Hubbard Park (Meriden, Connecticut)

Should not be confused with East Rock, another traprock summit in ConnecticutEast Peak, 976 feet (297 m), is a prominent basalt traprock mountain in the Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut. Rugged and scenic, the peak rises steeply above the city of Meriden 600 feet (183 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut and Long Island Sound. A small stone observation tower known as Castle Craig stands on the summit. East Peak is located within the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) Hubbard Park. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail crosses East Peak, and a seasonal auto road climbs to a small parking lot at Castle Craig. Activities enjoyed on the peak include Hiking, bicycling, and in the winter, cross-country skiing on the road. Rock climbing is only permitted for Ragged Mountain Foundation members who have obtained a permit from Meriden's parks and recreation department.

Castle Craig, located on East Peak in the Hanging Hills, is constructed of trap rock and is 32 feet (10 m) in height and has a base 58 feet (18 m) in circumference . A metal interior stairway is used to ascend the observation deck on top. It stands 976 feet (297 m) above sea level and provides an expansive view of the greater Meriden, Connecticut area.

Should not be confused with West Rock, another traprock summit in ConnecticutWest Peak, 1,024 feet (312 m), of the Hanging Hills, is the highest traprock peak in the state of Connecticut. The peak hangs above the city of Meriden 700 feet (213 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut, Long Island Sound, and the Berkshires to the west. On a clear day, Mount Tom, in Massachusetts, can be seen 47 miles to the north. The 62-mile Metacomet Trail crosses West Peak. Activities enjoyed on the peak include hiking, picnicking, and bird watching. West Peak is on an important raptor migration path. Edwin Howard Armstrong, who invented FM radio and was a network radio pioneer, used West Peak as the location of one of the first FM radio broadcasts, in 1939. His original 70-foot radio mast is still there. Currently, West Peak is home to seven FM broadcast stations, WNPR, WWYZ, WZMX, WDRC-FM, WKSS, WHCN, and WMRQ-FM. It is also known as West Peak State Park.

WDRC-FM (102.9 FM) is a radio station with a classic rock format licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The station began broadcasting in 1959 and was the first commercial FM station in the Hartford radio market. The station is owned by John Fuller's Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation, with studios located on Blue Hills Avenue (Connecticut Route 187) in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with other radio stations and a transmitter site in Meriden, Connecticut.

WKSS (95.7 FM) is an American radio station operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. in the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, Connecticut, radio market. It broadcasts from its original transmitter site in Meriden, and has a rare dual city of license of Hartford-Meriden. Airing a mainstream Top 40 format, the station is currently branded as KISS 95-7 with the slogan "All The Hits." Its studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.

WMRQ-FM (104.1 MHz) is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, and serving the Greater Hartford media market. WMRQ-FM is owned by Red Wolf Broadcasting and has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 14,000 watts. Its transmitter is on West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut. Its tower is shared with former sister station 95.7 WKSS. WMRQ-FM's studios and offices are located on Blue Hills Avenue (Connecticut Route 187) in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with its other co-owned radio stations. The station broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 digital subchannel carries a Spanish tropical music and contemporary hit radio format known as "Bomba FM," also heard on translator stations 97.1 W246CC in Bolton, 99.5 W258AL in Clinton and 104.5 W283BS in Bridgeport. Much of the programming is also broadcast on WSPR 1490 AM and W283CK 104.5 FM West Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as 98.5 W253BQ Meriden, Connecticut, and 104.5 W283BW New London, Connecticut. At times, Bomba FM has higher ratings than its originating station, WMRQ-FM.

WZMX (93.7 FM), better known as "Hot 93.7" is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter is located on West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut, and the station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington.

Connecticut Public Radio, commonly known as WNPR, is a network of public radio stations in the state of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and eastern Long Island, affiliated with NPR (National Public Radio). It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, which also owns Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). The radio network airs primarily news and talk from NPR along with several locally produced programs. It is headquartered with CPTV in Hartford, and operates an additional studio in New Haven.

WHCN (105.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. It broadcasts a classic hits radio format for the Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven areas, and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It is branded "The River 105.9", a reference to the Connecticut River. Its studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford. The station's transmitter site is at West Peak State Park in nearby Meriden. WHCN is one of the oldest FM stations, beginning as an experimental outlet in 1939. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WHCN broadcasts using HD Radio technology.

WWYZ (92.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, and serving the Central Connecticut, Greater Hartford and Southern Connecticut areas. It is owned by iHeartMedia, and airs a country radio format. The studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford. The station's transmitter is in Meriden, on West Peak in the Hanging Hills.

The Hanging Hills of south central Connecticut, United States are a range of mountainous trap rock ridges overlooking the city of Meriden and the Quinnipiac River Valley 900 feet (274 m) below. They are a sub-range of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. A popular outdoor recreation resource, the range is known for its microclimate ecosystems, rare plant communities, and expansive views from cliffs that rise abruptly over 700 feet (213 m) above the surrounding landscape. The Hanging Hills encompass the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) Hubbard Park, designed with the help of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The 51 mile (80k) Metacomet Trail traverses the range.

South Mountain, 767 ft (234 m), is a prominent traprock peak in the Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut. Rugged and scenic, the peak rises steeply above the city of Meriden 400 ft (122 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut and Long Island Sound. Most of South Mountain is located within the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) Hubbard Park. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail crosses the wooded backside of South Mountain, but no official trail leads to the southern cliff face. Activities enjoyed on the mountain include hiking, and in the winter, snowshoeing and backcountry skiing.