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What to See & Do in Great Barrington MA |
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| Great Barrington and South Egremont are the antique collectors' towns par excellence. Browsing old stuff in the shops is the daily passion, but several excursions to nature spots provide an antidote to buying-and-selling. | ||
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Monument Mountain There are two trails to the summit, one easier but slightly longer than the other. The hike to the top, a rest, and back down will take between 2 and 3 hours. The view from the summit is very fine. Bartholomew's Cobble A "cobble" in this case is a high knoll of limestone, marble, or quartzite, 500 million years old, and covered with a rich and varied collection of native flora: trees, ferns, mosses, wildflowers. The nature reservation, open year round, is owned by the Trustees of Reservations (tel 413-229-8600), and has 6 miles (10 km) of hiking trails. A naturalist is on duty from mid-April to mid-October, daily except Monday and Tuesday from 9 am to 5 pm, to answer your questions and point out natural highlights. Bash Bish Falls Follow MA 41 south out of town, and turn right onto Mount Washington Road (look for signs for Catamount ski area). Follow signs to Bash Bish Falls, taking East Street, then West Street, and finally Bash Bish Falls Road, deep in the Mount Washington State Forest. You'll plunge into the valley carved by the Bash Bish Creek, and finally come to a parking area from which a steep trail leads to the falls. Stay on the road a bit farther and you'll come to another parking place, and an easier—but longer—trail. Stay on the road any longer and you'll end up in New York state. At the end of the trails, deep in the forest, is the 50-foot (15-meter) Bash Bish Falls, cascading into a chilly pool. A half hour's relaxation here on a hot summer's day is pretty close to Nirvana. |
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Climb Monument Mountain as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville did.
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