Get Outdoors This Winter!

Charlemont, MA, info@berkshireeast.com, 413-339-6617, website

With 47 trails on more than 180 acres, Berkshire East is on the map as southern New England’s winter adventure destination. The resort offers downhill skiing, snowboarding, and a snow tube park, along with updated facilities and full equipment rental. New to skiing? Take a beginner lesson. Or up your game and sign up for the Mountain Master Camp, a fun, intensive coaching program designed to elevate your skills and take your skiing to the next level in a small group setting. Be sure to check current conditions before heading out.

Come in from the slopes and warm up at the onsite Crazy Horse Bar and Grill offering a full bar, beers on tap, a great wine selection and a satisfying menu, plus cozy tables by the fire. Extend your stay at the resort’s Warfield House Inn, a former New England family farm on a breathtaking 530 acres overlooking the scenic Mohawk Trail and Deerfield River.

Here’s an interesting fact: The Berkshire East resort has onsite renewable energy powering 100 percent of its state-of-the-art snowmaking, making it the only ski area in the world to produce all of its own electricity.

With all of these amenities so close by, skip the crowds and the long drive to other resorts and spend more time out on the slopes at Berkshire East!

99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA, 800-859-2960, website

Open Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Open on Monday holidays.

This full-service facility in Northfield offers regularly groomed trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing as well as equipment rental and lessons. If you time it right, you can catch some of the year-round naturalist programs like full-moon snowshoe outings and winter wildlife tracking. Check the event schedule on thier website.

Cross-Country Skiing
Northfield Mountain has more than 25 miles of trails designed specifically for cross-country skiing and groomed for both classical and free-style skiing. It offers some of the finest Nordic skiing in the region, from beginner trails to the demanding 800-foot vertical climb of Tenth Mountain Trail.

Snowshoeing
More than six miles of trails are reserved exclusively for snowshoeing. The trails meander through scenic sections of the mountain, with great views from Rose Ledges. Free snowshoe trail tickets must be picked up at the ski shop before heading out. Snowshoe rentals are available.

Before heading out, call the 24-hour Snow Phone for the most current conditions: 800- 859-2960 or check out the Trails Report on Facebook. The trail system is closed to all users on Mondays and Tuesdays, except holiday openings. Equipment rental is available as well as combination packages that include rentals, trail fees and lessons. For those with very young children, pulls may be rented for $5 per hour.

Erving State Forest, Erving, MA
This dramatic and undeveloped landscape covering 4,479 acres offers cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, hiking and snowshoeing.

Mt. Grace State Forest, Warwick, MA
This site encompasses 1,689 acres including Massachusetts’ third highest peak with access for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking.

Wendell State Forest,  Wendell, MA, 413-659-3797
This is one of the few state parks with groomed trails and limited equipment available. Featuring 7,900 acres including groomed cross-country ski trails, snowmobiling, hiking, snowshoeing and ice skating. Seated skiing and ice-skating equipment is available for use in the winter.

Mohawk Trail State Forest, Charlemont, MA
Spanning 6,457 acres in the towns of Charlemont, Savoy, Florida and Hawley, Mohawk Trail State Forest is one of the most scenic woodland areas in Massachusetts featuring mountain ridges, gorges, woods and a variety of plant and animal life. You can cross-country ski, hike, and snowshoe up to some of the most amazing tall, aged, old growth trees in the state! Year round cabins are available.

Monroe State Forest, Monroe, MA,  413-339-5504
A rugged landscape of valleys and mountains, this 4,321-acre forest in southern and central Monroe and Florida offers a scenic lookout platform at the side of Hunt Hill with several miles of trails for cross-country skiing, hiking and snowmobiling. You are likely to come across cellar holes and stone walls from when the forest was farm land in the 19th century.

Just get out of your car and look up. One of the most thrilling of winter experiences is ice climbing. As one climber described, “It is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”

As the adventure capital of the region, Charlemont has one of the most dependable ice climbing spots with roadside ice as high as 40 feet at what is known to climbers as the Zoar Road Cut, a mile and a half up Zoar Road and the Deerfield River from Route 2 west of Charlemont Center. The more snow there is, the better the ice. Another dependable ice spot is at Farley Ledge in Erving . This ledge looms over Route 2 about four miles east of the Connecticut River. Being south facing, the best ice is in the shade of hemlocks on the upper left side.

More about ice climbing can be found at neice.com.

If the weather cooperates and the outdoor ice is safe, glide along some of the ponds at state parks like Wendell State Forest. Manmade ice might be available outside at Beacon Field and Green River Park in Greenfield.  Northfield Golf Club allows public skating on their pond in the winter. If you’re going out on a pond or lake, put safety first and never go out on the ice alone. As the winter heads into spring, use extreme caution as the condition of older ice varies and can change quickly. If you prefer to skate indoors, try the Collins/Moylan Arena  at 41 Barr Ave. in Greenfield. Public skating is $5; skate rental is $5. The public ice-skating facility is overseen by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and has a full-service pro shop. For more information, call 413-772-6891.

Mass Audubon offers tips on winter wildlife tracking including looking for patterns and focusing on details. If you find a clear track, you can observe it to determine what kind of animal made it: Measure the width, count the number of toes, look for toenail impressions and search for hair left behind in the track. You can also use the depth of the track to estimate the size and weight of an animal. The High Ledges is a wildlife sanctuary in Shelburne where tracking programs are offered. The Massachusetts Audubon Society owns the 587-acre property, located on the northern portion of Massaemett Mountain.  Tracking at High Ledges, sponsored by Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries, enables visitors to search for animal tracks. The woods, fields and wetlands are home to a variety of animals, including moose, black bear, fisher and wild turkey, as well as to numerous types of small mammals.  For more information, email Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary at arcadia@massaudubon.org.  The Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls also offers wildlife education programming including occasional tracking workshops.

Happening annually each year the first weekend of February all over Greenfield, the Winter Carnival celebrates winter with ice sculpture contests, fireworks, parade of lights, glow party, Family Fun Fest, Donuts with Olaf, jigsaw puzzle contest, cribbage tournament, cardboard sled race, K9 keg pull, chili cook-off, vintage snowmobiles, sledding, ice skating, and so much more!

And when you’re done with the winter activities…

Refuel at a local dining spot  or make it a weekend at an inn or B & B.

Check out these Eight Franklin County views worth the visit