessibility to New York City via the Metro North rail system and to Boston on the Accela.  Plans for a high-speed ferry to New York and to Boston are also in the works.

Each of these Southern Connecticut waterfront communities has one or more beaches, many featuring walking trails and playgrounds. A myriad of other recreational opportunities, including tennis, indoor ice skating and rollerblading, are available near many Southern Connecticut beaches.

With the small harbors, beaches, islands and river estuaries that dot Long Island Sound, the area is a haven for boaters. Marinas abound along the shoreline, with thousands of boat slips available in the Southern Connecticut area. Many homes and condos feature their own boat slips, including many deep water slips. Docks can accommodate boats up to 150 feet long.
Both sail boaters and power boaters explore the Sound, and the sparkling water here makes Long Island Sound popular for numerous water sports, including swimming, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing and fishing. Because it is a sound, the waters are well-protected from ocean storms and waters warm up quickly in the summer, with an average summer temperature of 73 degrees.

Long Island Sound is an estuary--where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from inland rivers. This unique environment provides feeding, breeding, nesting and nursing habitats for marine species from seals, to birds, to more than 120 species of fish. Its ecological significance led to Long Island Sound's designation in 1987 as a National Estuary. The Long Island Sound Foundation is dedicated to protecting this natural treasure, as is "Save the Sound", an affiliate of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment.

The Sound also contributes a great deal economically to the communities that surround it. Sound-based industries, such as commercial and sport fishing, boating and sight-seeing add an estimated $5.5 billion per year to the economy.