SECTION 1
Mass/CT State Line (Rising Corner) to Mass. Rte. 57 (2.4 miles)
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail starts at the Massachusetts/Connecticut
State line at Rising Corner in Connecticut. An extension of Connecticut's
Metacomet Trail, the M-M Trail in this section crosses an open field, a swamp on
bog bridges and gains the top of the trap rock ridge extending north from
Connecticut's Suffield Mountain to the south. The trail passes through property
owned by the Agawam Bowmen Archery Club on its way to Mass. Rte. 57 near the
Southwick-Agawam town line.
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SECTION 2
Mass. Rte. 57 to Mass. Rte. 187 and the Westfield River (4.3 miles)
This section of the trail runs along the Provin Mountain ridge, mostly
along its western rim. A sky line path through the woods-past TV station WWLP to
the Springfield Underground Reservoir. thence down to the Westfield River in
Robinson State Forest.
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SECTION 3
US Rte. 20 to "Bush Notch", Mass. Pike I-90 (4.9 miles)
The Westfield river cannot be forded except at very low water and only
at the hikers own risk. Through hikers must make the long detour west on Mass.
Rte. 187 to the US Rte. 20 bridge. This section of trail has been relocated away
from what used to be East Mountain (now a quarry). It lies on a level, sandy
plateau and passes near the Pioneer Valley Sportsman's Club before gaining
higher ground in a mixed oak/hemlock forest environment. At times the Lane
Quarry is visible to the west as the trail meanders north to the Mass. Pike.
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SECTION 4
Bush Notch (Mass. Pike I-90) to US Rte. 202 at Hugh McLean Reservoir (4.0 miles)
From Bush Notch northward, the trail climbs to the crest of East Mountain
and follows its ridge. It proceeds in the solitude of seemingly remote
woodlands. Alternately it searches out spectacular viewpoints from the west edge
of the escarpment. An attractive alternate route meanders along old, mossy woods
roads near the lovely shores of the Hugh McLean Reservoir, joining the main
route again just south of US 202.
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SECTION 5
US Rte. 202 (Hugh McLean Reservoir) to Easthampton Road (Mass. Rte. 141 (6.0 miles)
This very scenic section runs along the wooded crest of the northern spur
of East Mountain, from whose abrupt trap rock ledges a succession of fine views
of the valley unfold. It follows old logging roads up the south slope of the
mountain, and similar wood roads north of East Mountain to Mount Tom. A
relocation in 1996 takes you along the east side of the old Westfield-Holyoke
Street car route.
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SECTION 6
Easthampton Road (Mass. Rte. 141) to the Connecticut River at Mount Tom Junction (US Rte. 5) (5.9 miles)
This is one of the more spectacular section of this trail in
Massachusetts. It rides the skyline near the rim of steep talus slides and the
cliffs of Mount Tom and Whiting Peak, then passes through the hemlock glens of
the Mount Tom Reservation center, climbs over Goat Peak, then over Mount
Nonotuck, whose northern slope it descends on an old carriage road that was once
used for the "Eyre House". You can still find the remains of this via a short
side hike to the right next to a small parking area. The view from here is worth
the trip.
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SECTION 7
Holyoke Range, Mass. Rte. 47 to Granby Notch, Mass. Rte. 116 (Notch Visitors Center) (7.1 miles)
The first two miles of this trail from Hockanum to Taylor Notch is one of
the most interesting and rewarding for the hiker due to the succession of broad
horizon views that it affords of the Connecticut River and its fair valley
farmlands. The restored Mount Holyoke Summit House is in the center with its
beautiful picnic grounds, accessible by car. From Taylor Notch to Granby Notch
there are only a few lookout points. This section of the trail is ever rising
and falling over the endless succession of minor hills that make up the range.
Yet it is forested, wild, and quite unspoiled countryside.
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SECTION 8
Mass. Rte. 116, Granby Notch, to Harris Road via Mount Norwottuck and Long Mountain (5.4 miles)
This is a very popular section of trail because of the commanding heights
from Norwottuck and Long Mountains, the overhanging ledges of Mount Norwottuck,
and the so-called 'horse-caves' of Revolutionary days. It is a ridge top trail
in unbroken forested terrain running entirely through typical hardwood forest
and hemlock coves, a region that is a delight to naturalists and nature lovers.
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SECTION 9
Harris Mountain Road via Bay Road to Mass. Rte. 9 at Holland Glen (4.3 miles)
A very pleasant walk over a succession of low, forested hills with
occasional glimpses of the Holyoke Range to the west, the Belchertown ponds to
the east with Bay road as the only break in its atmosphere of wilderness
solitude.
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SECTION 10
Mass. Rte. 9, Holland Glen, to Mount Lincoln (5.0 miles)
An interesting walk over ridge tops and beside dancing streamlets on
footpaths and old town roads long since abandoned, bordered on the West Hill
area by sturdy pioneer stone walls with old cellar holes which mark the site of
an old agrarian community, all now in mixed forest. Holland Glen is a
steep-sided ravine with a crystal dashing stream, shaded by a mature hemlock
stand, forever preserved by the Belchertown Historical Society.
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SECTION 11
Mount Lincoln to North Valley Road in Pelham via Buffam Falls Conservation Area (3.3 miles)
A delightful walk at any season for its sylvan beauty. The trail here
descends the northwest slope of Mount Lincoln beside a small, fast falling brook
in a narrow hemlock glen, passes through pine and hemlock mixed forest near
Amherst's Hill reservoir and thence downstream beside Harris Brook. From the
confluence of Harris and Buffum Brooks the trail continues under a canopy of
hemlocks and pines, upstream beside a succession of water falls to a footbridge
over Buffum brook beside North Valley Road in Pelham.
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SECTION 12
North Valley Road to Atkins Reservoir, Market Hill Road (4.6 miles)
Travelling on North Valley Road to the left (S) for 0.2 miles, the trail
follows powerlines a short distance and then the trail joins the orange blazed
Robert Frost Trail and climbs over the bare ledges of Mount Orient, then runs
the length of this ridge through oak and white birch woods, eventually
descending to a gravel road crossing over the Big Heatherstone Brook. From this
point is swings south over the shoulder of Poverty Mountain, and following a
pleasant old wood road down the western slope, it emerges in the beautiful
mature pine hemlock woods of the old Adams Homestead, more recently owned by the
late Walter Banfield, the founder of the M-M Trail, on Pratt Corner Road. The
trail continues to Atkins Reservoir in Shutesbury on the same route as the
orange blazed Robert Frost Trail.
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SECTION 13
Atkins Reservoir, Market Hill Rd. to Shutesbury-Leverett Road (3.5 miles)
In forested country, mostly on old wood roads, the trail here climbs over
the January Hills through oak and white birch, often with an abundant understory
of white pine saplings, to emerge on Roaring Brook on Shutesbury-Leverett Rd.
This section repeatedly intersects and, in part, continues under powerlines and
an underground telephone cable line, with panoramic views from the hilltops.
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SECTION 14
Shutesbury-Leverett Rd., via Brushy Mountain to North Leverett Rd. (4.7 miles)
This section is interesting from two viewpoints: (1) its beauty - the
wilderness character of the terrain, of a winding trail (actually an old town
road, as its enduring stone culverts make clear) up hill and down dale, through
hardwood forest, white birch country and pure stands of hemlock beside its
streams; and (2) its historic character-for here are the remains, in miles of
sturdy stone walls and many cellar holes, that speak of a early pastoral
community that dwelled here when the native Native Americans still controlled the
Connecticut River and its broad valley. From the Leverett-Shutesbury Road the
trail follows west and north on a old town road (discontinued) near Brushy
Mountain to Rattlesnake Gutter Road.
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SECTION 15
North Leverett-Lake Wyola Road via Ruggles Pond (Wendell) S.F. to Farley on the Millers River, Mass. Rte. 2 (9.8 miles)
This section on a recent relocation starts up a power line and over
Diamond Match Ridge with laurel and low bush blueberries and skirts Catamount
Swamp on the east side. It follows old woods roads and then picks up the South
end of Hemminway Road and thence to Montague Road. After crossing Montague Rd. it
bears left toward Ruggles Pond and intersects with the Ruggles Pond Trail.
Mostly within Wendell State Forest and on the south slope of the Millers River
Valley it descends down Lyons Brook and Mormon Hollow Brook to the village of
Farley in the Millers River Valley.
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SECTION 16
Mass. Rte. 2, Farley, to Gulf Road, Northfield via the Heights overlooking the Millers River and Crag Mountain. (7.9 miles)
The trail climbs steeply from Farley, in the shadow of the high cliffs of
Rattlesnake Mountain, then follows the hemlock ravine of Briggs Brook. From here
it proceeds northeast on the ridge and ledges of Hermit Mountain, passing the
blue blazed side trail to Hermit Castle high above the Millers River, then
abruptly turns north through the Erving State Forest to the bare ledges of Crag
Mountain in the Northfield countryside. This is one of the more interesting
sections of the trail in Massachusetts.
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SECTION 17
Gulf road, Northfield to Mount Grace Summit (6.8 miles)
Passing across the tops of the Northfield Bald Hills which are covered
with hardwoods and some mixed forest, the trail descends to a wood road
extension of Warwick's White Road, then continues east on a recent relocation
away from and north of White Road to the southern end of Mount Grace, thence
climbs on the "Old Snowshoe Trail" to the fire tower at the top of Mount Grace.
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SECTION 18
Mount Grace to Mass. Rte 32, via Whipple Hill and White Hill (8.5 miles)
From the mountain top, the trail descends to MA 78 along the "old
Winchester Trail". After another mile eastward, the trail passes just above the
attractive Highland Falls and enters a stretch of unbroken woodland and, after
climbing up and down over an interesting series of step-like ridges, reaches a
high point just south of the Mass.-N.H. state line. From here the trail proceeds
roughly parallel to the state line to the end of this section. Mainly the track
follows old roads through once settled farmland, across rolling, wooded hills,
and a steep sided, narrow valley with Grand Monadnock beckoning in the distance.
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SECTION 19
Mass. Rte. 32 to N.H. Rte. 119 (4.8 miles)
The trail leaves Massachusetts in this section. The hiker is rewarded
with a splendid trail route adjacent to Falls Brook before entering New
Hampshire south of Greenwoods Road. From Greenwoods Road this first section of
the trail in N.H. runs east of Wheeler Pond for a mile northward through
pathless woods. A junction is then made with an abandoned town road which
proceeds downhill to the present end of a maintained road 1/2 mile from N.H.
Rte. 119. This section and the next section north from N.H. Rte. 119 lie in the
town of Richmond. Like many other New Hampshire towns, Richmond reached its peak
of growth between 1820 and 1850 with a maximum population of 1400. After 1850,
as the richer farmlands of the West lured away the settlers, its population
rapidly declined to less than 700 by 1880. The farms that once filled the
landscape were gradually abandoned. Now most of the town is wooded. This is not
the original forest found by the early settlers, as the larger trees are
continually being harvested leaving little growth that is over 40 years old.
Along the roads in these sections of the trail, the hiker passes cellar holes
and stone walls, reminders of the industry of the early farmers. Signs and
sighting of white-tailed deer are common, and the grassy, ground nests of the
Veery thrush are present at open spots.
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SECTION 20
N.H. Rte. 119, over Little Monadnock Mountain, to Troy, N.H. and N.H. Rte. 12 (7.5 miles)
With the crossing of N.H. Rte. 119, the M-M
Trail enters upon one of its longest, most remote stretches from
N.H. Rte. 119 to the outskirts of Troy, N.H. In this northern section
where few houses are passed, it is generally level with a few gradual
ascents and descents. From its start the trail goes first northward
on old roads, then eastward down into, across, and then up and out
of the broad and somewhat swampy valley where Tully Brook begins.
At this point the trail resumes its passage over the high, open
hills with commanding views of the countryside and Grand Monadnock
which appeal so greatly to the hiking community. The superb views
of this incomparable mountain, first from the northern crest of
Little Monadnock Mountain and then later from Gap Mountain in Section
21 are without peer in southern New England. They will live with
you in that inward eye of memory down the years. Here at last is
the goal, viewed from the most strategic and varied angles prior
to the ascent. This section of the M-M trail also passes through
the southwest corner of Fitzwilliam,
NH.
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SECTION 21
Troy, N.H. and N.H. Rte. 12, over Gap Mountain to the foot of Grand Monadnock at N.H. Rte. 124 (4.7 miles)
The trail follows NH Route 12 and then Quarry Road south and east from
Troy Village. Leaving Quarry Road, it climbs to the summit of Fern Hill, dips
down to cross a tributary of Quarry Brook and then ascends Gap Mountain. From
its summit, the trail continues along the northern ridge with Grand Monadnock
continually in view. The trail then descends steeply on the eastern side of Gap
Mountain again crossing a number of tributaries of Quarry Brook to reach N.H.
Rte. 124 at the base of Grand Monadnock.
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SECTION 22
The foot of Grand Monadnock (N.H. Rte. 124) to the summit of Grand Monadnock (2.3 miles)
The ascent of Mount Monadnock begins almost immediately, following the
Royce Trail and White Arrow Trail to the southeast of Fassett Brook and an
abandoned picnic grove, the M-M Trail uses the White Arrow Trail which it
follows to the summit of Grand Monadnock, the northern terminus of the
Metacomet-Monadnock Trail.
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