hiking/XC skiing in northwestern MA

[banjolady]

will be in colrain MA this weekend and am wondering if anyone knows some good hiking or XC skiing places within 10 miles--thanks
susan

 

[MichaelJ]

Check out the Western Mass XC Ski Association. I've heard excellent things about Northfield Mountain. You're also only 45 minutes (30 miles) from Prospect Mountain, of which I've also heard good things.

My favorite, and one of the best anywhere, is Windblown, but that would be a 60 mile, 90 minute drive from Colrain.

 

[Jay H]

Can you ski down the autoroad on Greylock???

Jay

 

[marchowes]

Hawley state forest is also a great place to ski. Lots of snowmobile trails there if you enjoy that form of grooming

 

[Peaks]

Catamount Trail

Catamount Trail starts at the Mass line in Readsboro/Monroe Bridge. Mostly follows the old HT&W rail bed all the way to the end of Harriman Reservoir.

 

[bcskier]

Can you ski down the autoroad on Greylock???

Jay

The answer to that is yes. There is skiing from either the N Adams side (Notch Rd.) or the Lanesboro side (Rockwell Rd.) It is primarily a snowmobile highway so be prepared to see many, especially on weekends.

There are alternatives to the auto road for both ascending or descending on skis but the road is wide and easy to follow and is not difficult to descend. The Thunderbolt ski trail is another story. It is best not to try that with touring gear.

Christopher Ryan's map of the mountain available from NE Cartographics is probably the best single source for info on what's skiable.

bcskier

BTW I realize the weekend that the originator of this thread referred to has come and gone but there are tons of places to xc ski in the area around western Franklin county where Colrain is located, in case anyone else wants to know. Snowmobile trails abound and we have a local mom and pop xc ski area called Stump Sprouts that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this winter. See this link if you are curious: Stump Sprouts

 

[dudley]

Savoy Mountain State Forest has ski trails
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/svym.htm

 

[banjolady]

thanks so much! my cousin lives in ashfield and we will be up there again for sure, we go to a music thing in greenfield also during the summer. we did find some snomobile trails across van nuys rd in colrain near the "round house" where we were staying for this music party. BTW if anyone is looking for a great retreat space this house is amazing
http://www.massretreats.com/roundhouse.html
the trails are a bit rough and challenging but the snow was really nice and the day was gorgeous. I really appreciate all your help!
susan

 

[Hollywood]

Greylock Road

Can you ski down the autoroad on Greylock???

Jay

I XC Skied the Greylock road from the south to the summit the weekend before last and it was really fast - blue wax - but there was considerable snowmobile traffic. There appears to be well marked trails for XC only, but they were not broken out at the time. It looks like VT will be good this weekend so I'm headed to Prospect Mtn - Thanks MichaelJ for the tip!

 

[MichaelJ]

Good luck and do report back!

The backstory on my recommendation of Prospect is that several of my coworkers had always heard that when other places had no snow, Prospect would have plenty of great conditions. We felt we had to take that with a grain of salt, but then I posted about it and folks came back with positive opinions. One of my coworkers then took a trip out there and had simply a great time; he said something about the geography there makes for really good snow, and it's apparently a neat place, with beautiful trails and even the remains of an old downhill area.

And of course, you can't go wrong when they report "Perfect conditions. Every trail is open & groomed. Doesn't get any better."

 

[Trout]

My brother & I were at Savoy Mt State Forest for the last five days & there is a good 2+' of snow in the woods. We had a wonderful time snowshoeing around--a real workout where the trail had not been broken out.

 

[KayakDan]

Mrs KD and I spent last weekend at Savoy. We broke out the South Pond Loop on snowshoes,and skied the North Pond Loop. North Pond Loop fron the cabins to the pond is a really nice ski trail. We skied some of the snowmobile trail,but it got a liitle too busy.

Trout,did you stay in the cabins? We were in #2.

 

[Trout]

Hey KD, my brother & I were in Cabin #2 also. We stayed at a local motel Fri & Sat nights & moved in to the Cabin on Sunday around 2:00 PM--small world isn't it. We usually go there a few times very winter. We did the North Pond Trail & Blackburnian Loop on Monday. Saturday we did a lot of the Burnett Pond Trail & Tuesday we did Haskins Trail & came back the Carpenter Trail. We love Savoy & the Cabins are great. The Cabin was very clean & the stove was still somewhat warm when we got there on Sunday. Were you the folks with the silver vehicle that looked like it might never come out from Cabin #2? We drove in on Saturday to see if anyone was there.

 

[Tuggy]

Savoy rocks. Its a great place. Trout and I found a moose dieing on the North Pond Loop trail one year. The biologist came and put it out of its misery and cut off the lower jaw. It was dieing of brainworm we later learned. The hike up Spruce Hill affords a fantastic 360 degree view. Greylock, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and south thru the Berkshires. Its always a treat. We had to open the cabin door once we got it to 76 degrees inside...........And of course the mouse paid us a visit but that's another story.

 

[KayakDan]

Trout,glad you enjoyed the cabin. Stove was still warm 'cause i was feeding it like a locomotive fireman! Toasty! Notice we even left spare wood and kindling. We fed the resident mouse pretty well,and he left our stuff alone.

That was our Pilot you saw down into the snow. Took some real maneuvering to get out,but I love a challenge!

We had to buy some wood on Saturday,because it took so much to get the cabin warmed up Friday night. We followed the signs to buy firewood. What a deal-a HUGE load of firewood for $3,self service on the honor system.

 

[Tuggy]

KD, for future reference the rangers sell wood at the office up the road that burns much better than the $3 a bundle junk down the road. They are also closer. You can also resupply on water there. We made the mistake of buying that wood one time too and cleaned a pile of it from cabin one this trip. Keeping it lit was more work that the heat we got out of it. You did a good job of getting your car out of that hole. We kept ours out of there. Thanks for the warm cabin. And thanks for how clean it was too.