Named “one of the last great places” by the Nature Conservancy, the Connecticut River Valley offers an enticing blend of history, culture, beautiful landscapes and nautical flavor. Here you will find quaint, colonial-era villages that are unspoiled by development and offer fine dining, art, eclectic boutiques and stunning vistas. Among them, a few miles up river from Long Island Sound, is the popular yachting destination of Essex, a scenic village that has been awarded by several independent public surveys as one of the 100 Best Small Towns in America. Downstream in the more developed area of the Long Island Sound are Westbrook and Clinton, the base of several highly rated marine services. A trip up the Connecticut River Valley should definitely be on the list of any boat cruising in New England, as it provides a number of coves and inlets, such as Hamburg Cove and Selden’s Creek that should not be missed. The river is also easily navigable by relatively large ships as far as Hartford and offers several good marinas and shipyards along the way.