We had an absolutely perfect day out on the river. We rented a canoe and Jerry was so helpful and…read morefriendly. 10/10 experience and we would definitely rent again, if we don't end up buying our own canoe!

Billy Goat Boatshas a good selection of rentals for kayaks and paddle boats. I demoed a boat there…read moretoday and found Jerry to be very knowledgeable and helpful. The location is easy to find and the scenery is very nice once you paddle down the river a short distance. I would definitely buy a boat from him when I'm ready and highly recommend him.

We went to Ruggles Pond at Wendell State Forest in Wendell, MA. It's a great, VERY small beach…read more There are lots of hiking trails all around. It has a sandy beach and a grassy area - the beach is sunny, the grassy areas are both sunny & shaded. You can swim and kayak/canoe here. The swimming portion is very small, but our kids loved it nonetheless. NOTE: There isn't really any cell service. Very limited. I could send slightly delayed texts and it took a while to send a photo, but no wifi and I could barely make a call. I have Verizon. There is a fee to enter, but we didn't see where to pay. We used a free pass from our library, anyway. For MA residents, a pass to all the state parks for 2018 is $60, so we might invest in that. There are not real bathrooms, from what we saw. We saw a port-a-potty at the end of the parking lot (in direct sunlight). Better than nothing, though! There aren't any shaded parking spots, but there is lots of parking. The parking and the beach are on the same level, i.e.: no having to walk down to the beach from the car. You can use inflatable devices, life vests, pool noodles, etc. It is non-smoking. I am not sure if animals are allowed or not; I forgot to check. The one negative: We saw both leeches AND snakes. I'll attach a photo of the snake. We saw 4 of the same kind. They never bothered us; they slithered away in the water. However, after another person there got a leech attached to him, we noticed there were actually quite a few leeches, so we pulled the kids out and decided to leave. We figure that maybe with more active use, there will be less leeches & snakes, but who knows!

Beautiful spot. Great for hiking, picnicking and a dip in the pond. The pond was like a hidden gem…read morewith nearby lakes packed with people. The park was huge--we didn't get to explore most of it unfortunately but would love to go back.

This campground is NOT on the Deerfield River as I originally expected. There is a non-wooded…read morecampground with the same name about five minutes away that is located right on the river. That being said... I'm glad that we ended up in this campground. We only stayed here for one night so we could enjoy tubing down the Deerfield River during the day, and have somewhere to cook and sleep at night. This campground was perfect for what we were looking for and was much more quiet than the one I thought I was booking originally. I can't speak for all of the sites, but we booked site 21 and thought it was perfect. It's right on the corner of the access road and directly across from the bathrooms. Due to it being on the corner, it offered some privacy as we only had neighbors on one side who were a bit separated by trees. It was decent sized. We were able to fit two vehicles, two tents, and had enough space to sit around the campfire. The firepit comes with a grate which you can use to grill. Also the bathroom light stays on 24/7 which is helpful when you need to walk there in the middle of the night. The mosquitoes weren't horrendous either. For $17, it was great.

Mohawk Trail State Forest has a great campground with different options for families and couples,…read moreyoung and old, adventurous and more sedate vacationers. We camped there for 6 days this year from a Saturday. The Cold River (not too cold as the name suggests) runs parallel to a good number of campsites on the lower level of the park. We were camped 15ft away from a river which served as a beautiful backdrop that we could hear all day and night as it rolled over they my rocks that created small and medium pools that we swam/sat in. The bathrooms were clean and very close by which is useful with kids. There area by trails to hike or bike right in the campground area. The campground is also within very close driving distance to plenty if water based activities on the Deerfield River. We went on a guided inflatable kayak tour with CrapApple tours which was okay but for the money and freedom it is much better to buy/bring your own boat or inflatable float/tube and just float down the river. It is a gorgeous view and lots of fun. North Adams is a fast 20 minute drive and on a rainy day we took the kids out for ice cream and the scenery up route 2 was beautiful. It's Worth the ride to North Adams which is also home to Mass Museum of Contemporary Art. Mohawk was a great escape and we are already planning on returning next year.

I grew up a half-mile from Paradise Pond. I would walk by it all year, and up the Mill River. From…read morethe age of catching tadpoles to recently when I visited again. I was delightfully startled by the feelings I had, and the beauty that I could only partially capture with my camera. So I wrote a delicious novel about a professional photographer and a Smith math teacher, much of it set in Northampton. I didn't write this review to promote the sale of the book but to underscore the wonderful experience I had there, from early childhood and decades later. The book is called "Paradise Pond."

Our daughter has done this as a week-long day camp (at Bement Summer Camp) twice now. Each year was…read moresimilar but the daily activities changed. Regardless, she LOVES this program! Plenty to challenge older / more experienced kids, but also moving at a pace the younger crowd can keep up with. Last year, her favorites were kayaking and caving. This year, raft-building and caving. She starts each day excited for a new adventure, and comes home worn out and so full of stories. The guides have all been fantastic - knowledgeable about the trails, history, and environmental topics; good at setting expectations about the day's activities and rules; and great with kids of varying abilities. Caving may be the best thing about this program. Our family hikes & paddles regularly, but caving is best done with a guide who's done the cave before and can set expectations realistically. When our daughter comes back from the caving days, her clothes are wet and filthy, she tells stories about impossibly narrow and tight passages, and she grins the whole time. It's such a great experience and has really expanded her enjoyment of our outdoor adventures. My only request is that the guides would give parents a list of where they went, complete with recommended parking and recommended routes - so we can try these things too! Well, except the caving. I'd want a guide for that!

We brought my son's 6th Grade class here for an adventure and no one left disappointed. You could…read moresee quite a few of the class were tentative as they entered the cave but once they got inside all of there faces lit up as they began to explore. Our guides were Anna and Benjamin and both were great with the kids. They told us stories and taught us all some facts about how the caves were formed, what was down there, and how they would look in the future. We explored some of the larger areas of the cave and also some of the tighter passages. It was peaceful, challenging, meditative, and fun. It's also worth noting the care Anna and Benjamin took to make sure that everyone had a pleasurable and safe experience. They were supportive to push us to get a little outside of our comfort zones but were equally supportive and attentive if someone felt they had reached their limit. It's been two days and the class is still talking about the trip. I plan to get as many of the kids and parents together to do this again some time in the near future. I do not have enough words to express the gratitude I feel for this experience.

I missed a turn to my mom's and saw this place and then looked it up online and came back the next…read morenext. Quiet spot in the winter with a few food items and good drip coffee (nothing fancy) and a fire place. Soups and sandwiches were good and gone before I thought to photograph but you've seen a sandwich before. Generally, on a quiet wintery day, this is a lovey place to linger. I imagine it's much busier in the summer with canoe and kayak rentals and the like... and there's way for space outside by the river and a fire pit but, again, it's winter as I'm writing this.... I'll have to do that in an update down the line, the summer bit. But for now.... Let's talk about pie. One chicken pot pie and one apple pie later and I can wholly say that this pie crust was the best I've had in memory. I don't like peas but if you're ordering in advance they'll put whatever you like in your pie (within reason, I'm assuming) and my chicken pot pie had potatoes and carrots and green beans. Delightful. Although, again, I could have just had the crust and been delighted. Also wonderful were rosemary scones and Christmas jam. I cut them in half and heated them in the toaster oven and then s good melty spread of some clotted cream (my own) and the jam and... chef's kiss. I also enjoyed the jam with some salty butter on a croissant for more than one breakfast over the holiday. Anyway the place it loaded with treats to grab and go and if you've got the time in advance, do call ahead and order something scrumptious to take to go.

Best day ever with my ladies. Jeff made the perfect hamburgers and jack of all trades was our…read morepontoon captain. He sailed us the Quabog and gave us a guided tour. Thanks Jeff we'll be back. I bought homemade muffins and what I thought was a coffee cake wad a delicious apple bread yum.

Gorgeous place for a hike! While visiting this area, my buddy and I were looking for a place to…read morehike and I came across this place on the internet. It was close by and looked fun, so we went for a hike there the 4th of July. The sanctuary is well maintained and the trails for easy to find for the most part. Most of the trails are not too challenging, but the North Trail was very steep as it seems you climb down the mountain and then back up it! Not sure what the vertical was on that but going down there was a lot a bit of sitting on rocks and sliding down and climbing back up you needed to use your hands and knees a couple of times. Plus there are a lot of stream crossings, but none too challenging. It was raining when we were there so sometimes the stones were slippery but nobody fell in! If you go to the ledges (see map) first, you get a great view of the valley. If you want to continue on the trail, you need to go down to the stone ledges past the chimney and look north (to your right) and you should see the trail sign down in the woods. We didn't see it when we went there so we went back the other way and circled back around. It took us about two hours to hike around the entire sanctuary. We used the Dutch and Mary Barnard Trail, the Wolves Den Loop Trail and then the North Trail back to the Ledges and then back to the parking area. The main parking area is small...probably only 6-8 cars would fit there. I enjoyed visiting here a lot.

While driving around the area aimlessly (that was the plan), I passed by this reservoir and had to…read morestop because of the breathtaking view. This area which to me is a hidden gem, is hidden in Whately. Parking at the bottom reservoir is a little tough, but there are a few spots at the intersection of Conway and Williamsburg. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my short stroll through the area and I will be back during the fall and winter to hopefully take a few more pictures.