Located on 2,000 woodland acres on the shore of a mile-long lake is the Yale Outdoor Education Center (OEC), a recreational complex in East Lyme. Open to all Yale affiliates and their families, the center offers swimming, boating, camping and picnicking. It is open daily from the third week in June through Labor Day weekend and will remain open on weekends during September (call to verify during September).
The center has eight lakeside cabins and eight woodland campsites available for summer rental. A boat dock houses five, 12-foot rowboats and six 15-foot canoes. Lifeguards and instructors are on duty daily 10 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. (5:30 p.m. on weekends). The facility contains a dining hall with a large deck, pavilion, shower house, picnic groves with tables and grills, a grass and sand beach, hiking trail, wildlife conservation marsh, duck pond, volleyball court, horseshoe pit, playing field and more.
Season memberships may be purchased 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the OEC office, Rm. 511 of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium, located at 70 Tower Pkwy. Membership includes unlimited use of the OEC on a daily basis, cabin/campsite rental privileges and canoeing, rowing and swimming instruction.
To reach the OEC, take I-95 north or east, exit 71, turn right off the exit ramp and continue 1.5 miles, turn left onto Scott Road at the OEC sign. Continue two miles to the front entrance on the opposite side of the road and follow the dirt road to the check-in station and lakeside parking lot. For more information, call 432-2492.
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