West Rock Ridge State Park & Judges Cave
West Rock Ridge State Park
A basalt ridge west of the city; at its summit is Judges’ Cave, where two 17th-century regicide judges hid from pursuit, with views over the city and the harbor.
West Rock Ridge is a basalt ridge stretching about 11 km along the west side of New Haven. The state park has hiking and mountain-biking trails. Judges’ Cave, at the summit, is a cluster of giant boulders. In 1661, two of the judges who had signed the order to execute England’s King Charles I fled to New England and hid here to evade capture. Several New Haven streets are also named after them. On summer weekends the summit road is open to cars; at other times you have to walk. The viewpoints look out over the city, East Rock and Long Island Sound.
Opening hours
Sunrise to sunset
Nearby sights
- Sterling Memorial Library
- Grove Street Cemetery
- Yale University Art Gallery
- Yale Center for British Art
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
- Louis' Lunch
- Yale University Old Campus & Harkness Tower
- Shubert Theatre