March 13-15, 2024
March 13, 2024. Blue-Yellow Loop.
Sleeping Giant is a two-mile stretch of mountainous traprock that, when seen from afar, looks like a sleeping giant. There are six trails spanning its length from west to east, each named after a color. There are other, shorter trails running north to south, plus a wide and easy tower trail and a nature trail. I focused on all the lengthwise trails since they cover more ground.
I began with a Blue Trail-Yellow Trail Loop. The Blue Trail is considered the most difficult in the park since it includes some scrambles and steep ledges. I enjoyed this as it reminded me of White Mountain trails. The Blue Trail is the only trail besides the wide gravel forest path that leads to the Tower, a stone structure on Mt. Carmel with ramps one can climb for nice views.
The Blue Trail runs up and down boulders, ledges, rocks, roots, and dirt, and from various points one can see New Haven and Long Island Sound.
I took the Yellow Trail from the eastern edge of the park back along the side of the Giant toward the parking area. Yellow Trail is a typical woods trail with ups and downs here and there but no scrambling (there are a couple of nice staircases though).
The trail system within the park is considered a National Recreation Trail.
March 14, 2024. White-Green Loop at Sleeping Giant State Park, CT. 6.8 miles with about 1260 ft of elevation gain.
White Trail had some nice scrambles and ledge walking. Took that from the parking lot east to Chestnut Lane, then took the Green Trail back up to the giant’s chest and then the White Trail again back down to the car. Both trails have lots of ups and downs. Found out later there are caves off Green Trail. They are not on the map, but if you search on google you can discover their location. They don’t seem to be for novices fwiw.
March 15, 2024. Last Sleeping Giant Loop. Orange-Violet.
Orange Trail was straightforward though steep and rocky in places. Violet Trail…let’s just say the map provided by the state park tells a big fat lie about Violet Trail. It is described as “mostly level with some rises.” It is really mostly scrambly with some level bits. I met a couple close to the parking area on my way back who had just started and were having difficulty with the boulder-y walk. These sections are tame if you are used to such things, but these folks were expecting an easy stroll because of the fibbing map.
I enjoyed Violet Trail though, in spite of it being surprisingly challenging. Some views, some historic buildings, some water. Nice variety.
I greatly enjoyed my Sleeping Giant experience. Lots of diversity in terms of scrambles, woods, views, marshes, and water. Some of these trails are just like the ones in the White Mountains. This was probably my favorite overall CT hiking adventure.