Hubbard Park
Directions
I-84 East at the New York/Connecticut state line, continue 43 miles going past Danbury and Waterbury. Take Exit 27 to merge onto I-691East towards Meriden. Travel 3.6 miles to Exit 4 for West Main Street, turn right at the end of the ramp. The Walden-Meriden Turnpike becomes West Main. In just over a half mile on the left is Mirror Lake Drive a one-way entrance to the park.
Travel a short distance around Mirror Lake to a parking lot. During the day from early May through Oct, a paved road is open for driving access to either East Peak or West Peak, with parking at the top. Start at the gate where the road goes under I-691.
Two additional, small parking areas are shown on the trail map along Chamberlain Highway (Rt 71). These are best accessed from I-691 East, Exit 5. Use “Find a Hike” link above for more specific directions
Park Overview
The park encompasses carefully kept woodlands, streams, dramatic cliff faces, a reservoir, lake and flower gardens. It has both scenic, surprisingly rugged hikes and easy ones too.
Trail Overview
Click for an excellent park brochure that includes a trail map displaying five blazed trails, various paved (access) roads, scenic overviews, numerous trail landmarks, five hike descriptions (rated easy to difficult, with some accents over 1,000 feet) and even a brief park history.
The Meridian section of the Metacomet Trail [blue] passes through the park including both East Peak and West Peak, while the Hubbard Park Loop [white] has an offshoot leading to Castle Craig Tower. In season, it is also possible to drive to East Peak or West Park, park, and begin hikes at the top [see Directions below].
South Mountain is contiguous to, but not strictly a part of, Hubbard Park. It is included on the trail map linked above.
For a detailed hike description go to “Find a Hike” and scroll down to Hubbard Park.
Park Description
Hubbard Park, located in the Hanging Hills of Connecticut, is a wooded, mountainous park featuring a dramatic trap rock mountain ridge north of downtown urban Meriden, Connecticut. The Hanging Hills are part of the Metacomet Ridge that is nearly continuous from Northhampton, Massachusetts to Branford, Connecticut.
Situated atop East Peak is Castle Craig Tower, a stone observation tower whose top is 1002 feet above sea level. It offers spectacular views of the Greater Meriden area and beyond to the Long Island Sound.
For more information about the park, follow this link to the City of Meriden’s Hubbard Park web site.