Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    West Rock Ridge State Park

    3.8 (27 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    West Rock Ridge State Park Photos

    You might also consider

    More like West Rock Ridge State Park

    Recommended Reviews - West Rock Ridge State Park

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Entrance - Locked in the winter
    Katherine P.

    West Rock Ridge State Park is a pretty spectacular park, located right in New Haven. We visited in the winter months, so the road to the top is closed at that time (which is kind of a bummer) but you can make a pretty good loop hike here. Trails are well blazed, but unfortunately pretty eroded in spots and have definitely seen better days. There's also graffiti on the rocks, which is always disappointing to see. We got to see the Judges Cave while we were there, which is pretty cool and is of course a historical lesson. I can understand why they hid there for only a couple of months! The other cool thing in this park is that The Merritt Parkway runs through a tunnel that's bored through the ridge, and one of the trails runs right by the east tunnel entrance. We only scratched the surface of this park - there's lots to see and do here!

    View from the overlook
    Lauren D.

    Trails aren't marked very clear from the bottom Of the park. We started walking up the paved road and eventually saw trails as we got to the top but no idea where they started at the bottom. The views however were great and it wasn't packed which is what we wanted. Unfortunately a lot of broken glass throughout this park- like a lot... And having a dog with me I found myself picking him up a lot to save his paws. Parking also is almost impossible when the park is closed, which is was when we went. There is a small area on the street to park. Maybe there was another entrance we missed but it looked like the main entrance. Not sure why the main entrance wasn't open given every other park I had been to this weekend was. I'd probably come back and try to find a trail to do.

    A trail on the southern end
    Jacques C.

    I walk at this location weekly because it offers a wide variety of terrain and distance. By far my favorite go-to spot locally to New Haven because it's close by, lightly trafficked compared to east rock with the monument, and has a wide variety of terrain and distances. It's perfect for moderate elevation gains, great for anywhere from 1 mile to 14 mile round trip trails. Everything is well maintained and you can get great views from the Ridgeline, around wintergreen lake, and through the lower valley on the east side. It's also about impossible to get lost with the well marked and maintained trails. One neat feature is you get to walk over the merit parkway tunnel on several trails. My favorite feature is the namesake of the regicides trails, judges Cave, where the judges who signed king Charles I's death warrent came and hid after the restoration of the monarchy. Neat piece of history. Really emphasizes new havens history in the founding of our country. #RebeliousRegicides. You can also kayak and fish on the lake assuming you're registered and all that beaurocratic fun. By far best area around New Haven to hike. The entire Metacomet ridge that goes north and south in Connecticut is fantastic for outdoor recreation. Also note that the entire Ridgeline as an old paved road you can walk on. And the northern end is very quiet if you're looking to not be crowded in the times of Covid.

    Victor H.

    Good place to come for hiking as it has a great view and you can view the city at the summit. However, the trails are a bit confusing and little to no signs are there for guidance. Perhaps they should place more visible signs for newbies in hiking to know which way is it and which trail it is...

    People kayak and picnic here as well as hike
    Adrienne D.

    While you can enter at the main entrance, the best way to hike here is to park at they Lake Wintergreen entrance. There is a great, fairly easy trail that loops around the lake, about 2 miles. Or you can hike up to the ridge for great views. The trails are well blazed and I've never gotten lost here. I've never done it myself, but I see people fishing and picnicking here all the time. Just beware, the parking is limited so on gorgeous weekend days you might have to wait for someone to leave. True, this is not a backcountry hiking experience, but it's a pretty awesome place to hike or commune with nature, especially considering how close it is to new haven. Just remember- don't use the main entrance if you want a nature experience. The main entrance is pretty trashy.

    Judges Cave
    Jennifer L.

    I can't believe this park wasn't even on yelp? Their tagline from the website: Take in the views of New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound from the top of West Rock. When my boyfriend and I went, it was incredibly foggy and misty, so we weren't able to see much. We did not go hiking and stayed on the park road, which leads to Judge's Cave and the South Overlook. We did not take in any views from the overlook due to the inclement weather, but there is something really nice though about being in a park before it clears up, when no other cars are around. We walked in/around Judge's Cave, whose neat history you can find here: http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/Judgespage.html If you're looking for views, no matter the weather, I'd still recommend the East Rock Park. I can't speak for the hiking trails here though so maybe they were far superior!

    Jaclyn M.

    This review is more about Regicide Trail than the actual park. The trail has several beautiful vistas and is easy to moderate in difficulty. My friends and I did a through hike ending at Judges Cave which was both cool in terms of its history, as well as the crawl through of the "cave" itself, and the physical challenge of climbing on top of it. If you're not into hiking, you can actually just drive up and check out the cave, as well as a pretty nice vista fairly close by. It's hard to believe that this natural beauty is a part of New Haven!

    View of West Rock from below, edge of Westville/Amity.
    Alex D.

    Nice overlook of New Haven that rivals East Rock. Beautiful woodsy trails and scenery. The biggest downfall when compared to other parks in New Haven is this happens to be a state park, while others like East Rock and Edgewood Park are city run. Apparently this tends to mean less upkeep--and less hours. Can't believe the drive up to the summit is only available on weekends... But I guess if you're looking for a hike you found it!

    Main entrance
    Astra G.

    This review is mostly about the hiking trails. West Rock Ridge State Park is an urban state park, while hiking you can hear cars and music from nearby buildings, and you also bump into many gated phone towers and water storage towers. As a city girl I don't really mind seeing this once in a while, but I do go hiking for a nature-like experience. This park has more cell phone towers, gates, and water storage towers than a state park should. The trail blazes are really well marked but they are confusing and sometimes awful. In one area while on the red trail heading north from the bottom of the park, the trail all of a sudden stopped and ended at a street. Sometimes, trails in more urban parks will stop at a street but continue on the other side of the street, but here the trail just ended. The map however said it should of went on for miles around the edge of the park. We ended up having to walk on the side of a road back to the main entrance of the park. We didn't want to go backwards as that would be longer and more of a pain in the ass. In one area there were markings that looked like some kids purposefully tried to mess up the trail blazes in an area. ...There was one stone that said "blue trail this way fuckers." The park's map is very old and faded and you can not see the colors of the trails well. Sometimes the map had the first letter of the color next to the trail, which helped us to identify what trail it was, but only half of the trails had a letter. Wtf? We met another hiker who was equally confused with this park's trail who was also lost. She also said that she was hiking on a trail which all of a sudden ended at a street with no continuation. While driving home, we saw a guy walking up that same street who looked confused and disgruntled. ...Looks like it definitely wasn't just us. We did however see lots of hawks and a deer. There is a nice cliff view near the bottom of the park. The red and white trail is paved with gravel and is good for mountain biking, I may return to check that out and plan to never go on any other trails.

    McBreakfast view after having back adjusted at Dr. Lou's
    David M.

    Beautiful day to drive through and see the Overlook what is the information/relations that the three judges have to Westville area

    These photos were taken on 3/8/18. I took the white trail all the way around the beautiful & scenic Wintergreen Lake in West Rock State Park

    See all

    3 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 4
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    4 years ago

    Helpful 18
    Thanks 0
    Love this 18
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Victor H.
    1722
    1789
    12595

    9 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Adrienne D.
    254
    57
    110

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alex D.
    0
    23
    46

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tom E.
    0
    10
    0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - West Rock Ridge State Park

    Review Highlights - West Rock Ridge State Park

    It goes from Easy (Wintergreen Lake) to Difficult on the Blue Trail (Quinnipiac Trail).

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Parks 1,526 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Edgewood Park - Taking a walk before dinner

    Edgewood Park

    3.7(9 reviews)
    1.0 mi

    Such an absolutely gorgeous park that I found by accident. I was looking for something to do to get…read morein my evening cardio, and drove across a bridge that had a beautiful lake below. Made a quick uturn and spent the next two hours enjoying this completely paved and awesome park. There is about a 4-5 mile fully paved path, with mountain biking paths adjacent to it, as well as wooded paths. You'll see VERY friendly swans, geese, and ducks (please don't feed them), plenty of squirrels, and the occasional tiny bird running away from you. The are several grass lined bridges that make you feel like you're inside a fairytale, but be careful as they run very low to the water, and are extremely soft in some places. There are steps at various points that lead you back up to the main road at random points, and at the very end you'll happen upon a cool ass skate park. Lover this park so much and will use it as my walking spot going forward!

    I would not recommend this "park". When I first arrived to New Haven I thought I'd explore all the…read moreparks (since I love nature), but this wasn't a good call. I went in winter and not only did it look barren as one might expect, but it felt really sketchy!! Cars with missing license plates, homeless people, etc. It didn't feel like a safe area at all, and I later learned it wasn't. On the way home from this park outside The Little Black store I even literally saw the man who had stolen my amazon packages the day before, in plain sight and not apprehended by police. Very dangerous area.

    Photos
    Edgewood Park
    Edgewood Park
    Edgewood Park

    See all

    West Rock Ridge State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...