Hubbard Park, located in the

Hanging Hills The Hanging Hills of south central Connecticut, United States are a range of mountainous trap rock ridges overlooking the city of Meriden, Connecticut, Meriden and the Quinnipiac River, Quinnipiac River Valley below. They are a sub-range of the ...

of Connecticut, is a wooded, mountainous park located just outside the city center of

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.National Register of Historic Places.

History

Most of the land was given to the town by Walter Hubbard, president of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company. In his donation, the land was given outright, with the stipulation that everything connected with the park was to remain free of charge for the people of Meriden, and that no concessions for profit were ever allowed within the park area. Hubbard spent a great deal of time and energy creating the park. He personally spent between $400,000 and $500,000 to clear land, build roads, and construct Mirror Lake with the help of Frederick Law Olmsted, who is best known for designing New York City's Central Park. Hubbard built a tower on East Peak, known as

Castle Craig Castle Craig, located on East Peak in the Hanging Hills, is constructed of trap rock and is in height and has a base in circumference . A metal interior stairway is used to ascend the observation deck on top. It stands above sea level and prov ...

, to resemble the towers built by the Turks along the Danube River in the 12th century.

Geography

Hubbard Park is nestled within the Hanging Hills, a dramatic trap rock mountain ridge overlooking the city of Meriden and the Quinnipiac River Valley 900 feet (274 m) below. Two of the peaks are located within the park,

South Mountain South Mountain or South Mountains may refer to: Canada * South Mountain, a village in North Dundas, Ontario * South Mountain (Nova Scotia), a mountain range * South Mountain (band), a Canadian country music group United States Landforms * Sou ...

at , and East Peak, at .

West Peak There are 21 mountain peaks named West Peak in the United States according to the US Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System. * West Peak Valdez–Cordova Census Area, Alaska, , el. * West Peak Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, ...

, at , is located just outside the park boundary to the west. Considered particularly scenic are Merimere Reservoir (punctuated with Mine Island) and Mirror Lake, nestled between South Mountain and East Peak. Portions of the park extend into neighboring Berlin and Southington.

Recreation

Hubbard Park is a popular outdoor recreation destination. The park is crossed by a number of hiking trails, most notably the blue-blazed

Metacomet Trail The Metacomet Trail is a '' Blue-Blazed'' hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of central Connecticut and is a part of the newly designated New England National Scenic Trail. Despite being easily accessible and close to large populatio ...

(maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association), which traverses East Peak and West peak the park. Trails are open to hiking, backcountry skiing; roads are open to bicycling and

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

. Swimming and rock climbing are prohibited. From the top of Castle Craig it is possible to see most of the Quinnipiac Valley region, Long Island Sound, and the distant higher peaks of southern New England. East Peak is often cited as the highest mountain within of the coastline from Cadillac Mountain in Maine to Florida, however, nearby West Peak is higher. The park also features a bandshell and flower gardens and is the site of a variety of local festivals and concerts, most notably the spring ''Daffodil Festival''. Castle Craig is open to the public in season. A park road (open from May 1st through October 31st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) traverses the park. The ''Daffodil Festival'' began in 1978 as a way for the community to come together in the springtime. Held every last weekend in April, the festival is celebrated with food, a parade, fireworks, and of course daffodils. The park is filled with these yellow flowers as the number continues to rise. Hubbard Park is transformed with a craft area with booths from different artists, food tent with live music, and games and rides. Shuttle busses are available throughout Meriden including Platt High School, Wilcox Technical School, the Westfield Mall, and downtown Meriden HUB. The Daffodil Festival is free admission for all. File:Hubbard Park Festival of Silver Lights 20181229 Rabbits.jpg, Rabbits File:Hubbard Park Festival of Silver Lights 20181229 Big Cat.jpg, Big Cat File:Hubbard Park Festival of Silver Lights 20181229 Deer.jpg, Deer The ''Festival of Silver Lights'' is a special celebration with seasonal lights that are displayed throughout the park in the winter months. There are over 300 lighted displays throughout the park and over half a million lights are used. The lights include many forest animals, alligators, camels, the globe, a Christmas tree, and hanging snowflakes. Cars can travel through the park and be mesmerized by the beauty of the night and lights.

Geology

The

of Meriden are part of the Metacomet Ridge, which is nearly continuous from Belchertown, Massachusetts to Branford, Connecticut. The hanging Hills were formed by volcanic activity 200 million years ago during the rifting apart of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from Eurasia. Two major lava flows covered the red sandstone valley in Meriden. Each cooled and hardened into trap rock (also known as basalt) and was gradually covered by sand and mud which eroded from the surrounding hills. Once the volcanic activity stopped, the whole region fractured and tilted to the west. Since then, hundreds of feet of the softer sandstone bedrock have eroded from the valley, leaving the dense, hard volcanic trap rock ridge layers standing out far above the surrounding landscape.

References

* Raymo, Chet and Maureen E. Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States. Globe Pequot, Chester, Connecticut, 1989. * Connecticut Walk Book: A Trail Guide to the Connecticut Outdoors. 17th Edition. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. Undated.
Connecticut Windows on the Natural World.
cited Dec. 13, 2007.

External links