There are excellent small-craft facilities at South Norwalk, East Norwalk, and in Norwalk Cove.
The harbormaster at Norwalk can be reached through the police department.
Local regulations provide penalties for exceeding the posted 5 mph speed limit or for dumping refuse in the harbor. These regulations are enforced by the Marine Division of the Norwalk Police Department. Police patrol boats operate the year round and are equipped to handle radio traffic on VHF-FM channel 16.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Norwalk Harbor and River are entered through a dredged channel that extends 3 miles northeasterly from Sheffield Island Harbor between Manresa Island on the west and White Rock and numerous islets and foul ground on the east, to the first highway bridge at South Norwalk, and thence northerly for another 1.3 miles to the basin at the head of navigation at Norwalk. The tall stack on Manresa Island, marked on top by red lights, is very prominent and can be seen for many miles from sea.
A Federal project provides for a depth of 12 feet from Sheffield Island Harbor to the State Route 136 bridge, thence 10 feet to a 10-foot basin at the head of navigation at Norwalk; an anchorage basin opposite Fitch Point has a project depth of 10 feet. The channel is marked by buoys and lights to the South Anchorage Basin.
Gregory Point, marked by a clubhouse and wharf, is on the east side of Norwalk Harbor 1.9 miles above the channel entrance. The boat basin immediately eastward of Gregory Point, locally known as Norwalk Cove, is entered through a privately maintained channel. In 1987, the controlling depth was 8 feet in the channel, thence in 1981, 6 feet in the eastern part of the basin. A 220-yard-long detached timber breakwater is on the north side of channel entrance.
East Norwalk Harbor, at the town of East Norwalk, is on the east side of the river about 2 miles above the main channel entrance. The harbor is entered through a dredged channel that leads westward of Fitch Point to the head and to North Anchorage Basin on the westerly side of the harbor. A Federal project provides for a depth of 6 feet from Fitch Point Light 1 to and in an anchorage basin at East Norwalk. The channel is marked to near the southern end of the basin.
South Norwalk is an important commercial and manufacturing city on the west side of Norwalk River, about 3 miles above the channel entrance. The depths at the wharves below the bridges range from 5 to 10 feet.
Norwalk, 1.3 miles above South Norwalk, is a city on both sides of the river at the head of navigation. The wharves have depths of about 7 feet alongside. The channel from South Norwalk to Norwalk is winding, with extensive flats on both sides, and requires local knowledge to follow it even at high water.
Three bridges cross Norwalk River between South Norwalk and Norwalk. The first, State Route 136 highway bascule bridge at South Norwalk, has a clearance of 8 feet. The second, a railroad swing bridge just above the highway bridge, has a clearance of 16 feet; an overhead power cable with a clearance of 203 feet crosses the river near the railroad bridge. The third, a turnpike highway fixed bridge, about 0.6 mile above the railroad bridge, has a clearance of 60 feet. The bridgetenders at the State Route 136 bridge and the railroad bridge monitor VHF-FM channel 13.
