The Western MA Exchange

AMC has three professional teams from the Southern New England (SNE) Pro Crew working on western MA trails and parks this year, and we'd like to share the impressive list of projects they've completed so far. Many thanks to the crews for their hard work to improve the trails in our area!

Noble View APT Add-Ons

Funded by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the crews installed two rest areas with accessible picnic tables on the Noble View All Person's Trail (APT), and addressed drainage issues on the trail itself.

Long Mountain

The crews installed 21 new rock steps on Long Mountain in Amherst on the New England Scenic Trail (NET). This project was carried over from last year's MassTrails Grant with Mass Audubon and the MA Department of Conservation & Recreation, which funded our timber box step work on Mt Norwottuck.

Bash Bish Falls Staircase

The crews built a 26-step, stone staircase to repair damage from Hurricane Helene, making it safer for hikers.

Roving Maintenance for Mass Audubon

The crews spent 3 weeks performing trail assessments and critical trail maintenance on 5 different Mass Audubon sanctuaries in central and eastern MA.

Clarksburg State Park Beaver Brook Bridge

The crews replaced a pedestrian bridge across Beaver Brook and repaired a bog bridge.

DAR State Forest

The crews deconstructed, then rebuilt, two Diamond Pier boardwalks.

Pittsfield State Forest Tranquility Bridge

The crews built a new bridge over a stream on the Tranquility Trail.

NET Section 9

The crews worked with a teen crew from Holyoke to build a box step staircase on Section 9 of the NET. The project will be completed in late September.

Baldpate State Park

Yesterday, the crews completed a 170+ ft long diamond pier boardwalk at Baldpate Pond State Park. The final report for this work will be released next week.

Projects in Progress

Greylock Bellows Falls. The crews are currently replacing two pedestrian + snowmobile bridges on the Bellows Falls trail in Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) Goldsmith Woodlands. APT, Andover. The crews just wrapped up construction of a new APT in Andover, MA for AVIS. Greylock Hopper Bridge. The crews are replacing a bridge on the Hopper Trail for access to Sperry Road Campground on Mt Greylock. View more photos on Facebook.

AMC's Southern New England (SNE) Pro Crew has been hard at work on western MA trails this summer. One project included supervising a teen crew, recruited by our partners at the MassHire Holyoke Career Center. AMC provides compensation and project work. The teen crew primarily works on the New England National Scenic Trail (NET). This season, they constructed a box step staircase on the Section 9 junction with Bay Road in Belchertown. This is part of a concurrent project with the SNE Pro Crew to re-align the trail near the road crossing to make the trail safer and more sustainable for those hiking the NET. The crew built 29 steps during their two weeks on this project, a huge accomplishment to them and a testament to their growing skill sets as trail maintainers for the future! This project - currently unfinished - will be completed this fall by the SNE Pro Crew. MORE PHOTOS »

September 10-21, 2025
Noble View Outdoor Center, Russell, MA This collaborative event is for the entire trails community - volunteer and professional trail stewards with all levels of experience. Whether you are just starting out and looking for ways to get involved, or a professional looking to further your skills and build your network, this event offers opportunities for everyone, and all are welcome! We are lucky to have such a robust selection of courses and grateful to have so many of the industry's best providing instruction. For safety and best teaching practices, there will be set capacities for day programs and will be able to open up our evening programs to all who would like to participate. If you have any questions or need any email confirmations, please feel free to reach out to our Trails Training Programs Supervisor, Erik Samia at esamia@outdoors.org.

MORE PHOTOS »

From planning and leading recreational activities to seasonal trail work – here's what our committees were up to last month.

20s/30s

The 20s/30s+ WhatsApp group has over 100 members! ✧ Recent events: Tour de Ponds - Overnight backpacking in southern VT (07/05); Mount Warner & Scoops at the Silos (07/08); Chesterfield Gorge & Northampton Brewery (07/15); MacLeish Field Station (07/22); Cole Conservation Area & 3 Amigos (07/29); Camping weekend: Greylock and Film Night @ Tanglewood (08/08)

A.T. Management

The most recent A.T. Committee meeting was May 5 ✧ Seasonal project work continues in full swing. Projects since the last report include switching the cribs on 2 moldering privies and digging new pits for 2 others, grass mowing along the trail in open areas, installing and repairing bog bridges, clearing water bars, painting the east side of Upper Goose Pond cabin, removing numerous trees blown down across the trail and clipping of vegetation that grows into the treadway. See the Outdoor Connector for details of specific projects and how to volunteer ✧ Upper Goose Pond Cabin remains open with a steady number of overnight visitors ✧ Seasonal project work is ongoing; see the Outdoor Connector (OC) for details on upcoming A.T. projects and information on how to volunteer with us ✧ Volunteer recruitment needs include trail maintainers, corridor monitors, and three coordinators: shelter, communications and group outreach ✧ Next meeting: August 25, 2025. The Committee will review work done so far this season and discuss upcoming projects ✧ Volunteer recruitment needs include trail maintainers, corridor monitors, and three coordinators (shelter, communications, and group outreach)

Bicycling

July 26: Tour of the Hamptons (29.9 miles) ✧ August bike rides are listed on the AMC Outdoor Connector (OC) and include: Berkshires Ride - Stockbridge to Alford (37.7 miles/2518 ft); Bernardston to Guilford, VT Ride (38 miles/1900 ft) ✧ Tentative plans to lead an AMC 150 relay (May 30, 2026) are under consideration

Communications

The Chapter's social media accounts continue to gain new followers- 29 new followers on Facebook and 51 new followers on Instagram since May. The Chapter’s Facebook account had a total of 9110 views, an increase of 18%. All the data points for Facebook increased in July despite fewer posts. July saw our highest number of users to date and third highest views on the website. The Chapter's social media accounts continue to gain new followers. Facebook: 9110 views (up 18%). All the data points increased in July despite fewer posts. Top post: Mt Tom hike to the Eyrie Ruins. Instagram: 18 posts with 5547 views (up 12%). Top post: 20s/30s hike to Chesterfield Gorge and brewery. Email messages sent: 3895. ✧ Ongoing web work included activity postings, updates to the Western MA Exchange, new photos, and regular site maintenance

Membership

We have 75 new members! ✧ Recent events: Guided hike with Williamstown Rural Lands examining local effects of climate change (07/12); Bennington Trailfest, a free event for hikers and the community for which we provided info about AMC Western MA, a Leave No Trace activity, and snacks (07/26) ✧ Planning is underway for the ExCom planning meeting in September and the chapter's annual meeting in October

Paddling

The Paddling Committee last met on 07/08 ✧ We have adopted two paddling legs of the AMC150 relay: Westfield River (Russell/Westfield line to Robinson State Park) on 24-May-2026 and the Connecticut River (Hatfield to Northampton Oxbow) on 27-May-2026 ✧ Recent events: 20s/30s Hike and Paddle at Tully Lake (06/04); Cheshire Reservoir (06/15); LGBTQ+ trip on the Deerfield River, Class I-II (06/27); beginner kayak instruction at Barton Cove (07/05); LGBTQ+ trip on the Deerfield River, Class I-II (07/25) ✧ Find upcoming trips on the OC

ATC »

This month's Committee Highlight focuses on the 20s/30s Committee. Under the leadership of Hew Hart, it has grown from a defunct committee to a thriving, growing group of over 150 members. The 20s/30s Committee engages in a variety of activities from hiking and paddling to film nights at Tanglewood. They've been cross country skiing and are looking into doing some backpacking and climbing events. Often the activity is followed by a social gathering at a brewery or ice cream at a local ice cream shop. Hew started a WhatsApp group for the 20s/30s members as a way to share photos, ideas and comments about the trips. So if you'd like to connect with others who enjoy the outdoors and socializing, visit the committee's webpage, join us on WhatsApp, or follow us on Instagram.

We started with a crew of three, Russ, Jess, and Cosmo. We met Kenney, recently back from 800 miles of AT hiking, who had missed us at the initial meeting point, but hiked over Mt Everett to meet us at Race Brook. We cleared long-neglected waterbars uphill of the Race Brook campsite, then cleaned up the main fire ring at the site. We removed a recent blowdown on the Race Brook Trail. We then hiked back over the mountain for a quick lunch at the Guilder Pond parking area and headed down to the Hemlocks shelter to clear off several inches of accumulated needles and branches. Footing was a bit tricky, but we managed to get things pretty well cleaned up w/o having to climb on the slippery roof. Russ provided valuable service by clearing out the deer flies as we hiked to each site. Basically a simple piece of double stick tape. We'll continue our drainage clearing work over the next couple of weeks. Our full project list can be found here.

The group hiked from North Adams to the VT border, the start of the Long Trail. Several participants logged over half of the 14 hikes in the series, while others joined in on several sections. We are grateful for Hiking Chair Mike April and Chapter Chair Kathy Martin, who planned the series, and for all the other hike leaders who volunteered to lead a section of the series! MORE PHOTOS »

Choose your ride length (20, 50, or 100k), on trails opened exclusively for this weekend. You'll ride through a nationally-renowned system of logging and sporting camp access roads through rugged landscapes and a flourishing wilderness. We're planning a full weekend of activities and fun to complement your rides, including bike rafting, a family movie night, and stargazing. We hope you'll join us for this unique opportunity in Maine's pristine North Woods! REGISTER NOW »

They met the caretaker "Vobster" and heard thru hikers rave about his pancakes. Some took a quick dip in the pond before returning to their cars. The Chapter leads a hike every Tuesday and all are welcome! View upcoming hikes and find your next outing! MORE PHOTOS »

You can now check out all of our upcoming activities in several ways:

• The Chapter activities mosaic. Use the buttons on this page to see our scheduled activities or activities by committee (BOLDED) in mosaic format.
• Our list of upcoming activities. Use this page to display upcoming activities in list view, show additional information provided by the leader, or to sort activities by type, date, difficulty, and title.
• The new activities calendar. This calendar displays upcoming activities downloaded directly from AMC's Outdoor Connector.
• AMC's Outdoor Connector. Use this link to go directly to Western MA's activities on AMC's website.

Chose your favorite way to search for activities and come join the fun! We hope to see you outdoors!

The Clean Air Act is a vital part of our country's bipartisan climate progress. This promise to preserve our air must be upheld. Because of these standards, our country's power sector has been on track to achieve a 75% reduction in harmful emissions by 2035. We can't afford to lose this progress! Through AMC's long-term environmental monitoring program, our dedicated scientists have documented climate impacts, including warmer winters and increasing heavy rain in the summers. Removing emission regulations will amplify negative impacts and endanger our environment. When our community of 90,000 members speaks up, policymakers listen. Your voice is powerful, and we need you to use it to fight for healthy air!

Let's eat and be merry! We'll provide the food, and a cash-only bar will be available. This event will be held at the Polish American Citizens Club, 46 South Main Street, South Deerfield, Massachusetts. So mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information and registration details.

We'll take turns giving a mock "trip talk," lead short 10-minute walks, and explore real-life leadership scenarios through role plays and discussion. Expect laughs, insights, and a chance to connect with like-minded outdoor enthusiasts! After completing this training, participants will co-lead two mentored hikes with an experienced hike leader, before being able to independently lead hikes on their own. Completion of the online course is a prerequisite for the in-person training. The online course will take approximately 2-3 hours. A link to the course will be sent to you upon registering. For questions send a message to training@amc-wma.org. REGISTER »

The AMC professional trail crew at Noble View Outdoor Center is offering several training opportunities for those interested in honing their skills.

Axe Training

On Saturday, 08/02, we'll be hosting an axe training workshop at Noble View. This single day course will focus on the history of the axe, reviving old axes, rehanging, sharpening, safety, and axe use for trail maintenance purposes. Participants are encouraged to bring along their own axes if they have them available and can use the opportunity to give them a good tune-up! Other axes and tools will be provided otherwise.

Rock Work

Another opportunity to consider is a 2-day rock work training class at Noble View. This course will focus on identifying trail needs for rock features, how to safely move and relocate rocks to the project site, and how to build various rock structures to protect the trail from erosion and provide a safe recreation experience for trail users. This course is fantastic for developing a niche skill set in dry stone masonry to build trail features that last generations!

Trail Skills College

One more event to throw on your radar is this fall's Trail Skills College at Noble View. This 3-day event will offer similar trail workshops as well as options for critical maintenance, trail assessment and developing your "trail eye", trail realignment, chainsaw use, and more! Something to think about as we get closer to cooler weather! Mark your calendars if interested and stay tuned for the registration link. These workshops are a great opportunity for both seasoned trail workers and newcomers who are looking to build up their skill sets. It's also a great opportunity to build and strengthen relationships throughout the Southern New England trail world.

At AMC, we integrate Leave No Trace principles into every facet of our programming, and we encourage everyone to practice these principles as a way to protect and preserve the environment. Click here for more information, links to informative resources for Leave No Trace, and a fun interactive quiz about how long it takes for materials to break down.

FAMILY PROGRAMS »

The group ran into a northbound thru-hiker, Ikea, and his trail cat. Ikea met the cat in Georgia and it started to follow him, and it's been Ikea's hiking companion ever since. Ikea keeps it on a leash, but it prefers to ride in the backpack. Kathy summarized the hike: Thanks to everyone for a wonderful hike today! The conversations were great! Great comradery! Susan's brownies were out of this world wonderful! The temperatures couldn't have been better! A pace that suited everyone's style! Thanks to Russ for taking the lead position and to Joanne for sweeping! MORE PHOTOS »