The list named 50 state parks around the country, one for each state. Silver Sands was listed among others like Niagra Falls State Park in New York, Mount Greylock State Reservation in Massachusetts and Colt State Park in Rhode Island. Connecticut has 142 state parks and forests, according to CT.gov.

People traverse the tombolo, or sandbar, that leads to Charles Island at Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Conn. A music festival planned on a floating stage in the waters off the island has been postponed this summer, after issues with the event’s insurance, its organizers said.
Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media“This state park comprises acres upon acres of dunes, beach, and woodlands. Strolling along the boardwalk is a breezy way to explore the marshland and shoreline. And when it isn’t closed off to protect nesting birds (May to November), you can walk across a sandbar to get to Charles Island, home to an impressive bird rookery,” Travel + Leisure wrote.
The article was written by Travel + Leisure editor and writer Evie Carrick, who has a passion for “outdoor adventure,” according to her website. Aside from Travel + Leisure, Carrick has written about travel for BuzzFeed and Outside Magazine.
“National parks get all the attention, but some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes are found in lesser-known (and therefore less busy) state parks,” the article states. “From the caves of Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio to the hoodoos in Utah’s Mars-like Goblin Valley State Park, there are endless places waiting to be explored across the U.S.”
New London’s Ocean Beach Park in June was featured on Travel + Leisure’s “25 Best Beaches in the USA” list for the second year in a row and Yale University was recently named one of the “most beautiful” places to visit on the East Coast by the magazine.