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West Rock Ridge State Park is a public recreation area located in
;Overlook
The South Overlook, located at the southern end of the park, offers views to the west, south and east, including Sleeping Giant State Park, East Rock Park topped by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the city of New Haven, including the harbor, 
There are of blazed trails in the park. Primary trails include the Regicides Trail, which runs along the ridgecrest, the Red Trail which runs the length of the park at the east base of West Rock Ridge, and the White Trail, which passes along the shore of Lake Wintergreen. A network of shorter trails pass between these main routes. Other trails enter the park through adjacent municipal, nonprofit-owned, and private land. The park's main trailhead and parking area is located at Lake Wintergreen on Wintegreen Avenue in Hamden. Other trailheads and parking areas are located on Hill Street, Mountain Road, Connecticut Route 69, and within the park at Judges Cave and South Overlook.
;Other
Other park recreational uses include hiking, bicycling, fishing, car-top boating, horseback riding, picnicking, cross-country skiing, and rock climbing. A park road to Judges Cave and South Overlook is open to vehicle traffic in season. Baldwin Drive, spanning the ridge crest north of Judges Cave, is open to non-motorized use only. No access fees are charged to use the park or park roads. Mountain bikes and horseback riding are permitted on certain trails. Park amenities include picnic tables and a pavilion at South Overlook.
West Rock Ridge State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
West Rock Ridge State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Metacomet Ridge, Connecticut Climbing areas of the United States Parks in New Haven County, Connecticut Parks in New Haven, Connecticut Hamden, Connecticut Woodbridge, Connecticut Protected areas established in 1975
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, Hamden, and Woodbridge, Connecticut. The state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
is named for the trap rock
Trap rock, also known as either trapp or trap, is any dark-colored, fine-grained, non-granitic intrusive or extrusive igneous rock. Types of trap rock include basalt, peridotite, diabase, and gabbro.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. ...
West Rock Ridge
West Rock Ridge or West Rock of south-central Connecticut, is a long trap rock mountain ridge located on the west side of New Haven with a high point of . The ridge forms a continuous line of exposed cliffs visible from metropolitan New Haven a ...
, which is part of the Metacomet Ridge
The Metacomet Ridge, Metacomet Ridge Mountains, or Metacomet Range of southern New England is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and rare or endangered plants. ...
extending from Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the E ...
to the Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the n ...
border. The park's of open west-facing cliffs offer vistas encompassing Metropolitan New Haven and suburban towns to the west. The park includes Judges Cave, a colonial era historic site; Lake Wintergreen; and the Regicides Trail, part of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association's Blue Trail system. The park is part of a larger area of protected open space including state, municipal, and non-profit owned land.
Geography
West Rock Ridge consists largely ofdiabase
Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro,
is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...
, much like its sister formation East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located primarily in the neighborhood of East Rock on the north side of the city of New Haven. A prominent landscape feature and a popula ...
. It runs north-northwest out of New Haven and forms the boundary between the towns of Woodbridge and Hamden. It is bordered by Konolds Pond, Lake Dawson, and Lake Watrous on its western flank and by Lake Wintergreen on its eastern flank and is long. Heroes Tunnel
Heroes Tunnel (formerly West Rock Tunnel) is a , twin-tube tunnel carrying Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Parkway) through West Rock Ridge in New Haven, Connecticut, opened in 1949. It is the only highway tunnel to pass beneath a natural land feature in ...
was bored through West Rock in order to make passage for the Wilbur Cross Parkway
The Wilbur Cross Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt" in conjunction with its counterpart) is a limited access road in Connecticut, comprising the portion of Route 15 between Milford and Meriden. It is named after Wilbur Lucius Cross, ...
.
History
In the 17th century, West Rock served as the hideout forEdward Whalley
Edward Whalley (c. 1607 – c. 1675) was an English military leader during the English Civil War and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England.
Early career
The exact dates of his birth and death are u ...
and his son-in-law, Gen. William Goffe
Major-General William Goffe, in or before 1618 to , was an English religious radical and soldier who fought for Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and served in the New Model Army. A close associate and supporter of Oliver Cromwell, h ...
, two of the three " regicide judges" whom New Haven honors by streets bearing their surnames (). They had fled England, anticipating prosecution under King Charles II in the execution of his father Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, to New Haven; the rock shelter
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
hideout used by the two is now called Judges Cave. The Regicides Trail is also named with this history in mind.
The park originated in 1826 when Elijah Thompson donated 50 acres to create a New Haven city park. In 1975, control was turned over to the state by an act of the state legislature creating West Rock Ridge State Park. An act in 2003 gave right of first refusal
Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...
to the Department of Environmental Protection to purchase private land for sale within the West Rock Ridge conservation area, with the object of increasing the size of the park.
Activities and amenities
;Overlook
The South Overlook, located at the southern end of the park, offers views to the west, south and east, including Sleeping Giant State Park, East Rock Park topped by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the city of New Haven, including the harbor, Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the E ...
, and Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
.
;Trails
There are of blazed trails in the park. Primary trails include the Regicides Trail, which runs along the ridgecrest, the Red Trail which runs the length of the park at the east base of West Rock Ridge, and the White Trail, which passes along the shore of Lake Wintergreen. A network of shorter trails pass between these main routes. Other trails enter the park through adjacent municipal, nonprofit-owned, and private land. The park's main trailhead and parking area is located at Lake Wintergreen on Wintegreen Avenue in Hamden. Other trailheads and parking areas are located on Hill Street, Mountain Road, Connecticut Route 69, and within the park at Judges Cave and South Overlook.
;Other
Other park recreational uses include hiking, bicycling, fishing, car-top boating, horseback riding, picnicking, cross-country skiing, and rock climbing. A park road to Judges Cave and South Overlook is open to vehicle traffic in season. Baldwin Drive, spanning the ridge crest north of Judges Cave, is open to non-motorized use only. No access fees are charged to use the park or park roads. Mountain bikes and horseback riding are permitted on certain trails. Park amenities include picnic tables and a pavilion at South Overlook.
References
Further reading
*Connecticut Walk West. 19th ed. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. 2006.External links
West Rock Ridge State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
West Rock Ridge State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Metacomet Ridge, Connecticut Climbing areas of the United States Parks in New Haven County, Connecticut Parks in New Haven, Connecticut Hamden, Connecticut Woodbridge, Connecticut Protected areas established in 1975