The footbridges and path from the Old Mill Beach parking lot toward Compo Cove are open again. 06880 reported the reopening on October 24 after a tide gate renovation that kept the walkway closed for more than a year. The public section runs along Sherwood Mill Pond, not out to the Sound. The first weeks of November, when the pond fills with wintering birds, are when that layout works best.
What $5.58 Million Actually Rebuilt
The walkway came along with a larger job. The Town's project scope covers repairs to two tide gates and a spillway, a rebuilt wooden pier, four short sections of seawall rebuilt from scratch, and repairs to the longer seawall sections. The Town's reason for the project is the pond itself. Working tide gates control the water level and water quality, which keeps the pond and its tidal channels healthy.
The money came together late in 2024. Westport Journal reported that the Board of Selectwomen signed a $4.739 million contract with Blakeslee, Arpaia and Chapman of Branford. The full $5.58 million approved by the Representative Town Meeting used the town's remaining American Rescue Plan Act money, with bonds and notes covering the rest. According to the same outlet's January 2025 coverage, a memo from Conservation Director Colin Kelly said the tide gates, walkway and bridge had worn down so badly in the marine environment that patching would not work and everything needed replacing.
Construction ran longer than planned. When work was announced in August 2025, the schedule was to start shortly after Labor Day and finish by Memorial Day 2026, as Westport Journal reported. By late May, 06880 wrote that completion "won't come remotely close" to that date. The path finally reopened in late October, about five months behind schedule. The Town still lists full site restoration as due by Thanksgiving 2026, so some finishing work may still be underway when you visit.
Where the Public Walk Stops
How far the public can walk was argued over before construction began. Compo Cove's homes sit on the Sound side and are reached on foot over a pair of wooden bridges. A gate at the end of the walkway, open only to residents of the homeowners' association beyond it, was raised as an issue at Town meetings in late 2024. In February 2025, Town Engineer Keith Wilberg told a joint RTM committee meeting that title records and maps going back to 1925 show the walkway past the gate is private property. Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Flug agreed, according to Westport Journal.
"The public definitely has a right to be on public property below the mean high tide line, but it doesn't require that private property owners provide a path."
Committee members at that meeting largely accepted the finding. Environment Committee Chair Ellen Lautenberg told the Journal that people were satisfied the property at the gate is private. No later report describes an easement or any change to the gate. That means the public part of the reopened walk is the Town walkway, which leads to the gate and not out to the beach at Compo Cove.
This is why the pond matters so much on this walk. The open water is on the Sound side, but the 84-acre tidal estuary and salt marsh, stretching from I-95 down to Long Island Sound, is what the walkway looks onto. It is also the part of the scenery with the most history.
Three Centuries, Seen From the Footbridge
Much of Westport's early economy can be traced across this one body of water. From the walkway:
- The mill on Gallup Gap Creek. A 06880 history puts the first grist mill on the creek in 1705. Daniel Sherwood bought it in 1790, and it ground cornmeal for export to the West Indies.
- Shellfish. The same account says the mill and pond supported an oyster and clam trade, with oysters selling for as much as $20 a barrel at Fulton Fish Market. The mill burned in 1891.
- The cooper shed on Hummock Island. A 1747 building now stands on the island. A 2017 06880 piece reported that it was moved across the pond by oxen at low tide around 1850.
- The modern oyster revival. In 2016, 06880 described Hummock Island Oysters as a Northrop family business that grew oysters in submerged cages and bags. The family had restarted the pond's oyster trade after Hurricane Sandy wiped out an earlier crop.
- Compo Cove's first house. According to 06880, it originally stood across the path facing the Sound and was later moved to its current spot beside the pond.
All of this depends on the tide gates. A pond that once powered a mill and raised oysters needs working gates to stay healthy, and the Town's own explanation for the project says the same. The walkway is the part of a water project that the public gets to stand on.
Why November Belongs to the Pond
Summer visitors look past the pond toward the beach. In late fall, the pond is the main attraction. Local birders have long recorded it as a stop for migrating and wintering waterfowl, and their reports from past Novembers give a good idea of what to look for.
On an early November 2013 trip covering Compo Beach, Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve and Sherwood Island State Park, the New Haven Bird Club counted 47 species, seven of them ducks. Lesser Scaup, Greater Yellowlegs and Dunlin were seen on the Mill Pond. On a walk late that same month, a thin layer of ice covered much of the pond and the waterfowl crowded into its north end. The species list for that trip included American Black Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser. The club's December 2016 newsletter noted a Snowy Egret standing with ten Great Blue Herons on the Mill Pond, plus Brant and a Common Loon on its November list.
Those are records from past years, so no particular bird is guaranteed. Still, they suggest what the rebuilt walkway is best for. A short, level route beside a tidal marsh, in the month when ducks arrive and herons linger, rewards walking slowly and stopping often. Binoculars help more than a destination.
Before You Go
The Town's rules for this spot are short:
- Hours: Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve is open from sunrise to sunset.
- Parking: Parking is limited. According to the Town, a Westport parking emblem is required only from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Facilities: Old Mill Beach has no restrooms or changing rooms.
- Dogs: The preserve does not allow dogs at any time of year. If your walk includes a dog, Compo Beach allows them from October 1 through March 31. They can be off leash only in the signed area on the south beach and must be leashed in parking lots and on grass. Town pages give slightly different end dates for dog season, so check the Town's dog policy page before you go.
- Timing: Restoration work may continue until Thanksgiving, so expect a few unfinished edges near the parking area for now.
The walkway was closed for more than a year while the $5.58 million tide gate project was underway, so its first open weeks may draw extra weekend visitors.
At Susan Vanech Properties, we pay close attention to the parts of Westport's shoreline that only reveal themselves up close, from tide gates to cooper sheds. If you own near the water here and want a discreet view of how that setting shapes value, we're glad to talk it through. Request a confidential valuation.
