Belle Haven, Greenwich CT

Belle Haven is a private waterfront neighborhood on a peninsula in Long Island Sound, just south of downtown Greenwich. It uses the Greenwich 06830 ZIP code, and the main Greenwich Metro-North station is about 1.3 road miles away (OpenStreetMap route). From there, the fastest scheduled weekday train reaches Grand Central in 44 minutes, per the MTA Metro-North schedule feed.

It isn't a separate town. The Connecticut Supreme Court describes Belle Haven and neighboring Field Point as private communities within the town of Greenwich, so the Greenwich mill rate and Greenwich Public Schools apply. Some people spell it Bellhaven or Bell Haven. Same place.

Nathaniel Witherell, Robert Bruce of Bruce Museum fame and Thomas Mayo incorporated the Belle Haven Land Co. in 1884, two years after the Belle Haven Casino Association formed. The Greenwich Historical Society calls Belle Haven the first planned residential park in Greenwich, laid out with a beach, bath houses, lawn tennis and a dock. Field Point Circle next door was developed separately by the Field Point Land Co.

Mostly, yes. A staffed gate marks the start of the gated southern part of the peninsula, and the roads inside are private. In a 2000 case, the Connecticut Supreme Court identified Glenwood Drive as a private road owned by the Belle Haven Land Company. For buyers, that means road access, guest rules and upkeep run through the Land Company, not the town. Ask for the current rules and any association charges before you make an offer.

The Belle Haven Club opened in 1889 as the Belle Haven Casino and took its current name in the early 1900s. It's a private family club on the Sound with tennis, a pool, a beach and a harbor. The club and the Belle Haven Land Company are separate organizations, so buying a house in Belle Haven and joining the club are two separate steps.

Comparing Belle Haven with the walkable villages? Start with Old Greenwich or Riverside, and check the Greenwich housing market update for current prices.