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The Hop Brook Valley (also known as the Tyringham Valley) is a valley in southeastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The valley lies predominantly in the town of Tyringham, Massachusetts, although a good portion of it is located in the neighboring town of Lee. Because of its rural location, scenic views, and variety of hiking trails, it is considered as a destination for travellers of the region.
The valley floor at an elevation of about 800 feet (240 m) above sea level. With the mountains (part of the Berkshire Hills) surrounding it rising to elevations between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m) in elevation. In the center of The Hop Brook Valley lies Hop Brook, a small stream that feeds into the Housatonic River where the Hop Brook Valley meets the Housatonic River Valley. Jerusalem Road traverses along the escarpment on the south side of the valley. Some notable peaks rising above this side of the valley include side include Sky Hill, Beartown Mountain, and Mount Wilcox. All of these mountains are part of the Beartown State Forest, which lies just to the south of the valley. To the north of the valley, lies the peak of Mount Baldy, as well as several other mountains in the area that form a plateau extending northward beyond the valley to Route 90. On this plateau lies Goose Pond, the most elevated body of freshwater in the state. Below this plateau, Main Road, which turns into Tyringham Road when it enters the town of Tyringham, Massachusetts runs parallel to Jerusalem Road, but on the north side of the valley. The small and quaint downtown area of Tyringham, Massachusetts is situated where this road merges with Jerusalem Road at the southeast end of the valley (Jerusalem turns northwards here). Just south of this intersection, in the center of the valley, lies the Tyringham Cobble one of the most notably shaped and prominent physical features of the area. The valley is a popular hiking destination because it is crossed (north to south) by the Appalachian Trail.
Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 961 at the 2010 census.
Tyringham is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 327 at the 2010 census.
Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,943 at the 2010 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is part of the Berkshires resort area.
The Berkshires are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that extend south into western Massachusetts; the portion extending further south into northwestern Connecticut is grouped with the Connecticut portion of the Taconic Mountains and referred to as either the Northwest Hills or Litchfield Hills.
Mount Frissell, 2,454 feet (748 m), which straddles the border of southwest Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut, is a prominent peak of the Taconic Range.
Bash Bish Falls, a waterfall in Bash Bish Falls State Park in the Taconic Mountains of southwestern Massachusetts, US, is the highest waterfall in the state. The falls are made up of a series of cascades, nearly 200 feet (61 m) in total, with the final cascade being split into twin falls by a jutting rock, dropping in an 80-foot (24 m) "V" over boulders to a serene pool below.
Beartown State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features located in the towns of Great Barrington, Monterey, Lee, and Tyringham, Massachusetts. The state forest's more than 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) include 198 acres (80 ha) of recreational parkland. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail spans fourteen U.S. states during its roughly 2,200 miles (3,500 km)-long journey: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The southern end is at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and it follows the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running almost continuously through wilderness before reaching the northern end at Mount Katahdin, Maine.
Gridley Mountain, 2,211 feet (674 m), is the third highest elevation in the state of Connecticut. The mountain, part of the Taconic Range, has no official trail and is located on private property. The Mount Washington Road passes the mountain from the west.
Tyringham Cobble is a 206-acre (83 ha) open space reservation located in Tyringham, Massachusetts on 411 m (1,348 ft) Cobble Hill in The Berkshires. It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization, and is notable for its scenic views over the rural landscape of Tyringham Valley from rocky ledges and open fields. The reservation consists of the hill and surrounding agricultural and pasture land. In 2008, part of the 2,175 mile (3,500 km) Appalachian Trail was routed over the summit ledges.
Mount Everett at 2,608 ft - or 793.1 m - is the highest peak in the south Taconic Mountains of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. The mountain is known for its expansive views of the southern Taconics and Berkshires; for its old growth pitch pine and scrub oak; for the Appalachian Trail's north-south traverse of its shoulders and summit grounds, and for its rare plant and animal communities. The mountain is named after a 19th-century governor of Massachusetts, Edward Everett. The name was proposed in 1841 by Edward Hitchcock, geologist to the state, in his "Final Report on the Geology of Massachusetts." Hitchcock wrote that at the time of his proposal, the mountain was known as Bald Mountain or Ball Mountain. Some old maps at the Sheffield Historical Society also label the mountain as "The Dome".
Brace Mountain is the peak of a ridge in the southern Taconic Mountains, near the tripoint of the U.S. states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Its 2,311-foot (704 m) main summit is located in New York; it is the highest point in that state's Dutchess County.
Alander Mountain, 2,239 feet (682 m), is a prominent peak of the south Taconic Mountains; it is located in southwest Massachusetts and adjacent New York. Part of the summit is grassy and open and part is covered with scrub oak and shrubs; the sides of the mountain are wooded with northern hardwood tree species. Views from the top include the southern Taconic Mountains, the Hudson River Valley including the Catskills. Several trails traverse Alander Mountain, most notably the 15.7 mi (25.3 km) South Taconic Trail, which passes just beneath the summit.
Mount Race, 2,365 feet (721 m), is a prominent peak in the south Taconic Mountains of Massachusetts. The mountain is known for its waterfalls, steep, eastern ridgeline cliff face and expansive views of the Housatonic River valley and Berkshires to the east and of fellow Taconics to the south, west and north and Catskills and Hudson River valley to the west, for the traverse of the said cliffline and the summit grounds by the Appalachian Trail and for its old growth pitch pine and scrub oak summit ecosystem.
Tekoa Mountain, 1,121 feet (342 m), is a dramatic, rocky high point overlooking the Westfield River Gorge at the eastern edge of the Berkshire plateau in the towns of Montgomery and Russell, Massachusetts, USA. Tekoa Mountain, very prominent from the "Jacob's Ladder" section of U.S. Route 20 in the town of Russell, is not a true mountain but a cleaver jutting from a dissected plateau; it was produced by glacial action and through continuous erosion by the Westfield River and Moose Meadow Brook before and after the last ice age.
Tower Mountain, 2,193 feet (668 m), is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is traversed by the 35 mi (56 km) Taconic Crest hiking trail and the 12.1 mi (19.5 km) multi-use Taconic Skyline Trail. The summit is partially open with views to the west; the slopes are wooded with northern hardwood tree species.
Berry Mountain, east peak 2,203 feet (671 m) and west peak 2,188 feet (667 m), is a prominent mountain in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest. The west peak is traversed by the 35 mi (56 km) Taconic Crest hiking trail and the east peak is traversed by the 12.1 mi (19.5 km) multi-use Taconic Skyline Trail. The summits are mostly wooded with northern hardwood forest species, but also support a 65-acre (260,000 m2) field of wild azaleas. A microwave tower stands on the east peak. A park loop automobile road and a campground, maintained for summer use, are located just to the north of the summits. Berry Pond, 2,150 feet (660 m), presumed the highest natural pond in the state of Massachusetts, is located on the ridge between Berry Mountain and Berry Hill to the north.
Yokun Ridge is a ridge in the Taconic Mountains in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, consisting of a well-defined series of contiguous peaks including West Stockbridge Mountain and Lenox Mountain. The name "Yokun Ridge" was invented for the area in 1971 by a land conservation and environmental advocacy organization called the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, and was accepted in 2009 by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Yokun Ridge is 9 miles (14 km) long and contains a conservation planning area called the Stockbridge-Yokun Ridge Reserve designated in 1993 by the U.S. Forest Service under its Forest Legacy Program. The ridge is notable for outdoor recreation and scenic beauty, as well as its conserved land and proximity to the tourist destinations of Lenox and Stockbridge. Yokun Ridge is located within West Stockbridge, Stockbridge, Lenox, Richmond, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Approximately one-third of the ridge is protected as open space reserve, municipal watershed, and wildlife sanctuary.
The Lillinonah Trail is a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County and, today, is entirely in Newtown. Most of the trail is in the upper block of Paugussett State Forest.
The Housatonic Range Trail is a 6.2-mile (10.0 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in the Housatonic Valley Region of Litchfield County in the town of New Milford in the Candlewood Mountain and Gaylordsville Connecticut sections. The north-south axis of the trail parallels the Housatonic River through private land and land trust parcels. The Housatonic Range Trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, which provides online Blue Trail maps.