Selden Neck State Park

About Selden Neck State Park

River camps are available from May 1st to September 30th and offer a variety of activities for individuals traveling the river, such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, camping, hiking and fishing.

The River Camp is bookable from May 30th to September and from June 1st to September.

Each stay is limited to one night and can be booked from 1 May to 30 September and from 1 June to 31 October 2016.

Although the park is called Selden Neck, it is actually an island and the river campgrounds at Hurd and Gillette Castle are only accessible by canoeists. The island is named after John Selderen, who bought the property in 1695 as a second owner. Cut off from the mainland in 1850, it spent most of the 160 years as a large island alone in the Connecticut River, until the 1850s.

In the 1860s, the Selden family retained control of the island and its mining operations, and in 1889 a company bought the land to mine it. In the 1850s and 1870s it remained in the possession of a small group of mining companies.

Today, the uninhabited island is bordered by Selden Creek, and the paved stones are part of the New York State Park's pathway system. The blocks were used to pave the streets of New York City nearly 130 years ago, but today they are the only public access to the island from the rest of Manhattan.

The island rises almost 150 feet and offers a variety of areas suitable for potentially strenuous hikes.

Besides the tidal marshes, the island is completely covered in lush forest vegetation and offers an area suitable as a potential hiking destination for those interested in hiking, canoeing or kayaking.

For one night, Connecticut State Park has set up four primitive campsites (see map). Each place invites campers to explore the paths of the island, some of which are better marked than others. A marked path starts at the campsite at the Knob quarry and leads to a quarry area southeast of the islands. The path passes an old dam, which was built to transport granite stones from the quarry walls to the shore.

The path leads northwest to the ruins of an old farm building and a fountain, and the vantage point along the path offers a wonderful view of the lower Connecticut River. Viewers will quickly understand why the Conservation Commission calls it "one of the last great places in America."

The view to the east, opposite Selden Creek, includes land owned by the Nature Conservancy and the Connecticut River and its tributary, the New Haven River.

The island's tranquillity is inviting and you can listen to the sounds of water birds flying at night and the breath of birds in the morning as they fly.

There are four primitive campsites in the park, one on the island and two in the parking lot at the entrance to Selden Neck Park.