It was a sad day on May 15, 2018. A tornado ripped through Connecticut, creating a path of destruction from Oxford through Wallingford. In particular, a chunk of Sleeping Giant State Park was destroyed. Gone were all the beautiful white pines found at the base and the picnic area. Over 2000 trees blew down over the extensive trail system. The state had to close the park. Hikers waited impatiently over the next 13 months for reports of how repairs were going. With the combined efforts of the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP) and The Sleeping Giant Park Association (SPGA) the park opened June 14, 2019. Better than ever! Woohoo!
The sixth edition of "50 Hikes in Connecticut" hike #35 is Sleeping Giant. But, it was scouted and written prior to the tornado. There was not time to replace it with a different hike altogether, so a disclaimer was inserted at the start of the hike.
disclaimer: Due to damage sustained during a tornado in May 2018, the hike description for Sleeping Giant will have some inaccuracies. After the tornado, Sleeping Giant State Park was closed to the general public. Once the park has reopened, the author will revise the hike description to reflect the significant changes the tornado wrought on the landscape of the park. Please contact the author at 50hikesCT@gmail.com if you would like a copy of the revised version.I will also use this blog post to share the updates of the revised version (plus photos!).
Introduction
Some hikers belittle the size of the Sleeping
Giant, for he rises only 739 feet above sea level. They forget that he is
lying down; were he to awaken and get to his feet, he would stand some 2 miles
tall!
A series
of folded, angular volcanic hills just north of New Haven defines the shape of
the reclining titan. Legend has it that the giant was first recognized and
named from sailing ships in New Haven Harbor many years ago. From the various
parts of his anatomy you can see numerous peaks and ridges that other hikes in
this book traverse. The giant is now contained in a 1,500-acre state park.
Only a short distance from downtown New Haven, it is a popular spot with
campers, picnickers, and hikers. In 1977 the Sleeping Giant Trail System was
dedicated as a National Scenic Trail.
The
park’s trail system is well maintained by the active Sleeping Giant Park
Association (SGPA). Formed in 1924, the SGPA is an all-volunteer organization
whose mission is to protect and enlarge Sleeping Giant State Park. They maintain
over 30 miles of trails in the park and offer many guided hikes each year.
They sponsor a “Giant Master Program” where members can earn a patch and
certificate if they hike all the marked trails and record them on an official
log. Three of our family members are Giant Masters (#106, #155 and #336).
The giant
sustained serious damage during a tornado in May 2018. The park was closed
until June 14, 2019. There are significant changes to the landscape of the
park. In particular, the parking area and picnic grove are no longer the home
to magnificent white pines. When you enter the park, you are now greeted with
a vast grassy area. Everything (trails, roads, parking area) has essentially
the same footprint, but landmarks have changed. The state DEEP and SGPA did a
fantastic job of clean up and trail blazing during the 13 months the park was
closed. This hike write up reflects the new landscape of the park.
Getting There
General Information on the Hike
The
32-mile park trail system, designed by Norman Greist and Richard Elliot of the
Sleeping Giant Park Association, is ingeniously laid out in a series of loops.
The traprock outcrops and ridges are named for parts of the slumbering giant’s
anatomy and are labeled as such on maps (head, chin, chest, etc). No matter
how long or short a hike you wish, you need never retrace your steps. Six
east–west trails, marked with blue, white, violet, green, orange, and yellow
blazes, join the opposite ends of the park. Five north–south trails marked
with red diamonds, squares, hexagons, circles, and triangles cut across the
park. The loop combinations you can devise seem endless. Hike the giant in
June and you’ll be rewarded with blooming mountain laurel along any trail you
choose.
We favor
the Blue-White Trail combination loop of about 7 miles in length. It is the
most strenuous, covers most of the giant’s anatomy, and affords the best
views.
There are
numerous other options and we highlight a few in OTHER HIKING OPTIONS. The
Connecticut Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club has offered all the
trails in this state park on a single day to those who want to test their
hiking ability!
Hike Details
To get to
the trailhead from the parking lot, you’ll walk up the right side of the paved
park road going past the tower path. (Stop at the bulletin board before the
tower path to read more about the giant and the SGPA). Start up the right side
of the paved picnic loop road through the pine-shaded grove.
You’ll
take a blue-blazed feeder trail on your right just after the park road curves
left and veers uphill. The white trail also enters the woods here. The feeder trail is blazed with blue rectangle
wooden blazes, pointed at the top like an arrow, nailed to the trees. This
type of blazing is new since the storm and seems to be used for feeder and
connector trails now. Main trail blazes are painted directly on the trees. Follow
these blue feeder blazes to soon join the main blue-blazed Quinnipiac Trail as
you meet the Mill River. The Quinnipiac Trails is the oldest of Connecticut’s
Blue Trails. Turn right on this blue-blazed main trail. Your route curves
downhill and then bears right away from Mill River.
The trail
crosses a flat board-walk style bridge, after which you’ll see the Violet
trail fork off to the left and the Blue and Red-diamond trail veers left.
Continue to follow the blue-blazes. Then your path heads straight uphill as
the Red-diamond goes right. The tornado thinned the forest enough that you’ll
see route 10 through the trees on your left as you get to the top of the first
rise.
This
first ascent takes you onto the giant’s elbow. The trail follows the
cedar-spotted basalt ridge of his crooked arm to the right, with excellent views
of the Hamden hills on your left and the quarry directly ahead of you. The
trail then drops down steeply. This 15-foot drop within the woods requires a
careful descent with strategic hand holds as you navigate the steep rock. We found
the best hand and foot holds on the left side of the trail.
The trail
then begins the ascent of the giant’s head, crossing the red diamond trail.
An
old quarry drops off steeply to your left. The Sleeping Giant Park Association
was formed in 1924 to protect the mountain from being torn down by a quarrying
operation; you still see the damage of this industry as you climb the head.
Since
the tornado, the edge of the quarry may be unstable – for this reason you’ll
see the blue blazes do not take you as close to the edge as they once did. We
recommend you follow this newly blazed section and avoid getting too close. This
stretch up the head on the Blue Trail is a long, difficult scramble—a good test
of your hiking condition. Avoid this area in winter; the slope is usually icy
and treacherous. (We recommend a less rocky loop in winter, such as the Yellow-Orange
Trail combination.)
 |
| View of the head at Sleeping Giant |
Once you
make it to the top of this strenuous stretch – take a breather and enjoy the
view. Back to your right you will see two ridges. The Quinnipiac Trail runs
along the closer mass of shapeless hills; the Regicides Trail follows the long
ridge of West Rock farther right. The neat lawns and collegiate buildings of
Quinnipiac University lie below.
Continue
to the jutting cliff of the giant’s chin. The wide path in the valley below is
the Tower Path; beyond it rises the giant’s massive chest. Looking north you
can see the traprock ridges known as the Hanging Hills of Meriden, where the
Metacomet and Mattabesett Trails join. West Peak, a large rock mass with a
crown of towers, lies at the left just beyond the rock tower of Castle Crag
(see Hike #36). The flat-topped peak to the right is South Mountain. The city
of Meriden fills the break in the ridge; the two hills farthest to the right
are Mount Lamentation and Chauncey Peak (see Hike #32). Lava flows formed all
these traprock peaks and plateaus some 200 million years ago.
Perhaps the best view in the park is from the top of this
tower. This large open-air fieldstone building, at 739 feet above sea level,
is the highest point of the park. Built in the 1930s by the Works Progress
Administration (WPA), it is the second largest state park structure built by
federal relief labor in the Depression era. Take some time to explore the
details of this ramped 30-foot-tall tower – can you find the iron spider web
in the third floor window? Can you find the Doberman dog carved in the stone on the east side,
between the second and third floors? In 1986, the tower was added to the
National Register of Historic Places. There was also a large renovation
project of the tower in 1996. You can learn more about the tower and the
history of Sleeping Giant in the booklet “Born Among the Hills” by Nancy Davis
Sachse.
After
exploring the tower structure take time to enjoy the hilly panorama; starting
with Mount Lamentation, you see the impressive cliff faces of Mount Higby (hike
#20), the gap through which US 6 passes, and the long ridge of Beseck
Mountain. Like the hills to the north, these ridges are traversed by trails.
The barrenness of the land makes land-owners more willing to give hiking clubs
permission to cut trails on hills than on their more fertile property.
Fortunately, hikers much prefer these barren hills to the low-lying fertile
fields.
Follow
the blue blazes past the tower and into the woods. Continue to the cliff edge,
where you can look south to the giant’s right hip, right leg, and right knee
before dropping down to your right, where you cross the outlet of a swamp and
the Red Circle Trail, about 0.5 miles from the tower. After a level spell
through white pines, dip down and then ascend his left leg. Drop again and go
up the left knee. Note the pitting that centuries of exposure have produced on
the weathered rocks; they contrast sharply with the smooth faces of a few
recently uncovered rock surfaces nearby.
Walking
down the far end of the giant’s knee, you encounter the first section of
smooth, rolling, rock-free trail (about a mile from the tower). Footing makes
a tremendous difference in hiking difficulty, and the angular volcanic-rock
ridges of central Connecticut are particularly treacherous. As the Blue Trail
veers northward you’ll pass the Violet/Blue Crossover Trail on your left. After
the trail continues its up-and-down course you’ll descend and cross a sturdy
footbridge, then the Red Square and Green Trails.
Begin
your ascent of Hezekiah’s Knob. As you near the top, look to the right for
early-spring-blooming purple and white hepaticas with their characteristic
three-lobed leaves left over from the previous summer’s growth. The leaf’s
shape, supposedly like a liver, was the basis for its medicinal use for
various liver problems. Sleeping Giant State Park is home to a wide variety of
wildflowers. The SPGA often sponsors a Wildflower Hike in the spring, visit
their website (https://sgpa.org/) or facebook page for more information
on their guided hikes.
The Blue
and White Trails meet on the knob. This is where you begin the return portion
of today’s loop on the White Trail. This trail is blazed with small square
white blazes painted on the trees and rocks. The SPGA is still re-blazing this
trail (as of June 2019) and there are some stretches where you need to be
vigilant in looking for the next blaze.
The White-trail also has a very rocky terrain – from smaller rocks that
you step around to medium and large rocks that you climb up and down.
Proceed
to your right following the white-blazes, zig-zagging through rocks down the
knob. You cross the Red Square Trail again and then the Orange Trail. Soon after the Orange Trail you reach the
top of his right knee with a big open rock-faced summit.
Descend the
stone-strewn slope and then climb up and down his right leg and right hip
crossing the Red Circle Trail and the Green-Yellow Crossover Trail. The Red
Triangle Trail cuts across the park by the base of the sleeping titan’s
chest—after crossing this path (and the Orange Trail) you begin the last climb
of this circuit. The trail winds up around great boulders passing a vista
marked by a large rock cairn on your left, and then reaching the bald
rocky-top of the chest with numerous views.
From here if you wish to extend your hike and do a ten-mile double loop
you’ll go right onto the green trail (see OTHER HIKING OPTIONS).
Continue to follow the white blazes as
you twist down off the giant’s chest. You’ll pass the Blue-White Crossover Trail
(wooden rectangular arrow blazes) and then descend upon a series of impressive
stone steps built by the SPGA trail crew. The trail levels out a bit and goes
through a red cedar grove as you see the tower path on your left. The White Trail then takes a sharp left,
joining the Tower Trail. You follow this for a short distance (30 yards)
before turning right and heading down back into the woods. This downhill
stretch is steep over rough loose rock terrain. You’ll see the Orange Trail
ahead on your left but continue to follow white-blazes. The destruction of the
tornado is particularly evident in this down-hill stretch with a lot of downed
trees on either side of the trail.
Soon you will reach the paved park road
where you started on the blue connector trail. Turn left and head on the paved
park road back to your car.
Other Hiking Options
· Additional Resources:
An excellent internet resource for Sleeping Giant State Park is
the website of the Sleeping Giant Association (SGPA), www.sgpa.org. This website
provides excellent information from the history of the park, trail maps,
organized hikes, the nature trail pamphlet to information about their Giant
Master Program. Another map resource is The Connecticut Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) website for Sleeping Giant State
Park, http://www.ct.gov/deep/sleepinggiant.
Short & Sweet:
The most popular hike on the
Giant is the Tower Path. This 3.2-mile round trip hike on the Giant is a
gentle climb on a wide clear path that leads to the stone tower. The Tower
Path starts just off the main parking lot beyond the bulletin board. It is
un-blazed but easy to follow, as it is a wide path that is well maintained by
both the state and the SGPA.
A Leg Stretcher:
You can extend our loop and hike a double loop
of 10 miles. Follow our hike but when
you reach the chest turn right onto the Green Trail. The Green Trail crosses
the park to the north side of the central spine for about two miles; we
recommend turning off just short of its eastern terminus and taking the second
Yellow-Green crossover trail to meet up with the Yellow Trail. This route is
quiet and more wooded as it goes through valleys and past wetlands. Continue along
the Green Trail as you cross the Red Triangle Trail and pass the first
Yellow/Green Crossover Trail. From your viewpoint it appears as a yellow-blazed
trail. You’ll stay on the Green Trail and after about a third of a mile you’ll
cross the Red Circle Trail. The Green Trail continues through the valley and
after about a half mile it crosses the Red Square and the Blue Trail. After
another half mile you’ll reach the second Yellow-Green crossover trail (yellow
blazes on your right). Turn right here, leaving the Green Trail to soon join up
with the last leg of your hike. The crossover trail ends at a T junction with
the Yellow Trail. Turn right here on yellow. You’ll follow the Yellow Trail for
a little less than two miles along the southern border of the park. You’ll
cross the different red “shape” trails – first the Red Square and then the Red
Circle. Then you’ll see the Green-Yellow crossover trail on your right (it will
appear green to you). Continue along the Yellow Trail through some impressive
trail work for erosion control (including two sets of stairs) and you’ll reach
and cross the red triangle trail. At this point the Yellow Trail coincides with
the Nature Trail. You’ll see red numbers within yellow circles on this route,
corresponding to a nature trail brochure created by the SGPA. After about
one-third of a mile you’ll cross your last red shape trail – the Red Hexagon.
Continue to follow the yellow-blazes for about one-quarter mile until you reach
the main parking area and your car.
Other Notes
The SPGA trail crew will still meet regularly to continue its clean-up work. The park is safe to hike but they noted that as of June 14th the trails crew leader noted:
Trees and branches are still falling so be aware; all blazed trails have been cleared of approximately 2,000 downed trees; most trails have been re-blazed; the beginning of the Yellow Trail will be re-routed so that it does not cross the newly planted grass (former pine grove); a small section of the Orange Trail has been re-routed to avoid a swampy area; Blue and White trails still to be re-blazed but Trails; the stairs on Yellow (steep slope just before the westerly Yellow/Green crossover) have been eroded and several new steps will be added; the stairs at the switchback on the Tower Path will be remediated; bog bridges will be evaluated to ensure safe footing.
Also:
Except for some minor, well-marked adjustments, all trails are the same. Access to the Yellow Trail is now off the Tower Path near the first bend - so as not to disturb the new grass.Trail maps can be found at https://sgpa.org/about/maps/. I like to print out their color trail maps since there are so many trails criss-crossing all over the map. I actually laminated a few copies of the map so I have a durable waterproof map with me when I hike.
You'll also see painted numbers on rocks - these are all part of the "self-guided geology trail" at Sleeping Giant. This is really more than one trail - you'll find these markers all over the park, on virtually every trail. For more information, read the GUIDE TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE SLEEPING GIANT STATE PARK by David M. Sherwood
https://sgpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/geologytrail.pdf
