Mongue Road Parking Area

Mongue Road, Peru, MA

About Mongue Road Parking Area

The Mongue Road Parking Area provides access to the southern section of the Peru Wildlife Management Area, a 5,000-acre forest excellent for hunting/fishing, wildlife viewing, and primatively exploring the woods of the Berkshires. This parking area is noteworthy for providing access to Fuller Brook just a few hundred feet south, where anglers can reel in native and stocked trout. Trout Brook is roughly a mile north, providing additional fishing areas. This parking area may also be the best place in the WMA for wildlife viewing, birding, snowshoeing, and hiking, as Mongue Road is a non-trafficked woodland path that bisects the southern section of the WMA. Visitors should note, however, that Mongue Road is unmaintained and has many overgrown, muddy sections.

Ideal hunting access is available from Mongue Road, as visitors are immediately immersed in a flourishing wildlife habitat. Game species include white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare, black bears, and eastern coyotes. Waterfowl are also abundant in the property's wetlands. The most easily accessible wetland is southwest of the parking area around Fuller Brook, where lush marshland dominates the landscape. Additional wetlands can be found in the lower regions of the WMA. Elsewhere, the forest is filled with northern hardwoods, with maple, birch, white ash, black cherry, and American beech trees being most prevalent. The area has a rolling topography with a consistent elevation variance of about 200 feet over moderately steep slopes. Geologically, the landscape is generally regarded as a plateau, providing consistent elevations around 2,000 feet at one of the highest uplands in Western Massachusetts.

Although there is a small collection of old forest roads throughout the WMA, the property has no maintained trails, so visitors should be prepared to navigate the terrain independently. It should be noted that the WMA takes the form of irregular-shaped parcels, meaning visitors and especially hunters should be cautious about remaining on public land. This parking area is on a small dirt road accessed from Route 143 in Peru. The road transitions to an old forest road around half a mile in, where there is room for a couple of vehicles to park.