HIKING: Stairway to Heaven

The highlands in the southwestern corner of Massachusetts offer some of the region’s most enchanting hiking trails, a mountain playground accessed conveniently via the Race Brook Falls Trail in Sheffield. Unlike many hikes in this corner of the Berkshires, the journey does not start with the roundabout trip to Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The Race Brook Falls trailhead is located right on Route 41 in Sheffield. Convenience, however, should not be mistaken for ease: the Race Brook Falls Trail is more like a stairway to paradise than a meandering sidewalk through the woods.

But oh, what a paradise! Long views from the ledgy Race Mountain or eminent Mount Everett are the most immediate payoff—and well worth a three- to four-hour outing. Ultra-hikers or backpackers can easily make this trail the jumping-off point for a grand tour of the Mount Washington highlands and its many highlights: Jug End, Alander Mountain, Bash Bish Falls, Sages Ravine, and Brace Mountain, to name a few.

That these mountains are surrounded by one of the most notable unfragmented forests in southern New England is thanks in no small part to a combination of its remoteness and the efforts of public and private conservationists, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Trustees of Reservations, the Nature Conservancy, and Berkshire Natural Resources Council.

Race Brook Falls Trail ascends the eastern headwall of Race Mountain, crossing and following Race Brook. There’s no mistaking this for a bona fide waterfall hike: the brook is companion, not destination. And speaking of companions, this vast landscape is habitat to charismatic species such as black bear, fisher, and bobcat, as well as a multitude of migratory birds.

From the trailhead, it’s two miles and at least one hour to the Appalachian Trail junction. The most pleasant walking comes after gaining the crest of the falls after about sixty to ninety minutes, depending upon your pace. Overnighters may camp at the Race Brook Falls site, or at the Sages Ravine or Bear Rock Falls sites to the south.

Once at the AT, peak baggers may want to turn north to climb Mount Everett; mellower souls will head south to the fine summit of Race Mountain. [AUGUST 2009]

Tad Ames is president of Berkshire Natural Resources Council.

THE GOODS

Race Brook Falls Trail
South Taconic Range Map
www.bnrc.net