Regicides Trail is a 11.5 mile lightly 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.
dogs on leash
birding
hiking
nature trips
trail running
walking
cave
forest
lake
views
wild flowers
rocky
scramble
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.
Did a portion of this (the red blaze mostly), to see the views from the ridge, which were quite long-range and saw a little bit of Lake Wintergreen. A very nice hike.
It's a great trail with good views. It's well marked. Give yourself a good challenge by doing the whole thing, out and back.
Ran this trail and made it into a loop by connecting with the red trail in West Rock State Park. The views are pretty spectacular for southern CT. Unfortunately, like many other beautiful locations with easy car access, there is a a fair amount of grafitti and broken glass near the south end. The trails are very well marked. A bit rocky.
Highly recommend this hike. I did two days ago 3/29/2015 with snow on the ground. We started at the base of west rock, hiked the regicides and connected with the Quinnipiac trail. The last stint was sleeping giants blue trail to red trail. all in all 14 miles and so much to see. worth every step. call me if you have any questions 860-984-9651. my name is Tyler
Great hike along the ridge top. At the northern end it intersects with the Quinnipiac Trail which can take you further north toward Mt Sanford in Cheshire/Prospect or you can turn east and head toward Sleeping Giant in Hamden. There is a paved but unused road that parallels the Regicides Trail that makes for a nice return stroll!
The trail is named "Regicides" trail after the three judges who were accused of wanting to kill the king in colonial times. These judges were charged with attempted Regicide (killing of the regent). They hid in a cave (really a space between some huge rocks) which is now called 3 judges cave which the trail goes right by.
This is a long trail that is fairly level but it has many minor ups and downs which make it seem more difficult than it is...
We really enjoyed this little used trail, so close to home. The trail was well maintained and clearly marked but it was hard to tell if it had been used recently. We didn't see another hiker the entire seven mile length. This point-to-point hike caused us to use two cars, one at both ends and perhaps that's why this trail doesn't see much traffic. The views were spectacular and you didn't have to hike up a mountain to see them. This cliff walk had views numerous views to the west from the tops of vertical cliffs that was really rewarding. Great hike that we plan to do again!