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from Outside Online DESTINATIONS Weekend Backpacker: Boston
Robert Frost Trail
By David Emblidge
Mountain laurel in bloom. Robert Frost Trail
Amherst, Massachusetts, to Montague, Massachusetts Holyoke Range State Park
Notch Visitor Center, Rte. 116
Amherst, MA
Chances are if you're in Boston, you know somebody going to school or working in the five college area of central Massachusetts, where the Connecticut River splits the state. Also known as the Pioneer Valley, this region makes a great day or weekend trip. Hook up with hiking friends from UMass, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, or Amherst colleges and hit the trail. Don't expect big mountains. Here the walking is over lovely but modest ridges and through miles of pastoral fields and woods. Recommended Trip The Robert Frost Trail meanders from Amherst northwards to Montague (40 miles), passing over Mt. Orient, Pulpit Hill, Long Mountain, Rattlesnake Knob, and Mt. Toby, ending in Wendell State Forest. With numerous road crossings, hikes of any length are feasible. You're never far from the villages, and some sections pass behind suburban developments. Deep wilderness this is not. Several miles are relatively flat. None of several state parks offer camping, but there are commercial operations. One convenient site is White Birch Campground, Whatley, Massachusetts (800-244-4941).
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