The Sleeping Giant, or Mount Carmel, is a trap rock ridge system located in the Mount Carmel neighborhood of Hamden, Connecticut, overlooking Quinnipiac University. It is approximately ten miles north of downtown New Haven. Hamden is a town located in New Haven County, Connecticut. ... Quinnipiac University: University Quadrangle, School of Business and School of Communications facilities, Sleeping Giant in background Quinnipiac University is a private four-year university in Hamden, Connecticut, located on about 500 acres, just north of New Haven. ... Downtown New Haven is the neighborhood located in the heart of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. ...

It is best known for anthropomorphically representing a slumbering human figure, and the ridge's profile features distinct "head", "chin", and "chest" sections. Local Native American tribes considered the mountain to be the resting physical form of a destructive spirit. In their eschatology, it was presaged that Sleeping Giant would arise again one day to wreak destruction. Jump to: navigation, search Native Americans is a term which has several different common meanings and scope, according to regional use and context. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The hill is the focus of Sleeping Giant State Park, which features

• 1500 acres (6 km²) of forest and rock outcrops,
• a dozen principal hiking trails in a 30 mile system,
• continuation of its Blue Trail beyond the park on the 23 mile Quinnipiac Trail, with connection to the 7-mile Regicides Trail,
• additional cross-country skiing and equestrian trails,
• a picnic area with picnic tables, small fireplaces, a roofed pavilion, flush toilets (except in winter) and two composting toilets (year-round) and
• popular trout-fishing areas along the Mill River.

(Camping by the public is no longer permitted, and the former camping facilities adjacent to the picnic area are well along in returning to open forest.) Regicides Trail is a hiking trail, about 7 miles (11 km) long, roughly following the edge of a basalt, or traprock, cliff northwest of New Haven, Connecticut. ... Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fishes belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae. ...

Lookout tower at the summit of the Giant as seen in October 2004.

A castle-like four-story stone lookout tower (built by the WPA) stands at the summit on the Giant's chest. It is reached by a 1.6-mile graded dirt road (closed to vehicles) with its 600 or so feet of elevation gain distributed nearly uniformly over that length, at undemanding grades. Its top, at approximately 750 feet above sea level, offers long views of much of New Haven and some of Hartford Counties, over more than 270 degrees of the compass, and (atmospheric conditions permitting) across the Sound to the Shoreham area on Long Island. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1179 KB)Picture of the tower I took in October 2004. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1179 KB)Picture of the tower I took in October 2004. ... The Works Progress Administration (later Works Projects Administration, abbreviated WPA), was created on May 6, 1935 with the signing of Executive Order 7034. ... New Haven County is located in the south central part of the state of Connecticut. ... Hartford County is located in the north central part of the state of Connecticut. ... Jump to: navigation, search New York City waterways: 1. ... Shoreham is a village located in Suffolk County, New York. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Without extravagant exaggeration, Sleeping Giant enthusiasts describe the trails as offering all of the terrain types found elsewhere in New England -- "but not very much of each". (For instance, the legendary mile-long (1.5 km) boulder-jumble of the Maine border's Mahoosuc Notch is echoed on the Giant by about a ten-foot (three meter) stretch.) Jump to: navigation, search While the states marked in red show the core of New England, the regions cultural influence may cover a greater or lesser area than shown. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Senators Olympia Snowe (R) Susan Collins (R) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail, is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, running from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. ...

The picnic and parking areas at the main entrance, in the southeast corner of the state park, the Tower Path, and the Tower structure, are maintained primarily or exclusively by state employees of the Department of Environmental Protection. Note: DEP redirects here, but the D is sometimes short for Division, Directorate or other such words Department of Environmental Protection is a name commonly used by states in the United States of America to name their government agency charged with proposing and enforcing environmental law although the federal such...

In addition, a private volunteer organization, the Sleeping Giant Park Association (SGPA), conducts routine maintenance of all the hiking trails except the Tower Path, including clearing trails of the results of storm damage to trees and regularly rejuvenating the painted blazes delineating the courses of trails. After stopping the trap rock quarrying operation on the Head of the Giant through the assertion of contractual restrictions, the group eventually purchased back the mining rights to ensure that the quarrying could not resume, acquired the land of the present state park, and donated it to the state under perpetual restrictions. It is the oldest volunteer group for Connecticut state parks, and continues to acquire land. Through its efforts and those of other volunteer groups, Sleeping Giant has more volunteer support than any other Connecticut park. Jump to: navigation, search Blaze is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ...

External links

• Official Sleeping Giant State Park Web site
• The Sleeping Giant Park Association
• Park Map