This is a great peaceful walk through a canyon that boasts wall formations 70 feet high…read more The hike is short, only half a mile, but you can continue walking straight into a state forest to make it a 7 mile walk if you'd like to. In the state forest, the trustee website states that you may see bears, bobcats and turkeys. Hopefully not! There are several erratic boulders making it a fun and prehistoric site to see. If you have time, you can stop by nearby Glendale Falls in Middlefield for a wonderful waterfall spectacle. This was a very beautiful and peaceful stop.

Visited the Gorge and found the premises inviting and full of natural beauty. Parking is available…read morefor at a cost. There are options available with some exploration. The trails are well maintained and safe for walkers, runners and bikers alike. Plenty to explore around the area.

Beautiful trails and an amazing view from the top. We arrived around 11AM on a fall Saturday and…read morethere were only a few spots left in the parking area. There is a $6 fee for parking, and the machine takes credit cards. We hiked up to the summit on the Blue trail which connected to the red trail. Trails were clearly marked and not too difficult. We even found a few geocaches along the way. Be sure to take the short spur trail to Devil's Pulpit for a spectacular view. Even though the parking lot was nearly full, there are enough trails to that we never felt crowded. It took us about 2 hours total for our climb up and down the mountain, with some time spent enjoying the view from the summit.

Finally came here after having it bookmarked for years. Medium lot fills up quick. Paid parking. 9…read morebucks. There was a DCR worker there helping people figure out which trail was better for them. He was very polite. There are 2 trails to get to the top. You can take the steep shorter trail or a longer trail that wasn't as steep. I opted for the steep one. Definitely a good little hike. I was out of breath. The top has a phenomenal view. Absolutely breathtaking. Definitely a place you need to put on your list of things to do.

Nice trail to go on with other trails along it if you wanted something longer. It was a simple…read moretrail that's was easy to follow with the marks and enjoyable with friends.

Absolutely beautiful here. Nice and quiet. My only issue is I was charged $20 instead of $5 and I'm…read morea Mass resident.

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.

Not sure how I even heard of this place. But I did. So here I went. As far as state parks go, this…read moreone is pretty small. Only 48 acres. But a lot to see in those 48 acres. Takes about an hour to see every thing. When you are first driving in, you see the marble amphitheater. A grassy circle with tall marble walls surrounding it. Apparently there is an "art installation" here. Classical music plated at astronomical sundown every evening. HOWEVER the park closes at 4:45. So - if there are no visitors to hear it, do the rocks make a sound??? It looked like it would have been a gorgeous spot to sit with a bottle of wine, a loved one, and some tapas, enjoy sunset and some Classic Rock music. BUT the park is closed. When you reach the parking lot, there is a short trail that leads you to the white marble dam. A sign tells you that this is the only WHITE marble dam in the USA. Which leads me to believe there are other marble dams, just not white ones? It was pretty and peaceful. Further down the trail you come to the Natural Bridge. The parks namesake. And this was pretty disappointing. Maybe since I go out west every year and I've seen all the huge sandstone arches and bridges, I saw this bridge and it looked more like a teeny tiny slot tunnel. I guess it's a natural bridge in the Webster dictionary sense. But this was supposed to be the highlight. My advice to DVR - change the park name to be White Marble Dam State Park. Not as many disappointed customers.

After visiting Mass MOCA spend an hour down the road at this park - you will not be disappointed!!…read moreNatural Bridge State Park gets its name from its natural white arch made of 550-million-year-old bedrock marble that was carved by a glacial melt some 13,000 years ago. The bridge spans Hudson Brook as it runs through a 60-foot gorge, which DCR calls "one of the best demonstrations of glacial erosion in New England." The park contains North America's only white marble dam, built in 1838. It was first used to supply water to an industrial quarry mill that operated from 1810 to 1947. In 2022 the state closed an unsafe portion of the viewing platform that goes over the chasm along with other unsafe areas of the park. The park department is planning improvements including improved parking and visitor center arrival areas, expanded universal access, and a "reimagined chasm viewing experience" with new accessible overlooks of the dam, brook, and natural bridge. It really is a remarkable natural park and deserves attention so that people can come and enjoy all its beauty. Giving it four stars for its spectacular wonder and for the visitor center that has interesting information about the glacial formations.

Easy walking, circular trail through hemlock groves that stays fairly traversable even after…read moretorrential rains. You might ruin your jellies, though - high drainage does not mean mud-free. We caught some sunbathing newts and untouched fungi through beautifully broken sunlight. If photography is your game, burn a roll here in the late afternoon. Bridges are in excellent shape, and the ultimate endpoint is a nicely built deck looking over a waterfall, which is probably too much of a moniker. An elevated stream pummeling rocks on its 30 foot drop is more apt - the sound is there, no fury. Our toddler walked the 1.5 mile trail with little assistance, and he dug the sites, so if moderate, easy views with only minor pitch shifts, then this well marked trail is a great way to spend an hour amongst the natural things.

The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, is an absolute gem. Its located on a…read moreformer trolley bridge. It is easily accessible with nearby free parking, wonderfully kept up by dedicated volunteers, and filled with breathtaking, ever-changing floral displays. It's right in the heart of a charming town with quaint little shops

"There was a shopping mall Now, it's all covered with…read moreflowers" (Talking Heads) Our May 10th visit to the Bridge of Flowers was marked by two things -one thing we saw and one thing that we didn't see. What we saw were gates locked on both sides of the 400-foot-long bridge to prevent foot traffic. What we didn't see were any flowers on the Bridge of Flowers! We learned that when the Bridge was opened in the Spring, something was wrong with the soil in the flower beds that line the bridge. I heard that the vendor that delivered the soil delivered the wrong thing, so the planted flowers weren't exactly flourishing. Everything (over 500 varieties of annuals and perennials) had to be dug out, all of the plants went to temporary" foster homes" in the community, and the bad soil was removed and replaced with the correct type of soil. Everything should be back to normal very soon, so we'll have to make a second visit to the Bridge of Flowers to actually see the flowers.

Love walking on this trail! It's very peaceful and calm, just make sure to stay to the side when…read morebikers are passing. Lots of people tend to walk on this path and the path extends pretty far which is nice.

This was a great day and a fun trail. Not too crowded on the day that I went. People are pretty…read morerespectful to stay in their lanes and not wandering all over. Electric bikes, and some gas powered scooters were on the trail exceeding safe limits. This is the only issue I had with the trail. 11 1/2 miles each way. I started at the Belchertown trailhead. Approximately 30 spots for parking and maybe a few along the street. There's also random parking along the trail and some of the smaller towns. There is a cute stop along the trail for refreshments/food. That's about the 4 mile mark.