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Suggest a Feature →Naval Submarine Base New London — Groton, Connecticut
The Submarine Capital of the World. Thames River, fall foliage, and New England.
Naval Submarine Base New London is the Navy's primary submarine base on the East Coast — home to Submarine School, the submarine force's training center, and multiple fast attack submarine squadrons. The base sits on the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut, across the river from the historic city of New London. Despite the name, the base is in Groton — a distinction locals take seriously.
The submarine community here is tight-knit, technically demanding, and deeply professional. The SUBBASE provides for submarine crew training, qualification, and deployment that flows through every aspect of life here. Deployments are long by surface ship standards, and the family support infrastructure reflects the community's awareness of that reality.
The surrounding area is southern New England at its best — coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island a short drive east, Cape Cod reachable in 90 minutes, and Boston two hours north. The fall foliage here rivals anything in Vermont. Mystic Seaport (10 minutes) is one of the best maritime museums in the country. The local food scene benefits from New England proximity to extraordinary seafood.
Must Eat
The spots worth eating at before you PCS out.
Mystic Pizza (Mystic)
"The famous one. The movie was mediocre. The pizza is legitimately good."
Mystic Pizza became famous from the 1988 Julia Roberts film but has been a Mystic institution since 1973. The pizza is legitimately good — white clam pizza is the New England signature.
The original Mystic location on Main Street is the one to visit. The clam pizza is the Connecticut coastal experience.
S&P Oyster House (Mystic)
"Connecticut seafood on the Mystic River. Right on the water."
The Mystic River drawbridge location makes this one of the most scenic restaurants in Connecticut. Lobster, oysters, and chowder are the priorities. Reliable and well-located.
Get there before the bridge goes up for boat traffic (check times) or embrace the delay — when the bridge lifts you're watching classic New England harbor life.
Abbott's Lobster in the Rough (Noank)
"Connecticut lobster on picnic tables over the water. The authentic version."
Abbott's in Noank has been doing classic Connecticut lobster-in-the-rough since 1947 — whole steamed lobster at picnic tables on the dock. BYOB, water views, seasonal.
Open May-October. Call ahead to confirm hours and check if they have lobster. Weekend waits are long but the location is worth it.
Captain Scott's Ice Cream (New London)
"New England homemade ice cream on the Thames. A ritual."
Captain Scott's has been a New London summer institution for decades — hand-crafted ice cream in New England flavors (maple walnut, blueberry, ginger) served from a shack on the Thames.
Go at sunset. The views of the Thames and submarine activity are excellent from the waterfront.
Outdoor
Get outside. The land around military installations is usually the best reason to be there.
Ocean Beach Park (New London)
"New London's public beach. Long Island Sound swimming."
The municipal beach at Ocean Beach Park has an art deco boardwalk, Olympic pool, miniature golf, and Long Island Sound swimming. Not a surf beach but genuinely good for family beach days.
Parking gets packed on weekend afternoons in summer. Arrive before 10am or bring alternate plans.
Bluff Point State Park
"The last undeveloped headland on the Connecticut coast."
Bluff Point is a 1,000-acre coastal reserve in Groton — the last undeveloped section of the Connecticut shoreline. Trails through scrub forest to the bluff overlooking Fishers Island Sound.
The 2-mile trail to the bluff point takes 45-60 minutes each way. Beach access at the bottom. Good year-round but spectacular in fall.
Kayaking the Thames River
"The river that submarines transit. Paddle it yourself."
The Thames River from Norwich to New London has good kayaking — flat water, interesting commercial and naval traffic, and excellent river birding. Rentals available in Mystic.
Tide-aware paddling is important — the Thames has strong tidal currents. Go out on incoming tide, return on outgoing.
Culture & History
Places with stories. Most military towns sit on deep history — dig in.
Submarine Force Museum (Groton)
"America's only nuclear submarine museum. USS Nautilus is open for boarding."
The Submarine Force Museum houses the USS Nautilus — the world's first nuclear-powered submarine — which is open for self-guided tours. The history of US submarine warfare from WWII forward is comprehensive.
Free admission. The Nautilus interior gives a genuinely claustrophobic sense of submarine life — even modern SSNs are not much more spacious.
New London Downtown (Captain's Walk)
"Eugene O'Neill's hometown. Victorian architecture on the Thames."
New London's downtown has notable historic architecture — the Custom House (1833), the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, and the Eugene O'Neill homestead at Monte Cristo Cottage.
Monte Cristo Cottage (Eugene O'Neill's childhood home) is a National Historic Landmark open for tours seasonally. "Long Day's Journey Into Night" is set here.
Family
Stuff to do with the kids. Rated by people who have brought actual children.
Mystic Aquarium
"Beluga whales and penguins in Mystic. Well-curated."
The Mystic Aquarium has one of the better beluga whale exhibits on the East Coast, plus penguin encounters, jellyfish displays, and a solid shark tank.
Military discount available. Combine with Mystic Seaport Museum for a full Mystic day.
Day Trips
When you need to remember there's a world outside the gate.
"Gilded Age mansions, the Cliff Walk, and an exceptional harbor."
Newport's Cliff Walk gives you the Gilded Age mansions on one side and the Atlantic on the other — completely free. The Breakers and Marble House tours are worth the fee. The harbor has excellent restaurants.
"2 hours north. Freedom Trail, world-class museums, and Red Sox."
The Freedom Trail (free, 2.5 miles through colonial history), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Fenway Park, and Harvard/MIT campuses make Boston an excellent full-day trip.
"Ferry from New London. The most unspoiled island on the East Coast."
Block Island is a short ferry from New London — a Victorian resort island with dramatic bluffs, pristine beaches, and no chain restaurants. Perfect for a day trip or weekend.
Submarine family life has specific rhythms that civilians don't understand. The SUBBASE family support programs and FRG are well-organized — connect with them immediately.
The Groton-New London area has a significant submarine industry civilian workforce. Electric Boat (General Dynamics) employs thousands and many live in the same communities as military families.
Connecticut has the highest per capita income in the US — prices reflect it. The commissary and base exchange are important for managing food and household costs.
Fall foliage along the Connecticut River valley and coastal Connecticut (October) is spectacular. The drive on Route 169 through the "Quiet Corner" of northeastern Connecticut is one of New England's best.
New London has a regular ferry to Orient Point, Long Island. The Long Island Sound ferry system opens up the Hamptons, North Fork wine country, and eastern Long Island for day and weekend trips.
Submarine deployment schedules are long and operationally unpredictable in ways surface ship deployments are not. Families need exceptional self-sufficiency and support networks. Connecticut's cost of living is genuinely high — run a careful budget before committing to lifestyle expenses that assume a stable income without BAH supplementation. The housing market in the Groton-New London area is competitive.
This guide is built by people who've been stationed here. If there's a spot we got wrong or a gem we missed, tell us.