Pardee Seawall

Earlier this decade, I spent a night on a mooring not far from this New Haven park, along Morris Cove. I had not planned on spending the night here, but daylight was disappearing, and I was tired from the long day on the water. It was an uneventful evening of leftover food, and watching the sunset reflect off the bluffs of trap rock rising from the shore. Pardee Seawall Park is a small, attractive, neighborhood park on the eastern shore of New Haven Harbor. It consists primarily of benches, lamps, and a walkway with a wrought-iron fence that lines the water. An interesting feature along the seawall is several sets of steps that provide access to the water below. I do not know if the gates to these steps are open in the summer months, but the stonework is attractive. The north end of the park meets a palisades-like rock cliff that is known as Forbes Bluff. From here, a trail climbs the bluff and continues north to Fort Nathan Hale Park. There are proposals to link all of the parks along the east shore of New Haven Harbor, and integrate them with the massive New England Trail, that extends to the Canadian border. My plans however, were much more modest. I climbed the bluff to take in the view of the harbor, before making my way back down the snowy slope. It was late in the day, and I was getting tired. Map