Fort Hale Park and Black Rock Fort
A history lesson in New Haven!
A local group of volunteers maintains a website dedicated to the fort and offers tours and lessons for schools and for the public (although as of spring 2021, these appear to be inactive). Their website refers to opening and closing dates/times for the fort, which refer to the dates and times when the volunteer group is on-site to offer education and interpretation, however the park and exterior access to fort structures is open year round, dawn to dusk. The group has a useful map that explains the features of the park, HERE.
We parked in the lot for Fort Hale Park and headed towards the fishing pier. This is a great viewpoint of the harbor and you can see the lighthouse at Lighthouse Point off to the left. Past the pier, head down the beach to the small structure at the end of the beach. This is Black Rock Fort! A sign and a (reproduction?) cannon let you know you are in the right spot.
Backtracking a bit from the deck with the cannon, look for a path on your left, leading away from the shoreline. This goes back to the historic footprint of the fort grounds, including bombproof shelters and equipment storage shelters, plus a moat and civil war era drawbridge (see the linked map above for information on the structures you will find, the signs on-site interpret the flora and fauna, but not the fort structures).
It took us about an hour total to explore this park. It was a chilly, windy day, and with a little more sun you might explore and enjoy the beach for longer.
There is a small playground to the left of the parking lot (two small climbing structures and a big arching swingset). If you want to enjoy a longer walk, look for the little trail that goes over the hill behind the playground. It takes you to a picnic pavilion, and then the trail past that goes to the Pardee Seawall - a paved sidewalk along the New Haven Harbor. A great, scenic way to walk a little further!