Bluff Point State Park preserves 806 acres of largely undeveloped shoreline in Groton between the Poquonnock River and Mumford Cove, including barrier beach, bluffs, forest, and tidal wetlands, with 778 acres protected as a coastal reserve. The Pequot once used these estuaries for fishing, shellfishing, and making wampum before English control followed the 1630s and the Pequot War of 1637. The peninsula later formed part of Winthrop's Neck and the Great Farm, then saw a farmhouse, summer cottages, and railroad development. After local advocacy, the state acquired land in 1963 and secured top protection in 1975, preserving habitat, birdlife, and quiet recreation.