Regicides Trail is a 6.9 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near New Haven, Connecticut that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Rugged cliff-walk with spectacular views of multiple lakes and busy highways below. Mostly a level walk along a ridgeline going south to north. You get there by going through the West Rock Ridge State Park entrance off Wintergreen Avenue in Hamden. Follow the signs up the hill to the South Overlook about 1.2 miles. There is a large parking lot at the top of the overlook with incredible views of New Haven and Long Island Sound on a clear day. The trail is clearly marked with blue blazes. The northern terminus trailhead is located right behind the South Overlook shelter. The trail is mostly easy going but there is a two (+) mile stretch, right in the middle of this seven mile trail, that includes a lot of rock hopping ankle-breaker rocks that tends to slow you down. The rest of the trail is a really enjoyable hike with plenty of shade. At the northern terminus of trail it joins the Quinnipiac Trail (blue blazed) and the clearly marked Sanford Feeder (blue-red blazed, 0.6 mile) which connects the Regicide Trail with Brooks Road in Bethany. There is road-side parking on Brooks Road at the end of the Sanford Feeder.
March 27, 2021
March 27, 2021Mileage was way off, over 8 miles, not 6.9, but the cliffs were very pretty. The climb closest to new Haven is very steep! Definitely not moderate, but lots of flat in between
March 6, 2021March 3, 2021January 19, 2021January 9, 2021January 9, 2021November 27, 2020Nice walk. The whole western half of the trail is along the rock cliffs and requires scrambling over some rocks. Well marked in some places but easy to get a little lost in others. Lots of opportunities to make your own loops with other trails
November 25, 2020Nice hike, trails are very well marked and easy to walk on. blue trail, of course is different. Trailhead was not accessible. north end of wintergreen lake is a good starting point, too. Noise from city and Rt 15 is a bit annoying. Sleeping Giant or Hanging Hills are close nearby and offer nicer hikes.
November 25, 2020too close to civilization for my taste. there was constant noise in the background. but nice ridge.
November 21, 2020November 9, 2020November 8, 2020Gravel rd to the blue to the purple/orange to white to red. Clockwise, challenging rocky fun views in the first half, country road/rec path on the backside of the lake wintergreen on the last half. Few people on the ridge many people on the white/lake path.
November 7, 2020November 3, 2020Love this trail’
October 27, 2020It’s an Easy-Moderate trail. Can be rocky at times, but not difficult at all. The difficulty comes from the length which is around 7 miles. The beginning of the hike is a little too close to the city so you see a lot of roads and hear a lot of cars/sirens so it’s not like you’re totally in the woods. There is one spectacular view (which is a little ways before the peak and didn’t really have any clearing for a view) Overall, it’s an okay hike. Close to the city, most of the trails almost paved and are pretty well marked, but it’s length and rocks give it a bit of a challenge. I’d recommend for an easy-going day trip
October 25, 2020Great trail. Lots of rocks and some awesome views.
October 11, 2020The trail was a nice gradual climb. Nice for kids. The cave was neat. The view at the top is very nice. A little maintenance would make it perfect.
October 10, 2020October 9, 2020Stunning views! Although the trails are well-marked, it is very important to consult the AllTrails map frequently and/or have a compass with you. I started out on the red trail and must have taken at least 6 different colored trails in order to stay close to what this loop was and ended up going about 9 miles in total! Make sure you have your hiking shoes for this trail, as it is very rocky in some areas and will slow you down. I completed this trail in just under 4 hours with very few stops along the way. The gates to the park close at 6pm so keep that in mind. Patience is key to this loop. It is a beautiful trail with plenty of wildlife and views along the way, especially during this time of year. In the end, I’m glad I gave this trail a chance!
October 4, 2020October 4, 2020October 3, 2020Great trail(s). Do not follow the blue trail the entire way - as it will be a much longer hike. If starting northwest, follow blue for first 3.7 miles, then take the purple, to the white. Follow white until it becomes maroon. Lots of cool side trails. Always use AllTrails! Enjoy
September 13, 2020This was a fun hike with some really nice scenic spots spread out across the distance. I prefer this hike over East Rock. The ridge walk after crossing the tunnel added some excitement without feeling too dangerous. The trail is pretty obvious for most of the distance. We logged a little over 8 miles despite the app saying around 7. One thing to note, while the elevation looks like it may be difficult, it’s spread out over a lot of little ups and downs. Only a few sections were pretty steep.
September 8, 2020Great hike. Rugged. No bugs. Saw the ventilation shaft for the tunnel. Saw some hawks flying over the ridge line.
August 21, 2020gate was closed at 8:10am so I parked at a different spot. I'm kind of glad I did because I prefer to start a loop at more of a low point. overall this trail and park was not really my favorite of this type in the area. there was a lot of road noise (better than gun ranges I guess) and a lot of ups and downs for fairly limited payoff. the best view is from the parking lot at west rock. it was a decent amount of elevation gain and workout though. I enjoyed the forested road walks the best (some of the trail parallels these roads very closely, which I found annoying) as I always am nostalgic for a car-less road walk. dogs were alright on it, though they are good with boulders and rocks. felt like fall early and got warm. in the future I would hike around the lake and more toward the north to explore the views of woodbridge. this would not be my go-to hike to show off the area to visitors, but I may come back in the future to explore. prefer east side of sleeping giant and Tyler mill preserve to this. or even east rock.
August 15, 2020August 10, 2020Spectacular views, especially of New Haven. Most of the trail is rocky. It gets a little confusing though once you reach the trail's intersection near the tunnel ventilation structure. Tunnel ventilation is pretty cool since you can hear the vehicles passing through the highway under the park.
August 10, 2020A little beaten up after the storm, but nothing insurmountable. Love the Regicides.
August 1, 2020
