Ocean Beach in New London is all but deserted on a winter day last week. (Betsy Graham) A gull hovers over a rock off Waterford Beach, while a ferry from Long Island’s Orient Point heads to New London. (Betsy Graham) Seaweed covers part of the rocky shore near Waterford Beach. (Lisa Brownell) Published March 11. 2021 7:10AM By Steve Fagin Let’s suppose that after a few hours of swimming, lolling on the sand and strolling the boardwalk at Ocean Beach, you decide to visit Harkness. Simple: Get in your car, drive less than two miles, and swing into the main entrance. If you’re a Connecticut resident, you don’t even have to pay.