East Rock Park
Encyclopedia
East Rock Park is a park in the city of New Haven
and the town of Hamden
, Connecticut
that is operated as a New Haven city park. The park surrounds and includes the mountainous ridge named East Rock
and was developed with naturalistic landscaping.. The entire 427 acres (172.8 ha) park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
East Rock is a popular outdoor recreation destination among residents and visitors of the greater New Haven region. Views from the clifftops span metropolitan New Haven, Long Island Sound, and Long Island
. The park is open year round to hikers and walkers. The automobile road is open April 1 to November 1, 8 a.m. to sunset and November 1 to March 31, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting. Activities permitted in the park include hiking
, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing
, picnicking, bicycling (on roads and city-designated mountain bike trails only), boating
(on the Mill River), bird watching, and dog walking
. Rock climbing
, swimming, and alcoholic beverage
s are prohibited. A number of hiking trails traverse the ridge, most notably the Giant Steps Trail which ascends to the summit at a near-vertical pitch from the south. At the foot of the mountain are located football, baseball, and soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and playgrounds. The Trowbridge Environmental Center is open Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and at least one Saturday a month for public programs; it offers displays and information about the geology and ecosystem of East Rock. The Pardee Rose Garden and Greenhouse features roses and other flowering plants from spring to fall, and is a popular place to shoot wedding pictures.
The park's layout is the work of Donald Grant Mitchell
and the Olmsted Brothers
.
The Friends of East Rock Park organization, founded in 1982, is a community and environmental advocacy group that assists with park maintenance by hosting social events and volunteer work days.
There are also a contributing storage shed and a number of non-contributing buildings.
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and the town of Hamden
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
that is operated as a New Haven city park. The park surrounds and includes the mountainous ridge named East Rock
East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located on the north side of the city of New Haven...
and was developed with naturalistic landscaping.. The entire 427 acres (172.8 ha) park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. The park is open year round to hikers and walkers. The automobile road is open April 1 to November 1, 8 a.m. to sunset and November 1 to March 31, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting. Activities permitted in the park include hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, picnicking, bicycling (on roads and city-designated mountain bike trails only), boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
(on the Mill River), bird watching, and dog walking
Dog walking
Dog walking is both a pastime and a profession involving the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog's residence and then returning. This constitutes part of the daily exercise regime needed to keep a dog healthy...
. Rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
, swimming, and alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s are prohibited. A number of hiking trails traverse the ridge, most notably the Giant Steps Trail which ascends to the summit at a near-vertical pitch from the south. At the foot of the mountain are located football, baseball, and soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and playgrounds. The Trowbridge Environmental Center is open Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and at least one Saturday a month for public programs; it offers displays and information about the geology and ecosystem of East Rock. The Pardee Rose Garden and Greenhouse features roses and other flowering plants from spring to fall, and is a popular place to shoot wedding pictures.
The park's layout is the work of Donald Grant Mitchell
Donald Grant Mitchell
Donald Grant Mitchell was an American essayist and novelist.-Biography:Mitchell, the grandson of politician and jurist Stephen Mix Mitchell, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1841, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and studied law, but he soon took up...
and the Olmsted Brothers
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
.
The Friends of East Rock Park organization, founded in 1982, is a community and environmental advocacy group that assists with park maintenance by hosting social events and volunteer work days.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places listing for East Rock Park recognizes six contributing buildings, one other contributing structure, six contributing objects and one contributing site The park's historic, contributing elements include:- English Gate, c. 1890, at View Street, with trap rockTrap rockTrap rock is a form of igneous rock that tends to form polygonal vertical fractures, most typically hexagonal, but also four to eight sided. The fracture pattern forms when magma of suitable chemical composition intrudes as a sill or extrudes as a thick lava flow, and slowly cools.Because of the...
- Pardee Rose Garden, 1922, on State Street
- Bishop Gate, c. 1890, on State Street, with trap rock
- Director's Residence, c. 1900
- Sheep Barn, c. 1900, a large Colonial/ShingleShingle Style architectureThe Shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture....
-style building - Queen Anne Barn, c. 1900
- Greenhouses, 1920s
- Soldiers and Sailors MonumentSoldiers and Sailors Monument (New Haven)The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, located on the summit of East Rock in New Haven, Connecticut, is visible for miles from the surrounding urban metropolis and Long Island Sound. The monument was built in 1887 and honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the...
, from 1887, a 122-foot monument at the summit - Whitney Gate, c. 1890 on Whitney Avenue, with brownstone
- Walls, c. 1900
- East Rock Road Bridge, a steel arch span bridge from the 1940s
There are also a contributing storage shed and a number of non-contributing buildings.
See also
- East Rock (neighborhood)East Rock (neighborhood)East Rock is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, named for nearby East Rock, a prominent trap rock ridge. The area is home to a large group of Yale students, staff, and faculty, as well as many young professionals and families. The neighborhood is divided between New Haven's...
- Cedar Hill (New Haven)Cedar Hill (New Haven)Cedar Hill is a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes portions of the city-designated neighborhoods of East Rock, Quinnipiac Meadows, and Mill River.Cedar Hill was named for cedar trees that were once plentiful there in 1665...
- Mill River (Connecticut)