A short two-and-a-half hour drive north of New York City lies the shoreline community of Mystic, CT. Despite popular belief, Mystic is not a legally recognized town. It is a zipcode/village within the towns of Groton and Stonington. Recently, my 3- and 6-year old daughters and I took a mini vacation to explore this area. Below I share some of the things to do in Mystic, CT with (or without) kids!
Source: Mystic Seaport Museum
TOP THINGS TO DO IN MYSTIC, CT WITH KIDS
#1 Journey on the Sabino at the Mystic Seaport
The steamboat Sabino is the oldest wooden, coal-fired steamboat in regular operation in the U.S. 1 After more than two years of extensive restorations on the 1908 vessel, it relaunched in August 2017 in Mystic Seaport’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. My girls were delighted by the sounds of the old ship. The Captain even let them take a turn steering the boat!
As the ship journeyed north, we saw Mystic’s bascule bridge go up and down. The bridge opens once every 60 minutes at 40 past the hour during daylight hours/seasonally May through October. Otherwise, it opens on demand.2
On our weekday afternoon sail, Sabino was full with passengers. (I would recommend buying tickets in advance.) Before or after your ride, it’s worth visiting the Mystic Seaport, which is a 17-acre village on the banks of the Mystic River. My girls were not as excited about visiting the seaport, but many people say it is the highlight of their trip! A replication of The Mayflower II will be at the seaport for several years undergoing extensive restoration in preparation for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ landing in 2020.3
#2 The Mystic Aquarium
I’ll be honest. I’ve been to many aquariums in my lifetime (in the last year alone: Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium and Charleston’s South Carolina Aquarium), so I was prepared to be a little let down by the Mystic Aquarium just due to Mystic’s charming, but small, location. I was happily surprised to find it packed with exhibits that we all enjoyed. There were opportunities to learn about many animals, most notably the beluga whales, penguins and frogs! We also really enjoyed the sea lion show in the surprisingly large Foxwoods Marine Theater. (The 20-minute long sea lion show is included with an Aquarium ticket.)
#3 Shopping Around Mystic
I normally wouldn’t suggest shopping with little kids as a “top” thing to do on vacation, but we found a few gems.
Shopping is easy in the center of town along the Mystic River. Summer tourists are popping in and out of shops everywhere before or after their restaurant reservations. In the center of town near Main Street, we enjoyed Mystic Knotworks and Mystical Toys. Across the bascule bridge is the appropriately named, old-timey sweet spot, Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, which serves up flavors like Jamaican Me Nutty and Seaport Salty Swirl.
Olde Mistick Village, located next door to the Mystic Aquarium, contains a myriad of unique, old-fashioned shops (many of the “trinket” variety). You wont spend hours here with your kids, but it might be a low key stop before dinner. Franklin’s General Store in the Village is the largest, single store producer of fudge in New England.4 Another sweet stop is Mango’s Ice Cream, which is owned by the wood fired pizza restaurant in the Village under the same name. (They also have a great spot for selfies attached to their building with rustic and colorful buoys (above). Alice In the Village offers high tea for kids (by reservation).
#4 Sampling the Local Eats
We enjoyed standard pub fare at the Engine Room in downtown Mystic, CT. It has a bit of a southern feel, serving up dishes like “Carolina hush puppies w. rosemary, lemon, maple butter” and “buttermilk fried chicken sandwich with chipotle hot sauce.” My chopped salad was huge and delicious and the girls couldn’t even come close to making a dent in their kids meals. The beer and drink selection seemed impressive.
We also ventured a little further afield to Dog Watch Cafe in Stonington, which had a lovely river view and great food. And, most importantly, a less rushed, less crowded atmosphere. The girls were able to walk down the pier and look at the boats after dinner.
On most trips, I prefer sit down dinners and a luxurious place to rest my head. However, this vacation was unquestionably a kid-friendly jaunt. One of our favorite stops for dinner was the Sea View Snack Bar, a little food stand off of one of Mystic’s busy roads. The food was delicious and the view was better than most, if not all, restaurants by the shoreline. Next door to Sea View sits Twister’s Ice Cream, which made for the perfect dessert. (Mommy tip: there is no bathroom here other than a port-a-potty, so make sure the little ones are prepared to sit through dinner!)
#4. Local Beaches
Misquamicut State Beach is just 13 miles north of Mystic, CT in neighboring Rhode Island. The beach was clean and most importantly (for me) it had reasonable (albeit smelly) restrooms, concessions and a park for the girls to play. Warning: the beach fills to capacity in the summer with traffic backed up on incoming roads for miles! If you are going to make the trip to the beach, plan to get there early (and consider leaving early, too)!
#5. Basic Hotel Pool Fun
One of my girls’ favorite aspects of our trip was staying at the Hilton in Mystic, CT. They had so much fun watching the nightly movie while swimming in the pool. The hotel was convenient (across the street from the Aquarium and Olde Mistick Village).
Have you ever been to Mystic, CT with kids? I know there is more to see and do! Leave a note in the comments if you have any other recommendations for our next trip!
Looking for more ideas for quick getaways from NYC? See this popular post: 5 Luxury Summer Weekend Getaways from NYC with Kids.
Editor’s Sources:
1: https://www.mysticseaport.org/locations/sabino/
2: http://thisismystic.com/about-mystic/
3: https://www.mysticseaport.org/category/mayflower-ii-restoration/
4: http://www.franklinsgeneralstore.com/WorldsBestFudge.html
