Amherst/Northampton Area Info

Big changes for Dr. Wu. If you didn't catch earlier, I got married. I quit my job. And I got a new apartment in Easthampton and I'm moving there from Boston on Aug 1.

Now, I'm going to be 2.5 miles from Mt. Tom which is pretty awesome because I think I'll be hiking almost every day now. I've also done stuff in the somewhat area like Mt. Greylock and Mt. Frissell. And I'm extremely excited to be so just 2 hours from The Catskills and about 3+ hours from The Whites and ADK's at the same time. Also Vermont!!

So how about the Northampton area though? What do people like in terms of hiking there? I know about Mt. Holyoke. How about other mountains, state parks, trails, lakes, ponds, rivers (we're getting a canoe), etc. What are some cooler things in the area. Seems like kind-of an outdoors paradise to me, and I've spent a bunch of time in the area to discover some interesting ponds and trails but not enough to get a real feel for the area. Any suggestions? Any suggestions for cool stuff about 60-90 minutes away as well? Thanks!

-Dr. Wu

Mt Tom

Try hiking around Mt. Tom and the Notch.

Near Northhampton

An interesting spot but not much of a hike is in Deerfield MA. I think it is called Mt Sugarloaf or Breadloaf State Park. I can't remember which. You can see it just East of Rt 91. It has a steep southern side and a wonderful view of the Pioneer Valley and the CT river. It is actually a monadnock and has some interesting geology and flora.

To add to what JackH wrote, it's called Sugarloaf, located in the Sugarloaf State Reservation (the only Breadloaf I've encountered in all my travels is in Vermont). There's a road to the south peak (which is the one with the views), but the trail up from Route 116 is short enough. The higher point on Sugarloaf is actually the north peak, which mostly just has views to the west.

Across the river is Mount Tobey, which is a longer hike, but with decent views from its fire tower. North of that is Northfield Mountain, which has okay views but does have some of the best running trails in western Mass. East of Northfield is Mount Grace, which is a pleasant, shortish hike up to a fire tower. East of Amherst is Mounts Lincoln and Orient. Lincoln is an easy walk to a fire tower. I've never actually done Orient, but it comes very well recommended. Just east of there is the lovely Quabbin, whose expansive lands are a great place for endless woods wanderings.

The area also features the Metacomet-Monadnock, Robert Frost, and Tully Trails. Further, the Pioneer Valley is within easy striking distance of the minor mountains along Route 2 west of Greenfield, as well as many of the trail networks in Connecticut. Overall, it's a very fun area, especially when winter has already arrived in the high peaks of the northeast.

Two really good references for the area are the AMC Massachusetts Guide and "Hiking the Pioneer Valley" by Bruce Scofield.

There's a whole bunch of cool places I've failed to mention, but hopefully this will give you some ideas. Enjoy!

The Mountain Wanderer has a section on Southern New England with many books and maps. The following strikes me as potentially very useful:

Hiking the Pioneer Valley, by Bruce Scofield. 3rd Edition, 2004. Describes 30 circuit hikes in Connecticut River valley region of Massachusetts, inclding Holyoke Range, Mt. Tom, and many more.
Item #SNH08: $14.95

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It's a nice area, my grandparents live in Hadley on the Conn river and one of my aunts lives right at the base of sugarloaf, and another aunt has a camp on the connecticut in Montague near the eagles. Another nice viewpoint is poets seat in greenfield, although I'm not sure if there is a hiking trail to it.

I just picked up the AMC Massachusetts Trail Guide and it has alot of stuff for western Mass. Its a worthy buy if you're out there already, I'd say.

now for the non-hiking benefits of northampton, aka paradise city, noho and hamp....great restaurants and coffee shops....two independent movie theaters, the calvin theater for live music....good radio stations...npr at 88.5 and rock at 93.9...farmer's market in the middle of town on saturdays spring through november...gleason's hiking and camping store and the mountain goat--neither can compare to ems or rei but good if you really need something...wonderful hospital--cooley dickinson....culturally diverse but very few people of color...surrounded by well known colleges so it remains young at heart...left politics...very active community....great book stores--new and used and the forbes library... a great little city with a country feel to it.....WELCOME!!

i hope your married life is full of marvel, good health and, of course, plenty of hiking....

there is a group of us who do a decent amount of local hiking--the at in the berkshires, taconic trails, holyoke range and more...i live in hawley 25 miles northwest of noho....great place for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and liesurely hiking in our state forest.....tubing/rafting on the deerfield (too shallow for canoe).....

...jade

Nate hit a bunch of really good spots.

The Metacomet-Mondanock trail is very interesting. The Seven Sisters from the Notch to Mt. Holyoke is always one of my favorites. The Robert Frost trail is very underated as well. The Northampton Bike Trail is a nice ride and not too far from Easthampton. Jade's hiking group is a blast but be prepared for stomach pains from laughing too much.

The MA AMC guide covers the area nicely. I can't add too much. My favorite valley area hikes are along the M-M corridor and the Robert Frost. Mt Tom, the Holyoke Range, Norwottuck Horse Caves, the list goes on. Lots of 'whack possibilities in those areas too.

Jade forgot to add in the Whole Foods & Trader Joe's on Route 9 just east of route 91.

Some links to aid discovering new areas to explore:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/forparks.htm
http://www.thetrustees.org/
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/hiking.htm

Seek out the big trees of Western MA

The Berkshires have plenty of trails. Unfortunately most of the summits are wooded. I prefer hiking there in winter when the leaves are off the trees. One thing Berkshires has is big trees. There's an internet group called ENTS out there who make it their business to bushwack and hunt down old growth forest areas. Some of the best are located in Mohawk State Forest and Monroe State Forest. But there are other smaller localities as well. Suspect they could use a bushwacker like you. Here's link to their website. Good luck in your new life. Sounds exciting! Look forward to new and better TR's.

http://www.uark.edu/misc/ents/fieldtrips/index_field_trips.htm

I can't add much to what has already been posted except for a big hearty "Welcome" from another resident of the area. I'm in Athol about 45 minutes northeast of NoHo, and work for a company located in Sunderland.

Matt

Let's have a beer night...

also to do Thursdays downtown Stinkfield are good- free music

Head up to the D.A.R. state forest in Goshen and you can hike around the beautiful Highland Lakes and up to the fire tower, which I believe is still climbable for a fantastic view.

Hike or bike all around the Quabbin Reservoir. It's all reservation and very beautiful.

Definitely traverse the Holyoke Range. Finish at the Notch and hit Atkins Farm for awesome cider (and in season, the best cider doughnuts anywhere).

Can you hike through the former sites of the ski area, Mountain Park, and the Alpine Slide on Mt. Tom? If so, that'd be an interesting place to explore.

Visit Look Park for a local non-hiking getaway. Bike the Norwottuck Rail Trail from Northampton. Visit Mass Audobon's Laughing Brook wildlife sanctuary at the home of late author Thornton Burgess down in Hampden, or Arcadia wildlife sanctuary right there in Easthampton.

It isn't hiking, but I seem to recall Smith College having an incredible greenhouse and botanical garden a decade ago that were open to the public.

As you alredy mentioned, Greylock is a fine mountain to hike, despite the parking lot up top. Redline the mountain!

Good luck and enjoy Western Mass. I did *none* of these things growing up out there; I wish I had!

In regards to MichaelJ's post, yes, you can hike the former ski area. The Metacomet-Mondanock trail passes about 150 yards from where the top of the skilift. It's getting overgrown in some spots and becoming a off-road vehicle haven for some folks.

Atkins Farms, which Michael mentioned, is one of my favorite places to stop for trail snacks.

The Big E fair which is held in West Springfield for two weeks in September is also very popular as is the St. Paddy's Day parade in Holyoke.

quabbin area is excellent. congratulations...

Is "Pasta e Basta" still in downtown Amherst? (if so, worth a stop in)

in SW NH there's Pisgah SP, Gap Mtn, Wantastiquet, etc. etc.

arghman said:

Is "Pasta e Basta" still in downtown Amherst? (if so, worth a stop in)
.

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YES! Downtown near the common. Also there is a noodle place next to it that is pretty good.

You can get maps of The Robert Frost Trail ( a spriral bound book) and of the Amherst Conservation Land and Trails at the Town Hall next door to Grace Episcopal Church at the common.
Bring $15 but they are worth it.

Two things that haven't been mentioned:
* This is probably the best base in New England for whitewater canoeing, go down I-91 to CT in Feb and up to NH in June
* Pocumtuck Trail from Sugarloaf Tower to Poets Seat Tower, you & Jade can probably do it in a day - just keep your dogs with you on Pocumtuck Rock or the landowner might shoot them for running deer

Hiking the Seven Sisters and Mt Holyoke along the M&M Trail will give you a good workout. The rest of the M&M trail is enjoyable as well. Lots of interesting old cellar holes and historic roads.

Woody

Welcome to the area..I'm over the CT border in Enfield...I really love the notch area for keeping in shape for winter outings. You can chose any combo of flats/ups/downs. The 'seven sisters' get in more vertical than you might think doing an over and back or even partial sections. Mt Norwotuck (i call it neurotic) is a quick up to the east of the notch, but the trail gets more interesting beyond to Rattlesnake Knob etc. In the winter, walking, snowshoeing, skiing..it's all there..with a surprising increase in precipitation accumulation as compared to just down the road. I don't hike in these areas however during the summer...as snakes are alive and well in these rocky ledgy areas...rattlers included and very large tree climbing rat snakes(harmless to humans). Come fall the range area is known for falcon migratory watching.

Also, you can do the AT in both CT but esp MA with alittle car spotting help, it won't take too long.

Don't forget...Mt Monadnack is in your back yard...Northfield exit off I-91, through Winchester, over to Rindge and on to Jaffrey. It's about 1hr 40min for me, so you should be a solid hour and alittle depending on your distance to I-91...PS radar is always out in the Northhampton curves up through the Hatfield region...watch the traffic tie-ups in Greenfield due to bridge construction..it's only one lane in each direction to be completed summer of 2007....do not drive friday pm or sunday afternoon, or choose longer but same driving time through Deerfield to Greenfield. ctsparrow