With its panoramic views of the Connecticut River and surrounding farm fields, rolling hills, and distant mountains, the summit of Mount Holyoke offers an outsized reward for a fairly easy hike. Underfoot are distinctive dark red outcroppings of traprock (also known as basalt) formed by the intense heat of ancient volcanoes. And at 940 feet sits a historic summit house with decks that offer long views in all directions. Mount Holyoke is the first of several summits I will visit today during a full traverse of the Holyoke Range, a rugged ridge that rises dramatically out of the Connecticut Valley.
The summit house was once a popular hotel visited by figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Charles Dickens during the 19th century. It now features historical displays and exhibits that can be viewed on weekends from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. This summit is just one of many natural and cultural attractions along the newly designated New England National Scenic Trail (NENST), a route that will eventually stretch more than 200 miles from the tidal marshes of Long Island Sound at Connecticut’s southern border through the waterfalls and rolling hills of central Massachusetts to the New Hampshire state line. When the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was signed into law on March 30 the NENST, along with two other new designees, joined a prestigious group of eight previously recognized national scenic trails. Those include such fabled long-distance hiking routes as the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails.
See a map and slideshow of John Burk's photographs of the NENST>>
The NENST combines three of the region’s long-distance trails: the Mattabesett, which arcs for 53 miles from the Connecticut River near Middletown, Conn., to Berlin, Conn.; the Metacomet, which runs north from the Hanging Hills near Meriden, Conn., to the Massachusetts line; and the Massachusetts portion of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, which follows the traprock ledges of the Connecticut Valley before bearing northeast to the state’s central uplands. These routes are collectively known as the MMM Trail System and form an important undeveloped corridor through a region with nearly 2 million residents. An additional 20 miles of trail extend into New Hampshire, terminating at the summit of Mount Monadnock. This is not part of the NENST, but it could be included later should New Hampshire decide to opt in.
At the southern end of the trail, a proposed extension will expand the route by 20 miles to tidal marshes at Long Island Sound, further increasing the trail’s habitat diversity. Some other sections of the trail will be rerouted, most notably in Massachusetts between Mount Lincoln in Pelham and Shutesbury.
For much of its length, the trail winds along the Metacomet Range, a series of ridges that extends roughly 100 miles from New Haven to Greenfield, Mass. These traprock mountains and hills, which include Chauncey Peak and Lamentation Mountain in Connecticut and Mounts Tom and Holyoke in Massachusetts, are evidence of volcanic eruptions that occurred some 200 million years ago. Today they are home to many uncommon species and ecological communities, as well as preserved dinosaur footprints and fossils of ancient fish. From the eastern edge of the Holyoke Range, the trail winds through the hills and valleys of north-central Massachusetts, passing the ponds and brooks of the expansive Wendell State Forest, ledges with spectacular views of the Millers River Valley in Erving, multistate views from the summits of Brush Mountain and Mount Grace, and a dramatic gorge and waterfall at Royalston Falls. This region is home to some of the state’s largest contiguous conservation areas, which provide habitat for wildlife such as moose, black bears, bald eagles, and common loons.
New England National Scenic Trail. Photo by John Burk.
