Mt. Tom via New England Trail (Mt. Tom State Reservation)

Mt. Tom via New England Trail (Mt. Tom State Reservation)

Hike Type: Reverse Lollipop Loop
Distance: 4.88 miles
Elevation: 1,050 feet
Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Hiking Challenges: N/A (Maybe the NET50 challenge if I go back?)

Note: I am writing this and the hike from July from current-day August, as I have fully fallen deeply behind but this journal is important to me.

The Hike

After of many years cosplaying as someone who actually still lives in New Jersey, I finally got my Massachusetts driver's license! The only issue was that it was a LONG process which involved me having to drive almost two hours to the DMV in Easthampton. Thankfully the DMV was lovely, I was the first one in, and I was super close to one of my favorite hikes from my undergrad, Mt. Tom! I also appreciated how just a couple days before, I was on the 4000-footer also named Mt. Tom! My GPS wanted me to take a long-closed road, but thankfully I had enough braincells to go the correct way. It was warm and soupy out with a good amount of bugs, but I parked, got suited up, and started on my journey!

I heard many morning doves (not owls, apparently), and was sad that I forgot my camera, but the show must go on! I first made my way to the Bray Tower, which provides a lovely view toward Easthampton and the Connecticut River Valley. There were some Mountail Laurels still in bloom, and soon enough I began wiggling my way through some random trails to eventually link up with the New England Trail/Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, the latter name seems to be phasing out. 

The main climb starts right after getting onto the NET, which was a bit of a doozy. My legs felt incredibly heavy, but that could like be due to yesterday's diet of Celcius and booze (it was the last day of school!). There were some steep switchbacks up the shoulder of the mountain, but the climb is rewarded with the first of many excellent views into the valley below. It was really fun being back here after so many years, some spots were familiar and others were like hiking for the first time again. 

The trail condition worsened after the first view, with some messy footing up a talus-y footbed, but all pain was well rewared with view after view! The first BIG view point came after a narrow chimney-like scramble, which may be called Whiting Peak (even if the height-of-land is on a different trail? I'm not sure, some passerby called it this). 

The hike continued on with steep, rugged, short ups and downs and many, many excellent viewpoints. The trail climbs more steadily nearer the summit where there were some lovely mountain laurel and more lovely views.

The summit area of this mountain is one of the most unique "urbanized" summits. No fire tower, no summit house, but some telecommunications towers with crumbling foundations and lots of grafiti, new and old - with of course a spectacular view! I didn't stay up here for too long since there were three girls in the full lululemon outfits taking their instagram shots. 

My return trip was lovely with countless songbirds and the occasional baby blueberry. From one of the views closer to the summit I noticed that you could see onto the south side of the Mt. Tom Ridge, which had some distant views of UMass and Mt. Monadnock! The rest of the overcast clouds cleared up on the return trip and came with a BREEZE, which may have saved my life. I also couldn't help but notice how incredibly dry the trails were, which was surprising after experiencing how wet the weather had been. I made it back in good time, and then FLEW to my friend Amanda's house in Holyoke to get some lunch!

Step-By-Step

- Park at small parking lot near Visitor Center at the end of the un-gated section of Reservation Road.

- Start hike by road walking to Bray Tower.

- From Bray Tower, continue on unblazed trail away from tower. 

- Turn left and cross reservation road.

- Re-enter woods on Quarry Trail.

- At first junction, turn right onto New England Trail.

- Follow New England Trail to Mt. Tom summit.

- Turn around at summit, and hike New England Trail all the way to Reservation Road.

- Turn left onto Reservation Road, walk back to car.

Mt. Tom State Reservation" from Massachusetts Trail Guide, 11th Ed. (2021)

Mt. Tom State Reservation preserves an area of 2,000 acres, including a section of tall traprock cliffs between Easthampton and Holyoke just west of the Connecticut River, commonly known as the Mt. Tom Range. The cliffs sport some of the best views in all of the Connecticut River valley, from the Berkshires in the west to the Pelham Hills in the east and long vistas north and south. In fall, Mt. Tom offers one of the premier raptor watching sites in the valley, with thousands of hawks and other birds of prey soaring past the mountain. Mt. Tom's summit is 1,202 ft.; other peaks of the ridge include Mt. Nonotuck (827 ft.), Goat Peak (822 ft.), Whiting Peak (1,014 ft.), and Dry Knoll (835 ft.). The Mt. Tom Range hosts one of the largest tracts of unbroken forest in the Connecticut River valley and is an oasis of biodiversity. 

    Picnic areas, two observation towers, scenic vistas, fishing on Lake Bray, and ice skating (in season) are some of the additional attractions of Mt. Tom State Reservation. The property includes a universal-access (UA) fishing pier on Lake Bray, a UA hiking trail on the shores of the lake, and nearby UA restrooms. The trail system consists of 20 mi. of blazed and maintained trails. About half of the trails are suitable for cross-country skiing of easy-to-moderate difficulty. Mountain bikes and motorized vehicles are prohibited on all trails. In October 2014, a thunderstorm produced a microburst (downdraft with powerful straight-line winds) that caused extensive damage to the forests near the MA 141 entrance and the upper portion of the auto road. 

    The former Mt. Tom ski area was purchased for conservation, recreation, and environmental education by a group of partners that includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, The Trustees of Reservations, and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke. DCR owns the northern section, adjacent ot the existing Mt. Tom State Reservation. USFWF owns the southern section, including the former ski trails and a small pond; it is managed as part of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. TTOR owns the northern portion of Little Tom Mtn., and the Boys & Girls CLub owns the former base lodge and surrounding area. 

    The partners are cooperating in inventorying and planning for passive recreation. As activities are allowed, information will be available on signs and kiosks at the property or from any of the partners. The road to the base lodge is currently gated; only authorized vehicles are allowed beyond it. Use caution in this area due to an active quarry-on-site, which means large, heavy trucks frequently use the road.

    To reach the Easthampton/MA 141 entrance from the south, take I-91 Exit 17B to MA 141 West. Travel west about 4 mi. on MA 141 to the entrance on the right. From the north, take I-91 Exit 18 to US 5. Travel south on US 5 about 1.5 mi. and turn right onto East St. Follow this road for 3.0 mi., turn left onto MA 141, and continue to the entrance on the left. To reach the Holyoke/US 5 entrance from the south, take I-91 Exit 17A to US 5. Follow US 5 north for 4.0 mi. to the entrance on the left. From the north, take Exit 18 off I-91 to US 5. Follow US 5 south about 4 mi. to the entrance on the right. Information on trails and regulations are at the visitor center near the jct. of Christopher Clark Rd. and Reservation Rd. and at park headquarters near Lake Bray at the south end of Reservation Rd. See Map 5 in this book. 

"[NET] Section 6. MA 141 to US 5/Connecticut River" from Massachusetts Trail Guide, 11th Ed. (2021)

One of the more spectacular sections of the New England Trail, this route follows the high ridge of Mt. Tom's steep talus slopes, including the true summit (1,202 ft.) and Whiting Peak (1,014 ft.). It then passes through the hemlock glens of Mt. Tom State Reservation on its way over Goat Peak and Mt. Nonotuck. From there, the trail descends on an old carriage road that leads to the Eyrie Houe hotel, the remains of which can be seen via a short spur path from the parking area. The sections ends at a gap in the trail at the Connecticut River.

    [...]. It climbs into a ravine with cliffs on the right, passes under power lines, and, after numerous switchbacks, reaches the top of Mt. Tom and the site of the old Mt. Tom Hotel (now occupied by a radio and TV transmission station) at 0.8 mi. Visible along the base of the traprock cliffs is a large area of forest that was blown down by a microburst in October 2014. The NET continues north along the top of the cliffs offering a succession of panoramic views of the countryside to the south, west, and north. 

    At about 1.9 mi., the NET continues straight at two intersections with red-blazed D.O.C. Trail. (The upper branch of D.O.C. Trail leads right 0.2 mi. to the tote road of the former Mt. Tom Ski Area; the lower branch bears left 1.1 mi. to Quarry Trail.) At 2.5 mi., after a steep descent from Whiting Peak, partly on stone steps, the NET passes near the woodsheds and shop area of Mt. Tom State Reservation and the northern terminus of Quarry Trail (yellow blazes). Quarry Trail leads back ot the old Mt. Tom Ski Area at 1.1 mi. The NET continues north through hemlock groves and a picnic area, reaching paved Reservation Rd. at 2.7 mi. [...].

Map of Mt. Tom State Reservation

Photo Album