Two of the region's most popular public beaches filled to capacity on Tuesday.

In New London, Ocean Beach Park reached its parking capacity by early afternoon, general manager David Sugrue said around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Visitors were still able to use the pedestrian entrance.

Sugrue said he expected parking to open up later in the afternoon once people who arrived earlier in the day — some of whom got to the park at 5 a.m. — start to leave. It's the busiest day Sugrue's ever seen at the park. He estimated 13,000 people visited.

Roads were backed up into Waterford, Sugrue said.

Police said traffic was being rerouted around the park.

In East Lyme, Rocky Neck State Park reached parking capacity at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, which has 7,800 parking spaces, also reached capacity, but officials did not give a time for when happened. Visitors were still allowed to walk in at both locations, DEEP officials said.

— Julia Bergman