Westfield River Access
Upper Westfield River WMA
Windsor, MA
Wildlife Viewing | Hunting | Fishing
Allowed Uses & Features
Information
In Windsor, Notchview Reservation offers Berkshire County visitors and residents year-round outdoor activities. During winter, Notchview is the area's acclaimed destination for cross-country skiing. The reservation provides 25 miles of groomed Nordic ski trails and limitless ungroomed skiing and snowshoeing opportunities. Skiiers can experience various trail difficulties, from the easy Berkshire Trail to the black diamond Judges Hill Trail. After skiing, enjoy the warmth of the lodge's fireplace and a cup of hot chocolate.
Outside of winter, Notchview Reservation is open for hikers to experience and explore the natural beauty offered by the Berkshires. With miles of trails, the reservation offers a vast and serene landscape for visitors to admire and trek. Many paths are maintained, though their untouched and biodiverse surroundings provide ideal birding and other wildlife observing settings. Additionally, the reservation offers expansive views from several fields scattered around the property, showcasing the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. Fall visitors can expect to see clearly the nation's most revered foliage on and from this peaceful reservation, while spring and summer visitors can anticipate symphonious bird songs and lush greenery.
A large parking lot makes the stop at Notchview stressless, and the property's picnic tables provide an excellent spot for lunch.
The Trustees of Reservations
Tell others about this place
The parking area for Notchview Reservation is located on Old Route 9 and consists of paved parallel and perpendicular parking spaces along Old Route 9. There are no formal accessible parking spaces, and visitors will have to park around 150 feet away from the visitor center and trail entrances. From the parking area, visitors must walk up a gravel path to the visitor center and trail entrances, which exceed a 12% slope. There is accessible ramp access to the visitor center. From the visitor center and network of trails that extend across the property, the conditions of these trails vary; however, they are classified into different ratings based on use and difficulty by the reservation. There are snowshoe trails that are narrower and are frequently rocky, uneven, and overgrown. There are then green, blue, and black trails, which are ranked by cross-country skiing difficulty. The green trails are the widest, smoothest. The green trails are accessible to adaptive equipment, such as adaptive mountain bikes and skis. The trails are 6 feet wide and stay under an 8% slope. The trail material for green trails varies between grass and hard-packed dirt, making the trails consistently smooth and hard-packed. The blue and black trails can frequently become overgrown and often feature slopes exceeding 12%. The black and blue trails are around 4 feet wide. Trail conditions across the property vary considerably, so all visitors should exercise caution when venturing onto unfamiliar trails.
Looking to meet up with others for team sports or group activities? Check out our list of clubs, guides and leagues in the Berkshires on the Resources page. Our list of summer camps will help you plan an overnight or day camp adventure for your young ones.
We also link to an array of outdoor recreation retail shops for gear and rental facilities for equipment on the Gear page.