Sand, sea, sky, and rail. A curved boardwalk alongside the train tracks offers views of Niantic Bay, including Plum Island and the Millstone nuclear power plant. Even in winter, people show up for it.

When I wander, I observe what works and why.

Seeing people exploring the parks and streets in February suggests this New England spot is doing something right.

When we talk about how civil society has eroded, what I can point to first is how few places in general are willing to provide public restrooms. Niantic, a village in East Lyme, is welcoming. There are places to go and places to go — no need to squat in the bushes or hold it so long you give yourself a bladder infection. There are permanent facilities open during the warmer months; in the dead of winter, you can still find several portajohns by the Hole-in-the-Wall Beach and Cini Memorial Park parking lots.

Beyond Niantic’s understanding that visitors and park users have biological needs, it also gets that beaches in total isolation are dull.

Let’s say you begin at McCook Point Park and Beach. You will find a playground and Little Free Library, a slice of sand, and a bluff with benches on which one can sit to view the water. This land once belonged to the Hartford McCook family, and though some reports give rosy accounts of how this land was donated, there had been some disagreement about how much the McCooks were willing to offer. A newspaper article in 1923 explains that the McCook property adjacent to Niantic’s Seaside Sanitorium did not include beach, which is what the State of Connecticut had really been interested in. And, the Courant piece states: “The McCook family offers the land to the state free, on the condition that no attempt be made to secure any more of the McCook property for the sanitorium.”

It seems those details got ironed out eventually.

This point is where the 1.1 mile concrete Niantic Bay Boardwalk begins. Signs share information about the area’s habitat and history, which should be the standard in our parks.

At Hole-In-The-Wall Beach, you can learn about the stormwater project. All the infrastructure is labeled and explained to satisfy those who are curious about how things work. Here, you’ll find another free library. Restroom facilities.

Memorial plaques dot the boardwalk and benches. How long would it take to read every last one? If you are lucky, a train or two will pass nearby. There’s Railroad Beach. As the boardwalk ends, it ushers you beneath the train tracks by the bascule bridge, over to Cini Memorial Park, where there are picnic tables and a view of docks.

Some may be tempted to retrace their steps, but you can take a sidewalk along  Main Street instead, passing a new small park, recently installed in a space previously taken by a gas station. Along the way you pass a marina and several restaurants — seafood, of course, along with pizza, cafes and pubs, a bakery, and more. A Book Barn branch — the one with both science fact and science fiction — keeps long and steady hours. Before you know it, you will have looped back to McCook Point Park.

The tiresome exclusivity of private beaches can be found just down the road, but none of that snobbery seeps into Niantic, where relieving oneself with dignity is not reserved for patrons only.