.gif)
Sleeping Giant (Connecticut)
Encyclopedia
Sleeping Giant of south-central Connecticut
, with a high point of 739 feet (225.2 m), is a rugged traprock mountain located 8 miles (13 km) north of New Haven
. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge
that extends from Long Island Sound
near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts
to the Vermont
border. A prominent landscape feature visible for miles, the Sleeping Giant receives its name from its anthropomorphic resemblance to a slumbering human figure as seen from both the north and south. The Giant is known for its expansive clifftop vistas, rugged topography, and microclimate
ecosystems. Most of the Giant is located within Sleeping Giant State Park. The mountain is a popular recreation resource; over 30 miles (48.3 km) of hiking
trails traverse it including 5 miles (8 km) of the 23 miles (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail
. Quinnipiac University
is located at Mount Carmel's foot in Hamden.
with its eastern edge falling into Wallingford
. The Giant's profile features distinct "head", "chin", "chest", "hip", "knee" and "feet" sections topographically represented by traprock outcrops and ridge crests. The highest point is the Left Hip, 739 ft (225.2 m), followed by the Chest, 710 ft (216.4 m), and the Left Knee and Right Leg, 700 ft (213.4 m) each, and so on. The Giant's Head, 670 ft (204.2 m), is marked by a 400 ft (121.9 m) cliff. A stone observation tower located on the Left Hip, built by the Works Progress Administration
in the 1930s, offers 360° views of the surrounding Mill and Quinnipiac River
valleys. An old rock quarry, closed since 1933 and now part of the state park, has left scars on the Giant's Head.
The Metacomet Ridge extends west and south from Sleeping Giant as Rocky Top and West Rock Ridge
. The west side of Sleeping Giant drains into the Mill River thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound; the east side into the Quinnipiac River
, thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound.
and Jurassic
periods, is composed of traprock, also known as basalt
, an extrusive volcanic rock. Minor earthquakes have also been measured by seismographs and reported by residents. Basalt is a dark colored rock, but the iron within it weathers to a rusty brown when exposed to the air, lending the ledges a distinct reddish appearance. Basalt frequently breaks into octagonal and pentagonal columns, creating a unique "postpile" appearance. Huge slopes made of fractured basalt scree
are visible beneath many of the ledges of Sleeping Giant. The basalt cliffs are the product of several massive lava
flows hundreds of feet deep that welled up in faults created by the rifting apart of North America
from Eurasia
and Africa
. These basalt floods of lava happened over a period 20 million years. Erosion occurring between the eruptions deposited deep layers of sediment between the lava flows, which eventually lithified into sedimentary rock
. The resulting "layer cake" of basalt and sedimentary sheets eventually faulted and tilted upward. Subsequent erosion wore away the weaker sedimentary layers a faster rate than the basalt layers, leaving the abruptly tilted edges of the basalt sheets exposed, creating the distinct linear ridge and dramatic cliff faces visible today. One way to imagine this is to picture a layer cake tilted slightly up with some of the frosting (the sedimentary layer) removed in between.
Sleeping Giant hosts a combination of microclimate
s unusual in New England
. Dry, hot upper ridges support oak savanna
s, often dominated by chestnut oak
and a variety of understory grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar
, a dry-loving species, clings to the barren edges of cliffs. Lower eastern slopes tend to support oak-hickory forest
species common in the surrounding lowlands. Narrow ravines crowded with eastern hemlock block sunlight, creating damp, cooler growing conditions with associated cooler climate plant species. Talus slopes are especially rich in nutrients and support a number of calcium-loving plants uncommon in eastern Connecticut. Because the ridge generates such varied terrain, it is the home of several plant and animal species that are state-listed or globally rare.
Sleeping Giant is also an important seasonal raptor migration path.
, the giant stone spirit Hobbomock (or Hobomock), a prominent wicked figure in many stories (see Pocumtuck Ridge and Quinnipiac
), became enraged about the mistreatment of his people and stamped his foot down in anger, diverting the course of the Connecticut River
(where the river suddenly swings east in Middletown, Connecticut
after several hundred miles of running due south). To prevent him from wreaking such havoc in the future, the good spirit Keitan cast a spell on Hobbomock to sleep forever as the prominent man-like form of the Sleeping Giant.
During the mid-19th century, spurred by the painters of the Hudson River School
and transcendentalist philosophers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson
and Henry David Thoreau
, an interest in mountains as a respite from industrialization and urbanization
took hold in New England. Summer cottages were built on the Sleeping Giant and many other locations on the Metacomet Ridge. In 1888, John H. Dickerman built a carriage
road on the Giant and opened what he called Blue Hills Park. He held picnics with ice cream on the ledges for local residents.
Conservation of the Giant began in 1924 with the creation of the Sleeping Giant Park Association (SGPA) by a group of local residents concerned with ongoing traprock quarrying on the Giant's head. A cottage owner, Judge Willis Cook, had leased his property to the Mount Carmel Traprock Company for the purpose of quarrying traprock for building materials. The blasting away of what was a beloved landscape feature resulted in public outrage, well reported by local newspapers at the time. Under the leadership of James W. Toumey, a Yale University
forestry professor, the SGPA undertook a ten year struggle with the traprock operation. The property was purchased by the SGPA in 1933, during the Great Depression, for $30,000; the money was raised through private donations and the property became the Sleeping Giant State Park. A complete history of the Giant has been published in Nancy Davis Sachse's book Born Among the Hills – The Sleeping Giant Story.
The Sleeping Giant Tower was built at the top in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1986 as part of the Connecticut State Park and Forest Depression-Era Federal Work Relief Programs Structures.
region. The clifftops offer long views of much of New Haven County
and some of Hartford County
over more than 270 degrees of the compass, and (atmospheric conditions permitting) across Long Island Sound to the Shoreham
area on Long Island
.
Sleeping Giant is open until sunset year-round; parking inside the main entrance, on weekends or holidays during roughly the summer costs $4 to $10 for most who have not bought the $50 statewide annual pass, but other parking is nearby outside the park, or at trailheads further east or north. Activities permitted on the Giant include hiking
, snowshoeing, picnicking, bird watching, and other passive pursuits. Trails specifically designed for horseback riding and cross-country skiing
are located on the lower reaches of the Giant, and fishing
is allowed in the abutting Mill River. Rock climbing
, closed for several decades on the Giant because of accidents, was permitted as of 2007; the Ragged Mountain Foundation, a non-profit rock climbing group, advises climbers to "please observe [state] park regulations." Youth camping
only is allowed on the Giant (by permit). Seasonal facilities include restrooms, a picnic shelter, and picnic tables. The 23 miles (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail
—the oldest trail in the 700 miles (1,126.5 km) blue blazed trail
system managed by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association
—traverses the length of the Giant from the Quinnipiac River west over the Giant's high points to the Mill River then continues north over West Rock Ridge
and Mount Sanford
.
published the collection Sleeping Giant and Other Stories. In the title story, the Sleeping Giant decides to get up and leave.
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...
, with a high point of 739 feet (225.2 m), is a rugged traprock mountain located 8 miles (13 km) north of New Haven
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...
. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge
Metacomet Ridge
The Metacomet Ridge, Metacomet Ridge Mountains, or Metacomet Range of southern New England, United States, is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and communities of plants considered rare or endangered...
that extends from Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to the Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
border. A prominent landscape feature visible for miles, the Sleeping Giant receives its name from its anthropomorphic resemblance to a slumbering human figure as seen from both the north and south. The Giant is known for its expansive clifftop vistas, rugged topography, and microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
ecosystems. Most of the Giant is located within Sleeping Giant State Park. The mountain is a popular recreation resource; over 30 miles (48.3 km) of 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...
trails traverse it including 5 miles (8 km) of the 23 miles (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail
Quinnipiac Trail
The Quinnipiac Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the product of the evolution and growth of the first trail designated in Connecticut's Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system, with its light-blue rectangular vertical painted blazes .-The route:From its...
. Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park...
is located at Mount Carmel's foot in Hamden.
Geography
The Sleeping Giant, 2.75 miles (4.4 km) long by 1.75 miles (2.8 km) wide, is located in HamdenHamden, 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...
with its eastern edge falling into Wallingford
Wallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 43,026 at the 2000 census.- History :Wallingford was established on October 10, 1667, when the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the "making of a village on the east river" to 38 planters and freemen...
. The Giant's profile features distinct "head", "chin", "chest", "hip", "knee" and "feet" sections topographically represented by traprock outcrops and ridge crests. The highest point is the Left Hip, 739 ft (225.2 m), followed by the Chest, 710 ft (216.4 m), and the Left Knee and Right Leg, 700 ft (213.4 m) each, and so on. The Giant's Head, 670 ft (204.2 m), is marked by a 400 ft (121.9 m) cliff. A stone observation tower located on the Left Hip, built by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
in the 1930s, offers 360° views of the surrounding Mill and Quinnipiac River
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
valleys. An old rock quarry, closed since 1933 and now part of the state park, has left scars on the Giant's Head.
The Metacomet Ridge extends west and south from Sleeping Giant as Rocky Top and West Rock Ridge
West Rock Ridge
West Rock Ridge or West Rock of south-central Connecticut, with a high point of , is a long trap rock mountain ridge located on the west side of New Haven. The ridge forms a continuous line of exposed cliffs visible from metropolitan New Haven and points west...
. The west side of Sleeping Giant drains into the Mill River thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound; the east side into the Quinnipiac River
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
, thence to New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound.
Geology
Sleeping Giant, a fault-block ridge that formed 200 million years ago during the TriassicTriassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
periods, is composed of traprock, also known as basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
, an extrusive volcanic rock. Minor earthquakes have also been measured by seismographs and reported by residents. Basalt is a dark colored rock, but the iron within it weathers to a rusty brown when exposed to the air, lending the ledges a distinct reddish appearance. Basalt frequently breaks into octagonal and pentagonal columns, creating a unique "postpile" appearance. Huge slopes made of fractured basalt scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
are visible beneath many of the ledges of Sleeping Giant. The basalt cliffs are the product of several massive lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flows hundreds of feet deep that welled up in faults created by the rifting apart of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. These basalt floods of lava happened over a period 20 million years. Erosion occurring between the eruptions deposited deep layers of sediment between the lava flows, which eventually lithified into sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
. The resulting "layer cake" of basalt and sedimentary sheets eventually faulted and tilted upward. Subsequent erosion wore away the weaker sedimentary layers a faster rate than the basalt layers, leaving the abruptly tilted edges of the basalt sheets exposed, creating the distinct linear ridge and dramatic cliff faces visible today. One way to imagine this is to picture a layer cake tilted slightly up with some of the frosting (the sedimentary layer) removed in between.
Ecosystem
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
s unusual in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Dry, hot upper ridges support oak savanna
Oak savanna
An oak savanna is a type of savanna, or lightly forested grassland, where oaks are the dominant tree species. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, grazing, low precipitation, poor soil, and/or fires set by Native Americans...
s, often dominated by chestnut oak
Chestnut oak
Quercus prinus , the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in...
and a variety of understory grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
, a dry-loving species, clings to the barren edges of cliffs. Lower eastern slopes tend to support oak-hickory forest
Oak-hickory forest
The oak-hickory forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem with a range extending from southern New England and New York, west to Iowa, and south to Northern Georgia. Smaller, isolated Oak-Hickory communities can also be found as far west as North Dakota, south to Florida and...
species common in the surrounding lowlands. Narrow ravines crowded with eastern hemlock block sunlight, creating damp, cooler growing conditions with associated cooler climate plant species. Talus slopes are especially rich in nutrients and support a number of calcium-loving plants uncommon in eastern Connecticut. Because the ridge generates such varied terrain, it is the home of several plant and animal species that are state-listed or globally rare.
Sleeping Giant is also an important seasonal raptor migration path.
History
According to Native Americans of the Quinnipiac TribeQuinnipiac
This article is about the Native American nation. For the university, see Quinnipiac University.The Quinnipiac — rarely spelled Quinnipiack — is the English name for the Eansketambawg a Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the Wampanoki This article is about the Native...
, the giant stone spirit Hobbomock (or Hobomock), a prominent wicked figure in many stories (see Pocumtuck Ridge and Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac
This article is about the Native American nation. For the university, see Quinnipiac University.The Quinnipiac — rarely spelled Quinnipiack — is the English name for the Eansketambawg a Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the Wampanoki This article is about the Native...
), became enraged about the mistreatment of his people and stamped his foot down in anger, diverting the course of the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
(where the river suddenly swings east in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
after several hundred miles of running due south). To prevent him from wreaking such havoc in the future, the good spirit Keitan cast a spell on Hobbomock to sleep forever as the prominent man-like form of the Sleeping Giant.
During the mid-19th century, spurred by the painters of the Hudson River School
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
and transcendentalist philosophers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
and Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, an interest in mountains as a respite from industrialization and urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
took hold in New England. Summer cottages were built on the Sleeping Giant and many other locations on the Metacomet Ridge. In 1888, John H. Dickerman built a carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
road on the Giant and opened what he called Blue Hills Park. He held picnics with ice cream on the ledges for local residents.
Conservation of the Giant began in 1924 with the creation of the Sleeping Giant Park Association (SGPA) by a group of local residents concerned with ongoing traprock quarrying on the Giant's head. A cottage owner, Judge Willis Cook, had leased his property to the Mount Carmel Traprock Company for the purpose of quarrying traprock for building materials. The blasting away of what was a beloved landscape feature resulted in public outrage, well reported by local newspapers at the time. Under the leadership of James W. Toumey, a Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
forestry professor, the SGPA undertook a ten year struggle with the traprock operation. The property was purchased by the SGPA in 1933, during the Great Depression, for $30,000; the money was raised through private donations and the property became the Sleeping Giant State Park. A complete history of the Giant has been published in Nancy Davis Sachse's book Born Among the Hills – The Sleeping Giant Story.
The Sleeping Giant Tower was built at the top in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
. It was 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...
in 1986 as part of the Connecticut State Park and Forest Depression-Era Federal Work Relief Programs Structures.
Recreation
Sleeping Giant State Park is a popular outdoor recreation destination among residents and visitors of the greater New HavenNew 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...
region. The clifftops offer long views of much of New Haven County
New Haven County, Connecticut
New Haven County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2010 Census, the county population is 862,477 making it the third most populated county in Connecticut. There are 1,340 people per square mile...
and some of Hartford County
Hartford County, Connecticut
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the US state of Connecticut. The 2010 Census records show that the county population is at 894,014 making it the second most populated county in Connecticut....
over more than 270 degrees of the compass, and (atmospheric conditions permitting) across Long Island Sound to the Shoreham
Shoreham, New York
Shoreham is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 417 at the 2000 census.The Incorporated Village of Shoreham is inside the Town of Brookhaven.-Geography:Shoreham is located at ....
area on Long Island
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...
.
Sleeping Giant is open until sunset year-round; parking inside the main entrance, on weekends or holidays during roughly the summer costs $4 to $10 for most who have not bought the $50 statewide annual pass, but other parking is nearby outside the park, or at trailheads further east or north. Activities permitted on the Giant 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, picnicking, bird watching, and other passive pursuits. Trails specifically designed for horseback riding and 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...
are located on the lower reaches of the Giant, and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is allowed in the abutting Mill River. 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...
, closed for several decades on the Giant because of accidents, was permitted as of 2007; the Ragged Mountain Foundation, a non-profit rock climbing group, advises climbers to "please observe [state] park regulations." Youth camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
only is allowed on the Giant (by permit). Seasonal facilities include restrooms, a picnic shelter, and picnic tables. The 23 miles (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail
Quinnipiac Trail
The Quinnipiac Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the product of the evolution and growth of the first trail designated in Connecticut's Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system, with its light-blue rectangular vertical painted blazes .-The route:From its...
—the oldest trail in the 700 miles (1,126.5 km) blue blazed trail
Blue-Blazed Trails
The Blue-Blazed trail system, managed by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, and the related trail systems documented in the two volume 19th Edition of the "Connecticut Walk Book" comprise over 800 miles of hiking trails in Connecticut.There are now over 825 miles of CFPA Blue-Blazed...
system managed by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association
Connecticut Forest and Park Association
The Connecticut Forest and Park Association , established in 1895, is the oldest private, nonprofit conservation organization in Connecticut. The organization is credited as an important early pioneer of the national land conservation movement and as an early advocate of long distance trail building...
—traverses the length of the Giant from the Quinnipiac River west over the Giant's high points to the Mill River then continues north over West Rock Ridge
West Rock Ridge
West Rock Ridge or West Rock of south-central Connecticut, with a high point of , is a long trap rock mountain ridge located on the west side of New Haven. The ridge forms a continuous line of exposed cliffs visible from metropolitan New Haven and points west...
and Mount Sanford
Mount Sanford (Connecticut)
Mount Sanford of south-central Connecticut, est. , is the high point on a long traprock mountain ridge located northwest of the city of New Haven. Mount Sanford is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River...
.
Conservation
Most, but not all, of the Sleeping Giant has been conserved. The trails and facilities on Sleeping Giant are collaboratively maintained by the Sleeping Giant Park Association and the State of Connecticut, with the bulk of the trail maintenance done by the association. Sleeping Giant State Park encompasses 1500 acres (6.1 km²); the SGPA remains active in securing additional parcels to add to the property. The SGPA has also been instrumental in defeating attempts to log the Giant, build communications towers on its summits, and close the state park altogether. SPGA runs a regular recreational and interpretive hikes on the Giant and volunteer trail maintenance programs. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association also has a working investment in the conservation of the Giant and trail building on it.Literary influence
In 1948, the children's author Eleanor EstesEleanor Estes
Eleanor Estes was an American children's author.She was born in West Haven, Connecticut as Eleanor Ruth Rosenfield.She worked as a children's librarian in New Haven, Connecticut, and New York....
published the collection Sleeping Giant and Other Stories. In the title story, the Sleeping Giant decides to get up and leave.
See also
- Metacomet RidgeMetacomet RidgeThe Metacomet Ridge, Metacomet Ridge Mountains, or Metacomet Range of southern New England, United States, is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and communities of plants considered rare or endangered...
- Quinnipiac RiverQuinnipiac RiverThe Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
- Quinnipiac TrailQuinnipiac TrailThe Quinnipiac Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the product of the evolution and growth of the first trail designated in Connecticut's Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system, with its light-blue rectangular vertical painted blazes .-The route:From its...
- West Rock Ridge State ParkWest Rock Ridge State ParkWest Rock Ridge State Park is a state park located in New Haven, Hamden, and Woodbridge, Connecticut. It is named for the trap rock West Rock Ridge, which is part of the Metacomet Ridge extending from Long Island Sound to the Vermont border. The ridge consists largely of diabase basalt, much like...
- Sleeping Giant (Kauai)Sleeping Giant (Kauai)Sleeping Giant, also known as Nounou Mountain, is a mountain ridge located west of the towns Wailua and Kapaa in the Nounou Forest Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Kauai...
- Sleeping Giant (Ontario)Sleeping Giant (Ontario)The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the West to North-Northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate...
- Old Man of the MountainOld Man of the MountainThe Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the Great Stone Face or the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA that, when viewed from the north, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. The rock formation was above...
a face that used to stand out from a cliff in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian... - Old Man of HoyOld Man of HoyThe Old Man of Hoy is a sea stack of red sandstone perched on a plinth of igneous basalt rock, close to Rackwick Bay on the west coast of the island of Hoy, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is a distinctive landmark seen from the Thurso to Stromness ferry, MV Hamnavoe, and is a famous rock climb...
a rock pillar off ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
that resembles a standing man
- Adjacent summits:
↑ North South ↓ Mount Sanford Mount Sanford (Connecticut)Mount Sanford of south-central Connecticut, est. , is the high point on a long traprock mountain ridge located northwest of the city of New Haven. Mount Sanford is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River...
(no image)
External links
- Sleeping Giant Park Association
- Sleeping Giant State Park
- SGPA color trail map of Sleeping Giant
- Connecticut DEP color trail map of Sleeping Giant
- SGPA Traditional black and white trail map of Sleeping Giant
- SGPA Cross-country skiing map of Sleeping Giant
- Information on rock climbing on the Sleeping Giant (Ragged Mountain Foundation).
- Yahoo map of adjacent roads