If the sunny days aren’t enough to keep you outside, maybe a beach will change your mind.
The extra warm weather at Rocky Neck State Park in Old Lyme is bringing people in early to enjoy the beach.
"“It’s a great time to get my tan started!" said Megan Batchelder from East Hartford.
The nice weather has also opened up the park’s restroom facilities every day.
Park officials say about 7,000 people enjoyed the beach over the weekend, so they opened the concession stands early before one of the park’s most popular beach weekends: Memorial Day Weekend.
Meanwhile, Batchelder took advantage of the 80-degree weather.
"It’s a good day to be here, there’s not a lot of people, Memorial Day is going to be packed. Holidays are always a mess," she said.
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Park officials say they’re expecting about 25,000 people for Memorial Day Weekend. If you’re planning to come to the park, parking could be an issue.
"Sometimes you wouldn’t even find parking spots. You’d have to walk from the entrance to the beach," said Chelsea Boutwell, who’s experienced the holiday chaos.
"We have capacity for about 2,000 cars, but often, the amount of people that come here could exceed 25,000 people with other avenues that they come into the park besides the cars," explained park supervisor Gary Nasiatka.
Once the spots fill up, the park closes. Park officials suggest beach-goers arrive early. The park opens at 8 a.m. each day.
It’s $9 for Connecticut licensed cars to enter the park over the weekend and $15-dollars for out-of-state cars.
Prices will go up on Memorial day weekend: $13 for Connecticut licensed cars and $22 for out-of-state cars.
