april 2021
The Berkshires
Where: western Massachusetts
Directions: I-90, the Mass Turnpike from east and west; US 7 from south and north
Good to Know:
* Dogs are not allowed at Batholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield
* Dogs are not allowed at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Pittsfield
* Dogs are not allowed at Goose Pond Reservation in Lee
* Dogs are not allowed at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox
Why so good:
MYSTERIOUS GLENS.
Start just steps from the heart of the Berkshires in the Norman Rockwell village of Stockbridge with the short and always interesting hike through Ice Glen. Nathaniel Hawthorne called this cleft in the rocks between Bear and Little mountains “the most curious fissure in all Berkshire.” Your dog won’t leave many footprints picking his way through the ancient ravine; the route may be only a quarter-mile long but it plays bigger with boulders littering the route. The cool shade of some of New England’s largest pines and hemlock trees make the season’s last snow linger here, hence its name. Further west, beyond West Stockbridge, Stevens Glen was once one of the busiest tourist destinations in the the county. In the late 1800s Romanza Stevens built bridges and staircases to the Glen and its waterfall and charged 25 cents for tourists to view the magic of Lenox Mountain Brook. There are no traces of its time as a recreation destination, only airy hemlock and mixed hardwood forest where your dog will enjoy sweeping ups and downs and energetic streams.
STONE WALLS AND OLD FIELDS.
The stone walls found throughout Massachusetts are some of the most beautiful walls ever built. The fact that so many can be found in Berkshire woods attests to the skill used in construction. You could not just pile up rocks found around your property and call it a wall. Most of the rocks were called “two-handers” - too large to be scooped up with a single hand but not so large that one person couldn’t handle them. When a stone wall was finished it needed to be inspected by a fence viewer. If a wall was deemed sound the owner could not be liable for damage done to his crops by other farmer’s animals. Many of the area’s trails cross this colonial handiwork. Head for Tyringham Cobble - after hiking the two-mile loop up to the Appalachian Trail through a blend of active pastures and woodland your dog will be asleep on the ride home. And keep an eye out for the free-ranging herd of Hereford cattle that have grazed on the cobble for over 200 years. Whatever you have in mind for hiking with your dog is on the menu at Notchview where 15 miles of paw-friendly hiking trails are available at one of the country’s premier nordic cross country destinations. And if come in the winter you can ski on one trail with your dog.
SLUICES, SPOUTS AND CASCADES.
All over the Berkshires your dog can view and swim under hydro- spectaculars. Some are reached with hardly a hike (Campbell Falls, Windsor Jambs, Wahconah Falls), others with a little effort (The Notch Brook Cascades, Bash Bish Falls, Tannery Falls) and still more waterfalls are rewards for a spirited canine hike such as Sages Ravine in Mount Everett State Reservation. Bash Bish Falls is the highest waterfall in Massachusetts and one of the prettiest anywhere as it splits across a diamond-shaped rock. The entire area is studded with hemlocks and can be penetrated down a serpentine trail. If you want your dog to enjoy calmer waters the Benedict Pond Loop in Beartown State Forest takes its time for 1.5 miles with the lake in view the entire time.
VIEWS OF THE MOUNTAINS AND FROM THE MOUNTAINS.
The star trails at Field Farm are the trips through airy pastures with views of the Taconic Range to the west and Mount Greylock to the east. In Mount Washington State Forest the 2.8-mile trek up Alander Mountain starts with as many drops as climbs but eventually your dog will be rewarded with 270-degree views. It seems that at some point anybody who was anybody made the trek up Monuement Mountain to soak in the Berkshires. On August 5, 1850 when two giants of American literature, Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, met for the first time during an outing on Monument Mountain.
GREYLOCK RESERVATION.
Mount Greylock, at 3,491 feet, is the highest point in southern New England. At Mount Greylock you can hike longer with your dog (more than 70 miles of trails), higher with your dog (some canine hikes will gain over 2,000 feet in elevation) and see some of New England’s oldest trees (200+ years old). If there is one must-do major canine hike in the Berkshires it is probably The Hopper. Surrounded on three sides by steep slopes, this unique U-shaped valley covered in old-growth red spruce has been designated a National Natural Landmark. An 11-mile loop includes the Hopper Trail, the Mt. Prospect Trail and the Money Brook Trail and tags the summits of Mt. Prospect, Mt. Williams and Greylock.